This is a question I often ask when I am leading a time of encounterprayer, either for myself or for someone else.  However, I admit that it might sound a little strange since the Bible assures us that Jesus is everywhere - all around us and within us.  So how can we pin him down to one particular spot on the earth, or even in my lounge?  Does this imply he is no-where else?
 
I was reading the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and came across this verse in Genesis 3:8:
 
“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”

Does this really suggest that God was physically walking in a certain part of the garden but that he wasn’t equally present 200 yards away?  Surely what the writer was seeking to convey was that God gave Adam and Eve a glimpse of his presence, something for them to ponder and to help them communicate and relate to him.
I believe this is similar to the glimpses that Jesus gives us.  We are not for a minute suggesting that because we have a sense of Jesus being with us, this is totally exclusive and means he is not with anyone else.  Instead, it is a glimpse just for us - and at the same time he might be giving a totally different glimpse of his presence to someone else.
 
Jesus, of course, is not subject to the same physical limitations as us, which means that he can be in any number of places at the same time.  We know from the New Testament that Jesus ascended at the end of his earthly ministry. This implies a ‘going-away’ from us, but the truth is actually very different. Ephesians 4.10 speaks about Jesus as ‘the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.’  That sounds vast – but it also means he is here with us right now.  
The glimpses Jesus gives us are not just figments of our imagination but are a means of him revealing something of himself to each of us in a personal way - something to get our attention and help to make his presence more of a reality for us.
 
Enjoy him and enjoy his loving presence!
 
With every blessing
John Ryeland

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