A few years ago I noticed this huge church, a cathedral, in down town Marburg, Germany. As I walked inside I heard a beautiful choir singing. As I listened more closely I recognized the words; they were singing the “beatitudes” of Jesus…in German. How beautiful. Their voices rang out through out this magnificent building. It was glorious. I thought to myself, “good theology.” I felt His presence.

As I sat down on one of the cold, wooden benches inside this beautiful cathedral I couldn’t help but notice and reflect on the majestic stain glass windows in front of me. I prayed and I worshiped. I felt his presence.

I noticed this huge column three feet on my left; I looked up to see how high it went…it must have been at least 50 ft. tall. I wondered to myself, “Who in the world built this structure over 100 years ago?” Someone actually sat down and designed this…then passed the idea onto the builder who gathered more builders who then completed the beautiful structure. They followed the instructions of the architect…the designer. “How in the world did they get these massive stones up there,” I wondered. Majestic. This cathedral was designed and built to worship the original designer–God the creator! Wonderful. I felt His presence.

I noticed a large notebook open on top of a table near the altar. As I read, I realized these were all prayers to God; prayers of different people who had come to visit this church for decades. Most of them started with “Danke Herr…” (Thank you God…). “Thanks for a good marriage,” one prayer read, “today is our 30th wedding day.” How beautiful. Again…I felt His presence.

I pondered what God must think about all this? “I’m sure He is pleased,” I thought. He always loves it when His children come to Him to talk. Just like I love it when my daughters come to me to just talk. It’s why He created us…for relationship.

“God is here”, I thought to myself. “It is good to be in your presence, Lord!”

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? –Psalm 139:7