Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 7
“We can’t follow him around… but we can… live in constant awareness of the Spirit of Christ… prayer… check in… He is always there, but it is us who are not always there for God”; what do you think the speaker means by “not always there for God,” and how might that expose a gap between believing God is present and actually living present to God?
Another way to ask: What do you think it means to “not always be there for God”? How does that show the difference between believing God is with you and actually living like you notice him?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The speaker seems to mean that God’s presence is steady, but our attention and responsiveness drift—we forget, ignore, or crowd him out in everyday moments. That exposes a gap where we can affirm “God is with me” as a belief while living functionally unaware of him.
- He says we maintain connection through “the Spirit” and live in “constant awareness of the Spirit of Christ in every waking moment.”
- “Prayer plays a huge part” as an “ongoing conversation with God.”
- He gives a simple practice: take time, even “only… a moment… to check in and just be aware of God and his presence.”
- Key line: “He is always there, but it is us who are not always there for God.”
- He says this “conversational awareness creates the basis” for relationship, implying absence is relational—being mentally/emotionally elsewhere.