Saints of old and the presence of God

As saints of old were being burned at the stake, it was reported that they were singing psalms, even as the flames began to consume their temporal bodies. Stephen, as he was being most cruelly killed ( not a quick death, in fact they regulated the size of the stones used) was having a vision. Its the presence of God that makes all things possible,the conscious awareness of His presence. He continually tells us that He can be known, He continually tells us to " come unto me,' to " draw near," to " press in." These are meaningless phrases in the abstract. Its the reality of His presence that makes every word of Scripture make sense. Outside of the conscious awareness of God lies only theory and philosophy and abstract truth. None of these will save or bring comfort or lift our heads............bro Frank