More mist - Holiness

There is something I have thinking about ... a verse that I came across that drew my attention.

Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all [men], and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

This verse seems to say to me that you can't see God without holiness. So that has me wondering. If we sometimes are able to see and hear God better in our own lives ... is it during periods of greater holiness ? And when we aren't able ... is it because we have become less holy ? Sometimes I see more evidence of God working in my life and speaking to me than others. Is it a holiness issue ?

I think this caught my attention because I was listening to a speaker recently that commented that the reason that we don't have power in our lives is because we are not holy or righteous (I can't remember which now). The comment stuck in my mind and today I was trying to find a reference for that but the only thing that I came up with was 2 Timothy 1-11 where Paul was describing men of the last days - men that he wanted us to turn away from.

2 Timothy 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

The form means the semblance. They appeared to be godly but really weren't ? Perhaps it was just a mask on the outside and not the inside ? These men had the reputation or appearance of godliness but not the power of it. They did not have the holiness and righteousness according to the description in the passage. But I am not sure that is what the speaker was thinking of.

Why is it important ? I often think about the disciples and the early church who seemed to have more than just a little power. Christ gave his church power - why isn't there more evidence of it ? Is it a holiness issue ?