The Practice of the Presence of God

The Practice of the Presence of God

by Brother Lawrence
ISBN-10:
0883681056
ISBN-13:
9780883681053
Pub. Date:
06/01/1982
Publisher:
Whitaker House
ISBN-10:
0883681056
ISBN-13:
9780883681053
Pub. Date:
06/01/1982
Publisher:
Whitaker House
The Practice of the Presence of God

The Practice of the Presence of God

by Brother Lawrence
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Overview

Brother Lawrence was a man of humble beginnings who discovered the greatest secret of living in the kingdom of God here on earth. It is the art of “practicing the presence of God in one single act that does not end.” He often stated that it is God who paints Himself in the depths of our souls. We must merely open our hearts to receive Him and His loving presence.
As a humble cook, Brother Lawrence learned an important lesson through each daily chore: The time he spent in communion with the Lord should be the same, whether he was bustling around in the kitchen—with several people asking questions at the same time—or on his knees in prayer. He learned to cultivate the deep presence of God so thoroughly in his own heart that he was able to joyfully exclaim, “I am doing now what I will do for all eternity. I am blessing God, praising Him, adoring Him, and loving Him with all my heart.”
This unparalleled classic has given both blessing and instruction to those who can be content with nothing less than knowing God in all His majesty and feeling His loving presence throughout each simple day.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780883681053
Publisher: Whitaker House
Publication date: 06/01/1982
Series: Living Library
Pages: 96
Sales rank: 34,268
Product dimensions: 4.00(w) x 6.00(h) x (d)
Age Range: 3 Months to 18 Years

About the Author

Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection (c. 1611–1691) was a lay brother in the Parisian Carmelite Order, which practiced extreme asceticism. He taught that one’s “entire call and duty” was “to adore God and to love Him, without worrying about the rest.” While looking at a barren tree one wintry day, the eighteen-year-old Lawrence realized that this tree would blossom once again. He was profoundly moved by God’s providence and overcome with love for God. He was not only converted that day but also forever committed to serving God wholeheartedly. He believed that by accepting God’s help and guarding our souls by keeping them in tune with God’s will, we can have constant fellowship with the Lord. He died peacefully at about the age of eighty, embraced in the arms of the Lord he had loved and served.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1 First Conversation

I met Brother Lawrence for the first time today. He told me that God had been especially good to him in his conversion. He was eighteen at the time, and still in the world. He told me that it had all happened one winter day, as he was looking at a barren tree. Although the tree's leaves were indeed gone, he knew that they would soon reappear, followed by blossoms and then fruit. This gave him a profound impression of God's providence and power which never left him. Brother Lawrence still maintains that this impression detached him entirely from the world and gave him such a great love for God that it hasn't changed in all of the forty years he has been walking with Him. Brother Lawrence had formerly been a servant to the treasurer of the monastery and had been very clumsy. He believed that in order to be saved, he'd have to be punished for this clumsiness. Therefore, he sacrificed all of the pleasures in his life to God. But, rather than punishing him, God gave him nothing but wholehearted satisfaction. Often, he would tell the Lord endearingly that he felt deceived, because his Christian walk had thus far been so pleasant and not filled with suffering as he had anticipated.

Brother Lawrence insisted that it is necessary to always be aware of God's presence by talking with Him throughout each day. To think that you must abandon conversation with Him in order to deal with the world is erroneous. Instead, as we nourish our souls by seeing God in His exaltation, we will derive a great joy at being His. Another thing he mentioned was that our faith is too weak. Instead of letting faith rule our lives, we are guided by our petty, everyday, mechanical prayers, which are always changing. The Church's only road to the perfection of Christ is faith.

The dear brother remarked that we must give ourselves totally to God, in both temporal and spiritual affairs. Our only happiness should come from doing God's will, whether it brings us some pain or great pleasure. After all, if we're truly devoted to doing God's will, pain and pleasure won't make any difference to US. We also need to be faithful, even in dry periods. It is during those dry spells that God tests our love for Him. We should take advantage of those times to practice our determination and our surrender to Him. This will often bring us to a maturity further on in our walk with God.

Brother Lawrence wasn't surprised by the amount of sin and unhappiness in the world. Rather, he wondered why there wasn't more, considering the extremes to which the enemy is capable of going. He said he prayed about it, but because he knew God could rectify the situation in a moment if He willed it, he didn't allow himself to become greatly concerned. To succeed in giving ourselves to God as much as He desires, we must constantly guard our souls. In addition to being involved in spiritual matters, the soul is involved in the things of this world. But when we turn our backs on Him, exposing our souls to the world, He will not so easily answer our call. When we are willing to accept God's help and guard our souls according to His desires, we may commune with Him whenever we like.

Table of Contents

Part One: Conversations Part Two: Letters Part Three: Spiritual Maxims Part Four: The Life of Brother Lawrence
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