Last week I finished reading The Practice of the Presence of God. In college I heard people refer to this book often and when I saw a copy of it in a bookstore recently I skimmed the back. The quote on the back read: “There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual conversation with God.” The title hadn’t really secured my interest but this quote spoke close to my heart and what I have wanted to learn about and so I bought it.

In the high school group the students seem to talk a lot about forgetting God. This is not at all an uncommon plight. We get so busy with school, work, family…so caught up in our day-to-day existence that we can go whole days without ever turning our thoughts, let alone our time, to the Lord. Someone once told me this was a problem because we think of God as far away, somewhere up in the clouds. But for a believer He is much closer, He indwells us. I have been confused by this double living often and have been frustrated seeing it in my own life. How can God be so near, all the while we are ignoring Him? How can we claim to be so convinced of His greatness and glory and yet not be devoted to Him at all times?

The Practice of the Presence of God is a tiny book (under 100 pages long) consisting of a few conversations with Brother Lawrence and his reply to several letters written to Him seeking advice on spiritual issues. Though this book is small it offers a wealth of wisdom from taking a personal look into the life of this man. From a little research I was able to learn that Brother Lawrence was a layman with the monks of the Carmelite Order of the Roman Catholic Church in the seventeenth century. As such the writing has a older tone and I was not confident that all of his conclusions quite lined up Biblically. However, I have learned a great lesson from this book–living in God’s presence no matter how quickly or frequently I forget it, is an ever-present reality. God sees all and knows all. The practice of His presence is to discipline my life to revolve around this reality. To remember Him and live aware of Him at all times, in my thoughts, speech, action and prayer.

I have often become overwhelmed by Paul’s exhortation for us to “Pray without ceasing…” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). I used to think this meant that one’s mind was to be engaged at all time in speaking prayer to God. Brother Lawrence sheds light on this practice as being continually in conversation with Him in spirit–being aware of His presence continually offering praise to Him and presenting requests as He is kept at the forefront of the mind. To pray without ceasing is to always be in our hearts and minds before His throne. Brother Lawrence writes:

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I learned a second strong lesson from this book, that of God as ultimate priority. Another overwhelming command we have been given–the greatest command–says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37) This is humanly impossible to achieve. We become so easily distracted and our affections are swept away by many things other than the Lord. And yet I long to understand this command and be whole-hearted in my devotion to the Lord. On this issue Brother Lawrence writes:

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Let us think often that our only business in this life is to
please God, and that all besides is but folly and vanity.
Let us think of Him perpetually. Let us put all our trust
in Him. I doubt not but we shall soon find the effects of it in
receiving the abundance of His grace, with which we can do
all things, and without which we can do nothing but sin.

We must know before we can love.
In order to know God, we must often think of Him;
and when we come to love Him,
we shall also think of Him often,
for our heart will be with our treasure.
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Thoughts focused on the Lord and acknowledging my need for His continual grace is what practicing His presence is all about. If God where the center of my life, there would be no room for me. If my desires were perpetually wrapped in Him, I would not be distracted by self but would serve Him with a surrendered will. If I made it a practice to actually know and love God with all my heart, living for Him would never be a burden or something I feel obligated to do. I can’t imagine a life more sweet than one continually enveloped in God’s holy presence, resting fully in His abundant grace…