The Practice of the Presence of God

So, I meant to keep a running blog to discuss this book. It hasn't happened. I'm into the last section of the book (called 'Discussions'). The previous section was several letters that Brother Lawrence had written to various people (usually Nuns - and even more usually one particular Nun).

I think I have enjoyed the letters the most, even though they were extremely redundant. He even talks about this redundancy saying that some people get annoyed with the fact that he never talks about anything else but the Presence of God. He says once, "If I were a preacher, I would preach nothing but the practice of the presence of God." But it is precisely this redundancy that I loved. Why? That basic principle of learning - repetition. I heard once that a study showed that you have to hear a thing 19 times before it is committed to memory. By the end of these letters, I feel that I fully understand what Brother Lawrence was getting at, and the methods he prescribed for attaining this kind of a life.

The first thing I noticed that he said over and over, was that he acquired this constant abiding with God, not through enormous spiritual exercises, fasting, etc., but through small, frequent acts of devotion. He even talks about how he had forsaken some of the more common spiritual disciplines (he doesn't specify, but I assume he means times of prayer, maybe), as he saw them as only a means to an end, and since he already was in God's presence, he didn't need them.

He frequently encourages the recipients of his letters to turn to God frequently throughout the day, remember His presence, say a few words like "God, I am wholly yours," or "I desire nothing but You." He doesn't give any sort of scripted prayers, only instructs that a few words be spoken "that love will produce."

He also encourages that small prayers be lifted up before the beginning of any activity - whether it be chores, daily work, meals, even before spiritual exercises like prayer, or Bible reading. In this way, he teaches the Practice of the Presence of God. These moments of turning inward are the practice, these are the difficult part, these are things that require discipline.

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He makes another frequent statement that caught my attention. He says that we should never pray for God to relieve our suffering, but instead to give us the strength to endure it. In other words, we should never pray, "God get me out of this!" but instead, "God get me through this!" I think this is powerful. We Americans hate feeling uncomfortable. We have all turned into the princess in the "Princess and the Pea," story. The slightest bit of discomfort makes us squirm. But imagine how much character we would gain if we learned to patiently endure our sufferings. Isn't that what the Bible tells us to do anyway?