The Practice of the Presence of God

Product Information

Now, Aquinas said the pinnacle of all our spiritual experiences is to See God. Did Brother Lawrence achieve that height? Attwater's was a common approach taken by many translators of this passage: "Conversation with God occurs in the depth and center of the soul," in one translation; [9] and in another, "Great would be our surprise, if we but knew what converse the soul holds at times with God." [10]

Experiencing the Presence of God: Teachings from the Book of Experiencing the Presence of God: Teachings from the Book of

Nicolas entered the priory in Paris as a lay brother, not having the education necessary to become a cleric, and took the religious name, "Lawrence of the Resurrection." He spent almost all of the rest of his life within the walls of the priory, working in the kitchen for many of these years and as a repairer of sandals in his later years. This is one of those places however where we ought to heed the words of Jesus concerning the Pharisees, "do what they say but not what they do" which highlights the great oversight of brother Lawrence. I must know, love and serve God in this world that I may gain the happiness of heaven.’ (Baltimore Catechism) I agreed with Brother Lawrence that a right, awe-filled view of God brings us a long way in seeking and remaining in His presence and that it is a discpline to pursue God's presence. I'm not sure I really see the merit in "achieving" a consistent position in the presence of God if it's not used to bring others to Him. Apparently Brother Lawrence had great influence with other "brothers" living around him and we know that he wrote to encourage others so I guess you could say that his life and writings have inspired others to connect with God. However, he seemed to be more interested in a life of pleasant seclusion than in fulfilling the Great Commission. From the evidence of this book alone, this position is merely conjecture, but I really didn't see any inclination to "put to good use" the profound connection he seemed to have achieved in his decades of "the practice of the presence of God." In the book of Genesis, Eden is the first couple’s home but, more importantly, it is God’s sanctuary—the garden temple where the Creator and his image-bearers relate (Gen 3:8).

7. The presence of God is the means and end of redemption.

The major barrier to this book is the slightly stilted language. I have recommended this to several people and they cannot get past this, essentially missing the book's message. If nothing else this makes me understand why the King James Bible remains obtuse for many. This is a short but profoundly meditative read. Good stuff for mothers in a hurry who want to ponder a connection with God in the midst of busy days; also palatable for people going through a hard time to read little bits at a time and absorb them without charging through. Brother Lawrence didn't intend to write a book, and some concepts are a bit disjointed. But, he is consistent enough in his perspective and approach that the same themes work throughout his pastoral correspondence. The presence of God is the concentration of the soul’s attention on God, remembering that He is always present.” The young, uneducated soldier who became known as Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection entered a French Carmelite monastery fresh from battle and pretty much destroyed by war trauma, experiencing what today we would call severe PTSD. I imagine he enters the community hoping to find peace—but instead, his life is a nightmare because of extreme terrors that continue day and night for four years before beginning to abate. In an era when psychological medicine did not exist, he is healed, slowly but completely, through the continual, maybe even continuous, practice of a simple, repetitive, spoken prayer throughout the work day by which he intends to give himself completely over to God. Eventually, as an old, still rough-spoken man, he becomes known as a spiritual master--I am not sure whether the term "spiritual master" was in use at the time, but he becomes someone others recognize for the peace in his soul and seek out for wisdom and guidance. All the while, he is subject to work that would have been brutally difficult -- imagine preparing meals for a huge community of (probably grouchy) men at a time when stoves and ovens were wood-fired and there was no air conditioning or even electric fans, and all the cookware was heavy cast iron or copper -- he worked in the inferno on earth. When his body could no longer handle that work, he “retired” to the shoe repair shop.

The Practice of the Presence of God - Goodreads

Sin hinders everything now, especially man’s experience of God’s presence. Because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve are now exiles; their mission is in shambles as they stand outside of Eden. The presence of God they once knew freely is no longer free. Nouwen, Henri, J.M., Foreword, The Practice of the Presence of God, trans. John Delaney (Image, 1977): 10. Finally, and this strikes at the heart of man’s pride and perhaps at the heart of why I and so many others in our modern world struggle with prayer, prayer is not a matter of becoming smarter or stronger. “Neither skill nor knowledge is required to enable us to go to God…” Rather, this sort of continual prayer can only come by a deep sense of our helplessness and weakness before God. We can’t work our way there, and we can’t think our way there. “The greater the perfection to which a soul aspires, the more dependent is she upon divine grace, and this grace becomes more necessary every moment because without it the soul can do nothing. The world, the flesh, and the Devil together wage so fierce and unremitting a war that, without actual grace and a humble reliance thereon, the soul would be dragged down in spite of herself.”This article is part of the 10 Things You Should Know series. 1. God is immanent because he is transcendent. Take a 1-minute survey to join our mailing list and receive a free ebook in the format of your choosing. Read on your preferred digital device, including smart phones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers. The presence of God has massive implications for the way we understand the church (1 Cor 3:16-17; 2 Cor 6:14-7:1; Eph 2:13-22). The New Testament calls the church a temple for a reason. Through this image, we see that the community of Christ is—in this time of waiting on Christ’s return—the instrument the Lord uses to disseminate his presence to a lost and sinful world. The first section of the book consists of four dated conversations where Brother Lawrence describes what it is that led him to the realization that pursuing the Practice of the Presence of God was the best way, indeed the only way, to follow Christ. These are not conversations as most Americans today would categorize conversations, but more like Shakespearean soliloquies, with the little monk giving his thoughts on how he came to know that putting God first, last, and always, was the only way to live. That is Practice in a nutshell. I could stop writing here and you would have the book. Except that as simple as it is write or say such words, anyone who has really tried to live them knows, it is not that easy. Don't get me wrong, Brother Lawrence sounds like a great guy. In fact the book is part memoir, part biography, part letters and so on. It's a collection of documents by and about Brother Lawrence who, from the sound of it, was a genuinely humble, dedicated follower of Christ. I think this book may inspire some people; it just didn't inspire me, and probably that's indicative of my own spiritual status (low on the scale). I know I SHOULD practice the presence of God; I'm not sure HOW, and maybe it's one of those things like riding a bike; you try until you get it, and once you get it you don't know how you were ever not able to do it.