Practicing God's Presence: Brother Lawrence for Today's Reader

by Robert Elmer, Brother Lawrence, Geoff Gorsuch

For centuries, the sayings of Brother Lawrence, a seventeenth-century monk, have shown believers how to follow and live like Christ. Now a new generation can discover the joy of practicing the presence of God with this updated version.

Genres: Christian, Christian Living

112 pages, Paperback

First published December 16, 2004

About the author

Robert Elmer is the author of more than fifty books, including contemporary novels for the adult Christian audience, nonfiction devotionals like Piercing Heaven and Fount of Heaven (Lexham Press), and seven series for younger readers. Among kids, he is best known for his historicals such as the Young Underground, Adventures Down Under, Life Behind the Wall, and Promise of Zion books. When he's not at the keyboard, he enjoys beachcombing and travel with his wife, and spending time with their three kids and families.

Reviews

[Latonya]

This book brought me from the religious bondage of thinking I had to set a devotional time everyday to being in tune and communicating with God throughout everyday. He is always with me!

[Beth Haynie]

Simple and a relatively quick read. My major issue is with the translation-more of a “The Message” paraphrase than I would like, seeing as Brother Lawrence was writing in the 1600s. That’s a personal preference, though, so I will probably hunt down a version of this book NOT translated into modern American English.

[Msj8484]

I found this to be a very helpful and understandable modernization of Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God: The Best Rule of a Holy Life. It included many good reminders of how to face disappointment, pain and the mundaneness of life, while never forgetting God's presence.

[Ruby Anderson]

Prayer life📈📈

[Corey Burton]

The journey that I am on is a very different one - one that has me in a place of re-establishing my faith, challenging and questioning, engaging, and figuring out the way forward. This was a cool and simple read that provided guidance on how to make your faith a part of your daily living.

“Holy Spirit, think through me till your ideas are my ideas.” - This is AWEsome, and a prayer I am going to begin praying more regularly.

This next quote was pretty hard to read, but growth requires that of us - “The bottom line is that God sometimes needs to humble us, to remind us who we really are.”

“Show me how to change.” - a humble reminder to sometimes just ask! #YouKnowWhyImHere #ProgressNOTPerfection #BrotherLawrence #PracticingGodsPresence #StillHereStillROCKin

[Anthony Ballejos]

The difference between this version and a "regular" copy of "practicing the presence" is that Elmer gives some commentary on how we can live this out practically. Whether you read this version or a different one, Brother Lawrence provides insights of what it means to walk with God on a daily basis in the mundane and ordinary.

[Sarah Kellogg]

I have wanted to read this book for a long while hoping to find the "secret" basically he just caught Jesus and went after it. There could be an oversimplification in the translation, but I am not sure, not having read the original English translation. I plan to do so eventually.

[Dan.]

Disappointed. I had heard so much of this book, but the translator's modernization of Lawrence's language, examples and references seemed to trivialize its force - at least for me. Maybe I'll try a different translation some day - Lord willing.

[Belinda Colon]

It's a wonderful book, I recommend it

[Brandon]

One of the best books I have ever read.

[Carolyn]

I hope to use this as a daily devotional. So easy for me to understand. It encourages me.

[Jan]

Very good, to read as a daily devotional, one letter per day. I would like to read it in the original 17th century English. I will read this year after year I believe!

[Reeco Butcher]

Very good and practical ways to live humbly and to walk with God in every aspect of life.

[Josh Holtsclaw]

Simple. Inspiring

[Brandi]

Pretty good, I'd like to read another version just to see how the original was interpreted.

[Jason Griffin]

So simple yet so profound!

[Melissa Jill]

I'm surprised it took me so long to get around to reading this book but I'm so glad I did! It's a quick, easy read and works well as a devotional. I love hearing insights from a 17th century monk on practicing the presence of God. So many portions of this read impacted me. Here are a few:

"If we only realized how much we need God's help and how much He wants to bless us, none of us would lose sight of Him, not for a second."

"But my King is full of mercy and goodness. Instead of making me feel bad (after I've wronged Him), He hugs me with His love and invites me to dinner. He serves me with His own hands and gives me the key to His treasures. He enjoys me and talks to me and treats me like a favorite child. He forgives me and takes away my bad habits without even mentioning them. The weaker I am, the more loved I feel. That's how I feel in His holy presence."

"NO one knows what we need better than God does, and He always has our best in mind. If we only understood just how much He loves us, we'd always be ready to accept both the bitter and the sweet from His hand. In the end, there really would be no difference between the two because we'd be satisfied with anything that came from the Lord."

The only part of the book that didn't sit well was Part 4 added by the editor -- Ideas for Practicing the Presence. I didn't get the feeling from what he wrote that he really understood what Brother Lawrence was getting at when he talked about practicing God's presence. The editor suggested praying for others at all times throughout the day, but this seems like more of a focus on our circumstances than on God himself. What I gathered from Brother Lawrence was the importance of ENJOYING God. Of focusing on him and HIS goodness throughout the day -- always being aware of his closeness and goodness -- and in this way, remaining in his presence. When I do this, I sometimes feel led to pray for others around me, but I don't necessarily set out to do that as my first priority. My focus is the Lord.

Great read! I can definitely see myself reading this one time and again as there are so many great reminders in it that will help me to refocus on what is truly important.

[Eric]

I highly recommend reading and pouring over Practicing God's Presence - an amazing compilation from Robert Elmer based on discussions, letters, and lessons from French monk Brother Lawrence (1614 - 1691). Brother Lawrence talks about practicing God's presence in every day life and provides spiritual sayings:

Faith, Hope, and Love
Living a Spiritual Life
Love God in Spirit and Truth
Getting Closer to God
The Presence of God
Finding God's Presence
Benefits of God's Presence

At the end of Brother Lawrence's spiritual sayings, Robert Elmer states it well "Not many of us are monks, and none of us live in the seventeenth century. So at the end of this inspiring read, the question remains: How can we put modern wheels to the advice of Brother Lawrence?" He spends the rest of the chapter talking about simple, practical ways to put the concepts into practice and suggesting the ready continue by reading Enjoying the Presence of God by Jan Johnson.

In summary, our goal is to pray without ceasing (7x24) like the Apostle Paul reminds his readers many times. Paul said we should "pray hard and long" (Ephesians 6:18) and "pray all the time" (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

I read the book in October, 2010, during a trip to Pillatre, Haiti. It really spoke to me and reminded me how ever part of my life should be dedicated to God and revel in His love and enjoying His presence. Honestly, many times I forget this in the whirlwind of life and work. Maybe that's why it's called Practicing God's Presence.

[Stacy Fredrickson]

This has been a key book in my spiritual journey!

[Linda]

i haven't finished this yet but it is so much more understandable than the classic version i read.

[Pat]

Excellent and much easier to read than the original for today's readers.

[Denise]

How to have a constant daily communion with God and how to attain His peace. Wonderful book, besides the Bible this is a MUST read!!!!

[Bcoghill Coghill]

Gift from my sister the Episcopal priest.

[Katie Williams]

It gets better every time I read it.

[Christie Deese]

So so good. Helps you embrace a whole new perspective on life in all the mundane tasks involved by glorifying God is everything we all do! Gratitude on steroids.

[Marcy]

It is definitely worth reading again