The Practice of the Presence of God In Modern English

by Brother Lawrence

Lawrence said that he had always been governed by love without thought of self. He resolved to make the love of God the goal of all his actions. He had become satisfied that this method was the best path. He was pleased when he could pick up a straw from the ground for the love of God, seeking only Him and nothing else, not even His gifts.

The intent of the heart is all important. We should concern ourselves only with loving and delighting ourselves in God.

Lawrence told me that the foundation of his spiritual life was a high concept and reverence of God in faith. Once he had become established in this lofty conception of God, he had no other plan except to faithfully reject every other thought, in order that he might do all things for the love of God. Sometimes when he realized that he had not thought of God for a while, he did not worry himself about it. After acknowledging his wretchedness to God, he returned to Him with even greater trust in Him, prompted by the fact that he felt so wretched to have forgotten Him.

Many people do not advance in the Christian life, because they get stuck in penances and particular spiritual exercises. They neglect the love of God, which is the goal. This could be seen plainly by their works, and was the reason why we see so little solid virtue.

The spiritual life is neither an art nor a science. To arrive at union with God all one needs is a heart resolutely determined to apply itself to nothing but Him, do nothing but for His sake, and to love Him only.

He told me that it all consists in one hearty renunciation of everything that does not lead to God. In this manner we develop the practice of continual communion with Him in freedom and simplicity. We just need to recognize God as intimately present with us and address ourselves to Him every moment. When in doubt, we can ask His assistance in knowing His will. We can also ask his help in performing those things which we know He requires of us. We should offer everything to Him before we do it and give Him thanks after we have finished.

God always gives us light in the midst of our doubts when we have no other purpose but to please Him.

The whole substance of religion is faith, hope, and love. By the practice of these we become united to the will of God. Everything else is unimportant and should be used as a means to our end, which is to be swallowed up by faith and love.

The greater perfection a soul aspires for, the more dependent it is upon Divine grace.

He surrendered himself to an attitude of faithful devotion and insight rather than reasoning and thinking.

First I gave myself completely to God and made restitution for my sins, as much as I could. Then out of love for Him, I renounced everything that was not God. I began to live as if there were no one else in the world but God and me. Sometimes I imagined myself as a poor criminal at the feet of the Divine Judge. At other times I would behold Him in my heart as my Divine Father. I worshipped Him as often as I could, keeping my mind in His holy Presence. Whenever I noticed that my mind had wandered, I brought it back to Him. I found this very difficult, and yet I continued in the practice, without feeling guilty when my mind wandered involuntarily. I made this my constant exercise all day long, whether it was the appointed time of prayer or not. At all times - every minute of every hour, even at the busiest time of my work - I drove from my mind everything that was capable of interrupting my thought of God.

I considered God to be always with me and often in me.

Sometimes I consider myself as a stone before a sculptor, who is making a statue. I present myself to God, and I desire Him to make His perfect image in my soul, and make me entirely like Himself.

Let Him do what He pleases with me. I desire only Him, and to be wholly devoted to Him.

We have a God who is infinitely gracious and knows all our wants. I always thought that He would bring you to the edge. He will come in His own time, and when you least expect it. Hope in Him now more than ever. Thank Him with me for the blessings He gives you, particularly for the fortitude and patience which He gives you in your afflictions. This is a plain mark of the care He takes of you. Comfort yourself in Him, and give thanks for everything.

“My God, I am completely devoted to You. Lord, remake me according to Your heart.”

To practice this correctly, the heart must be empty of all other things. God will possess the heart alone. He cannot possess it solely without emptying it of everything else. He cannot act in the heart, and do what He wants within it, unless it is empty. There is no sweeter and delightful life than that of continual communion with God. Only those who experience this and practice it can comprehend it. Yet I do not advise you to undertake this practice from that motive. We should not seek pleasure in this exercise. Instead let us do it out of love and because God desires it.

Let us live and die with God. When we are with Him, even sufferings will be sweet and pleasant to us. Without Him even the greatest pleasures will seem like cruel punishments. Praise God for everything! Amen.

One solution is to confess our faults and humble ourselves before God. I advise you not to use a lot of words in prayer. Many words and long monologues are the causes of wandering minds. Instead, hold yourself in prayer before God like a mute and paralyzed beggar at a rich man's gate. Let it be your purpose only to keep your mind in the presence of the Lord. If it sometimes wanders and withdraws itself from Him, do not worry yourself about it. Worry and anxiety distract the mind rather than focus it. The will must bring the mind back in tranquility. If you persevere in this manner, God will be gracious to you.

Worldly people do not comprehend such truths. That is not surprising since they suffer like what they are, and not like Christians. They consider sickness as a curse of nature and not as a blessing from God. Seeing it only in that light, they find no redeeming value in it - only grief and distress. But those who consider sickness as coming from the hand of God see it as part of His mercy. They see it as the means that He employs for their salvation. Consequently they experience great sweetness and consolation in it.

I wish I could convince you that God is often, in one sense, nearer to us and more effectively present with us in sickness than in health. Rely on no other Physician. According to my understanding, He has the cure. Put all your trust in Him, and you will find that you will recover soon. We often delay healing by putting greater confidence in earthly physicians than in God. Whatever remedies you take will succeed only insofar as He permits. When pains come from God, only God can cure them. He often sends diseases of the body to cure diseases of the soul. Comfort yourself with the sovereign Physician of both soul and body.

Be satisfied with the condition in which God places you. However happy you may think I am, the truth is that I envy you. Pain and suffering would be a paradise to me if I were suffering with God. The greatest pleasures would be hell for me, if I were to enjoy them without God. My greatest comfort would be to suffer something for His sake.

If we continually practiced the presence of God, physical diseases would be greatly diminished. God permits us to suffer a little in order to purify our souls and help us continue with Him.

Be courageous. Offer your pain continually to God. Pray to Him for the strength to endure. Most importantly, maintain a habit of the awareness of God. Forget Him as seldom as you can. Adore Him in your illness. Offer yourself to Him repeatedly. When you are in the midst of suffering, beseech Him humbly and affectionately, as a child would implore his father, to conform you to His holy will. I shall try to assist you with my poor prayers.

God sometimes permits bodily diseases in order to cure problems of the soul.