The Practice of the Presence of God In Modern English

by Brother Lawrence

That awareness of God had never dimmed. This experience had perfectly set him free from this world.

We ought to awaken faith. It is regrettable that we have so little faith.

All things are equal to a soul truly surrendered to God.

To arrive at such surrender to God, we should pay attention to the human passions that mingle with the spiritual desires within us.

Lawrence said that he had always been governed by love without thought of self.

For a long time he was troubled by the thought that he would be damned.

He knew that he had an obligation to love God in all things, and he endeavored to do so.

“Useless thoughts spoil everything,” he said. All trouble began there.

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.

The worst that could happen to him was to lose that sense of the presence of God,

In the beginning of the spiritual life, we ought to be faithful in doing our duty and denying ourselves. After that, unspeakable pleasures followed.

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.

The spiritual life is neither an art nor a science.

Our sanctification does not depend upon changing what we do, but in doing for God’s sake what we normally do for our own sake.

It was a great delusion to think that times of prayer ought to be different than other times.

The whole substance of religion is faith, hope, and love. By the practice of these we become united to the will of God.

When we begin the spiritual life we should thoroughly examine what we are.

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

I resolved to give all for the All.