B. Our Practice of God's Presence
Chapter Three
THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE oF Gop
A. The Author
His Times a) Church and State b) Peasants in Lorraine
His CoNVERSION
His Work
His Sprrirua Lire
B. Our Practice of God's Presence
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DEVOTED LIFE
REDEDICATION AND GROWTH
C. Legacies From the Author
On A Way or Settinc THE Minp ENTIRELY ON Gop
On AN INTERPRETATION OF LOVE FOR GoD
On Directinc Aux Activities Unto Gop
On PRAYER
On FaitH AND CERTAINTY
On Humiuity
Se ee ENS
On A Way oF LIFE
D. Brother Lawrence's Challenge to Us
More than fifty times in the Gospels, Jesus says that he does nothing, says nothing, even thinks nothing, except what his Father gives him to do and say and think. To be like Jesus means to be like that. Probably nobody in all the last 2,000 years has come closer to that experience of Jesus than Brother Lawrence. His story is especially touching because he learned to walk with his Lord in the kitchen while wasbing dishes.
FRANK LAUBACH
chapter three
the practice Of
the presence Of Goo
the author
It has been more than two hundred and fifty years since Nicholas Herman, whom we know as Brother Lawrence, lived his quiet, unobtrusive life. The quality of his life was such that those who knew him were convinced that in a very real sense he walked and talked with God.
How did it come about that this obscure man who was neither philosopher nor scholar acquired that treasure, that more abundant life, sought vainly by many who went before him and by many who follow? Shall we find several volumes in which are carefully prepared ryles of conduct, formulas, methods of procedure for living a holy life? No, there is nothing of this kind for us. We have only excerpts from four Conversations, sixteen short Letters, a short paper called Maxims which was found among his effects, and two brief sketches of the Life and the Character of Nicholas Herman, published after his death.'
However, these have such warmth and depth and offer such encouragement and promise that few are able to 1From "The Practice of the Presence of God'' by Brother Lawrence. Arranged and edited by Douglas V. Steere, p. 4. Copyright, 1950 by The Upper Room, Nashville, Tennessee. Used by permission.
AN INTRODUCTION TO FIVE SPIRITUAL CLASSICS
read them without experiencing a glow of hope, a rekindling of faith, a pensive longing to give themselves to God entirely and let love for him motivate every thought and act, as did Brother Lawrence.
The preface to the original French edition of his writings (A.D. 1692) reads as follows: Although death has carried off last year many of the Order of the Carmelite Dechausses, brethren who have left in dying rare legacies of lives of virtue; Providence, it would seem, has desired that the eyes of men should be cast chiefly on Brother Lawrence. ...
Several persons having seen a copy of one of his letters, have desired to see more; and to meet this wish, care has been taken to collect as many as possible of those which Brother Lawrence wrote with his own hand....
All Christians will find herein much that is edifying. Those in 'the thick of the great world will learn from these letters how greatly they deceive themselves, seeking for peace and joy in the false glitter of the things that are seen, yet temporal: those who are seeking the Highest Good will. . . . see herein a brother, busied as they are in outward affairs, who in the midst of the most exacting occupations, has learnt so well to accord action with contemplation, that for the space of more than forty years he hardly ever turned from the Presence of God(p. 2).?
2Brother Lawrence—His Letters and Conversations—on the Practice of the Presence of God. Used by permission of The Forward Movement Publications, Cincinnati, Ohio. These paragraphs and all other selections from this booklet quoted subsequently are used by permission. All quotations are identified only by the number of the page on which they appear in the classic, as in this instance.
THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD
his times
One of the reasons most frequently given by Christians of our time for failure to live more godly lives is the character of the highly socialized and scientific age in which we live. We think of life as being much more complex in the twentieth century than in the seventeenth; that occurrences which might have produced awe in the Christian of that time are easily explained now by science; that the multiple demands upon our thoughts, time, and energy preclude opportunity for the intense spiritual experiences described by Brother Lawrence. If we now take a brief look at the times in which he lived, we shall find that those times were strangely like our own.
Nicholas Herman was born of peasant parents in the French province of Lorraine in 1611. For more than a hundred years the breach between Catholics and Protestants had been growing. There was much disorder and religious bitterness in Europe. The Edict of Nantes (1598), during the reign of Henry IV(of the Bourbons), had ended a series of civil wars during which French Huguenots had been persecuted. The edict gave religious freedom and full civil rights to Protestants. The problem, however, was far from being solved. Not only was there strife because of the breaking off of "reformed" churches from the Catholic body, but also because of the separation of civil and religious powers. Civil rulers still claimed divine right to rule and insisted upon political supremacy in their own branches of the Church. Many church officials, popes and cardinals, became shrewd and sometimes unscrupulous politicians in
AN INTRODUCTION TO FIVE SPIRITUAL CLASSICS
their efforts to perpetuate a Roman Catholic hierarchy superior to that of kings. church and state
The rulers were faced with a pressing problem, that of granting religious tolerance without interfering with national unity.
For the first few years(1618-1620)of the Thirty Years' War, the policy of France was indecisive. However, when the first period of the war had left Germany spent and prostrate, and when word was received of the frightful massacre of Protestants in Italy in 1620 with the approval of the cardinal, the king of France, Louis XIII, became aroused. Being a strict Catholic, Louis doubtless would have preferred supporting the Catholic countries, but circumstances and the general tendencies of the time were too strong for his preferences. Under the guidance of Cardinal Richelieu, France became first a secondary power and then a principal in the Thirty Years' War.
There is not space enough in this study for a detailed description of the turbulence of the seventeenth century: the bloody religious wars, with the persecution and massacre of the Huguenots; the changes in boundaries affecting rulers and peoples; the struggles for power; the social wretchedness; the political plots and their ramifications. , "History is like the face of a clock; we see the hands that move and mark the time, but not the wheels and secret springs whereby it goes."
THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD
peasants in Lorraine
Into this violent world was born Nicholas Herman. There was, however, a way of life far removed from royal courts and fields of battle, the life of the peasant folk in the province of Lorraine. This was a simple life, but one requiring much hard work, because the livelihood of the people depended upon their care of crops and cattle. Living standards were low. Families accepted as inevitable the discomforts of life. Changing weather might destroy crops; disease might kill cattle; but both disasters were part of life. Nevertheless, life in Lorraine offered more than hard work, anxiety, hunger, and other distress.
The winters were cold and misty, but the summers were pleasant. There were in Lorraine plowed fields, orchards, farms, streams, flowers, and trees.
There was an intricate design in the warp and woof of the seventeenth century. The Dozai(Roman Catholic) translation of the Bible first appeared in France at Douai in 1610(the New Testament had been printed at Rheims in 1582). In the same year that Nicholas Herman was born(1611), the King James Version of the Bible was printed in England.
This was the age of Bunyan and his Pil grim's Progress; of Francis Bacon, the statesman and philosopher; of Descartes, the father of modern philosophy; and of Alexander Pope and his Essay on Man. The Reformation had come; and, seeking a place to worship God according to the dictates of their own hearts, men had begun to colonize a new world, America.
cAN INTRODUCTION TO FIVE SPIRITUAL CLASSICS
his conversion
It is true that God manifests himself to us in many ways. The vision of God in the Temple filled Isaiah with awe. Because of it, he rededicated his life to the doing of God's will. Paul became a changed man after his experience on the Damascus road. There was no mistaking the light from heaven or the voice which admonished and directed him; there was no question of his blindness. Not every person who comes to God comes by way of an experience involving supernatural phenomena. However, without exception, all who come to him tell of a changed attitude and new outlook on life. Small things become great, and great things become small. A familiar object suddenly may take on a new appearance; an old process becomes awe-inspiring, and old ideas take on new meaning and interpretation.
Persons have been reborn into the realm of spirituality by way of seeing a starlit night, a tree, a flower, a mountain. Nicholas Herman, from the information we are able to gather, did not have a spectacular conversion. When he was eighteen years old, perhaps he took a walk one winter day. He had seen the countryside of Lorraine every winter, cold and barren, with trees stripped of leaves, and bushes without flowers or foliage. To poor people, winter usually means hardship, sacrifice, scarcity, and need. It is no wonder, then, that the boy could gain fresh courage by remembering that the tree he observed now was once not bare and brown but green and full of leaves. It was doubtless the thought that the tree would be renewed that gave rise to meditation. How would it be renewed? By the power of God
THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD
by whom the world is constantly renewed. "And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit. ..after his kind. i eae E12).
No longer did Nicholas see the barren, cold countryside, but what it would be like by God's power, for God is Nature's architect. There would be green woods, lush meadows, sparkling waters, buttercups and clover, cherry trees in bloom, cowslips and dandelions turning green fields to gold. It was in this spirit that Nicholas took his first step toward God. A friend to whom Nicholas gave an account of his conversion experience later wrote the following as what Brother Lawrence had told him: .. he received a high view of the providence and power of God, which has never since been effaced from his soul. That this view had perfectly set him loose from the world, and kindled in him such a love for God that he could not tell whether it had increased during the more than forty years he had lived since (p. 5). : his work
There is scant information concerning the years between the conversion of Nicholas and his entering the monastery. He was a professional soldier in the Thirty Years' War. We do not know why he decided to join in the fighting. Did he do it out of sheer boredom and in search of excitement and adventure? Was he using this opportunity to rid himself of parental control and gain his independence? Had earning a livelihood become such a task that he decided to see if he could help
AN INTRODUCTION TO FIVE SPIRITUAL CLASSICS
the family by becoming a mercenary? Was it out of patriotism? We have no way of knowing the answers to these questions.
f . We do know that Nicholas must have had some painful experiences as a soldier: Here he was compelled to learn how cheap life had become in a war that abused, trampled, robbed, shot, hanged, burned and starved men, women, and children alike, and where there were no lines between soldiers and civilians in the misery that cut the population. . . .almost in half.
There were no international rules governing the treatment of captured enemy soldiers or civilians. One account states that Nicholas was once captured and charged with spying. He denied the charges with such unconcern and indifference that the penalty of hanging was not carried out. As he was severely wounded in the leg, he was forced to give up soldiering, and returned home. For the rest of his life, he experienced periods of discomfort with the leg and walked with a decided limp.
He had a clear understanding of the problems facing a soldier, for in one of his letters he wrote of a soldier: Let him think of Him as often as he can, especially in the greatest dangers. A little lifting up of the heart suffices. A little remembrance of God, one act of inward worship, though upon a march and sword in hand, are prayers which, however short, are nevertheless very acceptable to God; and far from lessening a soldier's courage in occasions of danger, they best serve to fortify it(p. 36).
3Steere, op. cit., p. 5.
THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD
Later, Nicholas found employment as a footman in the household of a Frenchman, Monsieur Fieubert, attending the carriages and assisting the butler. Nicholas tells of how awkward he was at the job, how he broke almost everything he put his hands on. He was greatly embarrassed and perturbed by fe awkwardness and finally gave up the job.
How far Nicholas had Aine in his spiritual life at this time we do not know. It is obvious that he was not satisfied with his spiritual status and had the urge to devote his entire life to religious pursuits. He had planned to live the life of a hermit, but after living alone for a while he decided that the experiment was not successful. He had an uncle who was a member of the Carmelite Order and encouraged him to join it.(The Carmelite Order was founded on Mt. Carmel about 1156.) Nicholas applied for membership and was accepted, perhaps in 1651, when he was forty years old. We may assume that he took the vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience as did all who entered a religious order. He became a lay brother, was assigned to kitchen duty in the Paris monastery, and was given the name of Brother Lawrence. his spiritual life
What is so distinctive about the life of Brother Lawrence? He could lay no claim to fame because of his parentage. He produced no new system of theology, no - new philosophical concepts. He did discover a way of life! Those who observed his way or conversed with him knew that he had found that which many have sought,
«AN INTRODUCTION TO FIVE SPIRITUAL CLASSICS
a richer, more abundant life through the abiding presence of God.
Cardinal de Noailles sent his vicar, Monsieur de Beaufort, to ask Brother Lawrence how one could learn to live a virtuous life—the vicar later recorded excerpts from four conversations with Brother Lawrence—and from him received a simple but profound precept: That we should establish in ourselves a sense of God's Presence by continually conversing with Him(p. 6).
Brother Lawrence further explains this idea in his spiritual maxims: That practice which is alike the most holy, the most general, and the most needful in the spiritual life is the practice of the Presence of God. It is the schooling of the soul to find its joy in His Divine Companionship, holding with Him at all times and at every moment humble and loving converse, without set rule or stated method, in all time of our temptation and tribulation, in all time of our dryness of soul and disrelish of God, yes, and even when we fall into unfaithfulness and actual sin.
Since you cannot but know that God is with you in all you undertake, that He is at the very depth and centre of your soul, why should you not thus pause an instant from time to time in your outward business, and even in the act of prayer, to worship Him within your soul, to praise Him, to entreat His aid, to offer Him the service of your heart, and give Him thanks for all His loving-kindnesses and tender-mercies ?4 'Brother Lawrence, Spiritual Maxims and Gathered Thoughts (London: H. R. Allenson, Ltd.), pp. 14, 15, and 16. Used by permission.
THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD
It is interesting to observe that Brother Lawrence does not attempt to set up rules or a system of ethics or morals. He simply set out to let God possess his entire and complete being. Although the customary pattern of monastery life called for prayer, devotion, and self-negation, Brother Lawrence went beyond these. His selfdenial consisted of those practices that are required and expected of a monk—giving up pleasurable food and all activities of entertainment—but Brother Lawrence pursued this course with a complete forgetfulness of self. He learned to live with God, to keep his mind constantly on God.
OUR PRactice Of GOd's PRESENCE
As we seek to know God better, each of us discovers that there are no hard and fast rules whereby we may attain this goal, and that it is not reached solely through our endeavors. We have been told that we shall learn to express our faith not by words alone but by our every thought and act, that this faith accepts the promises of God with unwavering trust, and that gradually our values will change so that Christ will become to us the all, Day and night our meditations will be of him, and our actions will be controlled by him. That this achievement is not just for the scholarly and learned is exemplified in Brother Lawrence. God has often used the weak and the simple to confound the strong and the wise. His promise to fill our lives to overflowing is for everyone who sincerely hungers and thirsts after righteousness. The well is never dry. The source of supply is adequate; it is in fact as limitless as God himself.
cAN INTRODUCTION TO FIVE SPIRITUAL CLASSICS
If we think of Brother Lawrence as only an idealist, if we miake excuses for ourselves by contrasting our times with his, if we feel that the goal he reached is beyond our power to attain, then any effort we may make will be half-hearted and doomed to failure. On the other hand, if we believe with all our heart and mind and strength the words of Jesus, we know that such an attainment is possible for all Christians, and that it is desited by God. "Abide in me, and I in you" (John15:4).
ChaRacteRIstics Of the devoted Life
Perhaps it would be well for us now, at this very moment, to resolve to explore new spiritual realms for a more meaningful, a richer, and a fuller life. A good way to begin is to take a look backwards at our own conversion.
The conversion experience has been variously described by Christians as a distinctively different occurrence defying comparison. St. Francis of Assisi, upon his conversion, was filled with utter compassion and gentleness and desire to serve others. There are no writings by him as to how he lived in the consciousness of God, but no one more clearly demonstrated a way. By giving up all and going forth in meekness and poverty, he set for others an outstanding example. In everything common, he saw the Divine and lived a life of continual dedication. Accredited to him.is this beautiful prayer: I beseech Thee, O God, that the flaming yet sweet power of Thy love may wrest and absorb my soul from all things that are not Heaven's; that I may die out of love
THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD
of Thy love—as Thou didst descend to die for love of my love.®
St. Francis said of prayer, "In prayer we converse with God, and hear Him speak, and we live the life of the Angels... ."°
Meister Eckhart declared:
There is a capacity in my soul which is unreservedly open to God. Of this I am as sure as that I live. Nothing is as close to me as God. He is nearer to me than I am to my self. His presence is my being.'
It would seem that God has granted to some the blessing of an unclouded vision of himself. Is this because these persons are willing to do more and see more than others? Have we not at some time in our Christian experience entered into the Holy of Holies, into the very presence of God himself? Was the experience shortlived ? Have we tried to know that blessed and supreme ecstasy? Or have we rationalized and said that in a world such as ours one must be practical and keep one's feet on the ground, that such experiences cannot be lasting? Brother Lawrence's experiences and those of many others tend to indicate that it is possible literally to practice the presence of God.
REDEDICATION and GROoWwth
Our first step may well be the reconsecration and rededication of our lives to God, with the conscious pur-
5Sheldon Cheney, Men Who Have Walked With God (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1945), p. 181. Used by permission.
8 bid. 70p. cit. p. 195.
cAN INTRODUCTION TO FIVE SPIRITUAL CLASSICS
pose of establishing a sense of God's presence with us at all times. We must not just quote glibly such passages as, 'Lo, I am with you always..." and "Where I am, there ye may be also."' God #s ever with us, but it remains for us neither to ignore his presence, nor. to forget it, nor to lose awareness of it. We must learn not to think of God as being with us only at certain times or in cettain places. Brother Lawrence discovered that God indeed dwells neither in certain mountains nor in Jerusalem's temple; rather he dwells in the hearts and minds of those who love him and who share their lives with him. God is in the tallest office building with its tons of brick, stone, steel, and cement. God is in the crowded streets of cities, in busses, trolleys, subways, stores. He is in the quiet park, on lakes and rivers. He is in the woods and mountains and streams. He is in the plowed fields, pastures, and farmyards. He is in our homes, be they palatial or humble. He is wzth us in our most precious moments, in moments of bitterest defeat, and in the monotony of everyday living. It is unfortunate that most of us acknowledge his presence only when we feel the need of it or when it is convenient for us to do so.
As we think of this new venture, are there doubts and reservations in our minds? Will it be less easy for us in our environment /iterally to practice His presence than it was for Brother Lawrence in the confines of a monastery? Must one be a mystic in order to have an experience similar to his? If by mystic we mean someone with a personal inner experience, then the answer is yes. The only sure way one can gain strength and life is through personal communion with God. Mysticism is not merely
THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD
a personal experience; it is a thought-out "doctrine or belief that direct knowledge of God, of spiritual truth," is possible through spiritual insight.
What wonderful insight Brother Lawrence possessed! What insight we may acquire if we are patient and faithful! legacies [Rom the author
Let us look now to see what help he offers in acquiring new spiritual insight. And let us not be discouraged, for he advised Monsieur de Beaufort: That we should not wonder, if, in the beginning, we often failed in our endeavors... .(p. 16). on a way Of Setting the mino entirely on God
Brother Lawrence's legacy to us has been neither a multiplicity of words, a system of thought, nor a ritual. He would have us know that not all virtue is to be found in any one method and that different methods succeed with different souls. He does answer for us the question as to whether Christianity can help us to live a good life. It is well that he has not offered a stereotyped spiritual process, for this we do not need. He demonstrated the way of "'total forgetfulness of self by having the mind set entirely on God and God's purposes, a readjustment of everything with God as the real center of all.'"*
8T. R. Glover, The Jesus of History (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, Inc., 1917), p. 71. Used by permission.
cAN INTRODUCTION TO FIVE SPIRITUAL CLASSICS
on an interpretation of love foR God
To us Brother Lawrence has bequeathed his understanding and interpretation of love. He "resolved to make the love of God the end of all his actions. .. .That he was pleased when he could take up a straw from the ground for the love of God... .(p. 7).
Once he was so troubled about his soul's welfare that he felt that he would be lost, but happily ceased from worrying after he reasoned in this manner: I engaged in a religious life only for the love of God, and I have endeavored to act only for Him; whatever becomes of me, whether I be lost or saved, I will always continue to act purely for the love of God. I shall have this good at least, that till death I shall have done all that is in me to love Him(p. 8).
On OIRECTING all activities UNTO GOO
Although Brother Lawrence had an aversion to the menial tasks in the kitchen, he accustomed himself to do everything for the love of God; and this he did without complaint for fifteen years, for he found "pleasure in every condition by doing little things for the love of God''(p. 10). Since he accepted willingly his obligation to love God in all things, he had no need to be told what to do. He was not discouraged by his faults but "confessed them to God" and "resumed his usual practice of love and adoration." He thought that all possible kinds of mortification might be practiced (fasting and other forms of self-negation), but if they were devoid
THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD
of the love of God, they were of no value.
Brother Lawrence relates:
That the most excellent method he had found of going to God was that of doing our common business without any view of pleasing men [Gal. 1.10; Eph. 6: 5-6], and (as far as we are capable) purely for the love of God (p. 16).
Having found in many books different methods of going to God, and divers practices of the spiritual life, I thought this would serve rather to puzzle me than facilitate what I sought after, which was nothing else than how to become wholly God's. This made me resolve to give the all for the all; so after having given myself wholly to God, to make all the satisfaction I could for my sins, I renounced, for the love of Him, everything that was not His, and I began to live as if there was none but He and I in the world (pp. 21-22).
Most of us have thought and talked often of God's love for us; of the gift of his Son, our Savior, and of the great love Jesus had for us in the laying down of his life. Seldom it is that many of us speak of our love for God. Not so, with Brother Lawrence. He maintains that to know God, we must often think of him, and when we come to Jove him, we shall then also think of him often, for our hearts will be with our treasure. This is true, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matt. 6:21).
We need to recognize the reciprocity of love and desist from presuming that it is enough for God to love us. In a very real sense, God wants us to love him.
cAN INTRODUCTION TO FIVE SPIRITUAL CLASSICS
On pRayeérR
Brother Lawrence considered:
That it was a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times; that we are as strictly obliged to adhere to God by action in the time of action as by prayer in the season of prayer(p. 16).
.. his view of prayer was nothing else but a sense of the Presence of God, his soul being at that time insensible to everything but Divine Love; and that when the appointed times of prayer were past, he found no difference, because he still continued with God, praising and blessing Him with all his might, so that he passed his life in continual joy; yet hoped that God would give him somewhat to suffer when he should have grown stronger oJ cinbn
He expressed a similar view when he was questioned by his Superior in the monastery. At the beginning of his novitiate, he used the designated prayer time thinking of God, impressing upon his mind and heart ideas having to do with the divine existence. He used no time in studied reasonings and elaborate meditations. He resolved to live in a continual sense of God's presence and if possible never to forget him.
He proceeded about his work after filling his mind with thoughts of the Infinite Being; and, after considering his job requirements and fulfilling them, he spent every available moment in prayer—before, during, and after his tasks.
He/applied prayer to everything: prayers of thanks for God's benefits, small or great; prayers for pardon for his weaknesses; prayers for guidance and direction;
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prayers of praise and thanksgiving.
The time of business [said he} does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquillity as if I were upon my knees at the Blessed Sacrament (p. 20).
On first thought, nothing seems farther removed from the Sacrament of Holy Communion than the heat and bustle, the pots and pans in a kitchen. Those who knew Brother Lawrence attest to the fact that he recognized no such separation.
It is clear that to him prayer took on no liturgical form. He must certainly have obeyed his superiors in the monastery; yet he permitted nothing to cause him to deviate from his purpose. Prayer to him was not a crutch upon which to lean, not an art or science. He formed the holy habit of continuous prayer. We too may form this habit if we persevere.
Evelyn Underhill says of prayer:
In prayer, we open up our souls to the Divine energy and grace perpetually beating in on us; and receive that energy and grace, in order that it may be transmuted by our living zest into work—may cleanse, invigorate and slowly change us....
...all the machinery of prayer has but one very simple object—our loving intercourse with God....
In all normal cases, God feeds and leads the soul very gently. Growth is gradual.®
9Evelyn Underhill, Collected Papers, ed. Lucy Menzies (New York: Longmans, Green and Co., Inc., 1946), pp. 40, 41, and 44. Used by permission.
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Prayer may be of many kinds: the vocal prayer offered in an assembled gathering or congregation in which one person attempts to voice the prayers of all gathered, serving as a spokesman for communal needs and blessings; the unspoken prayer of meditation, with quiet and simple reflection; prayers of praise, adoration, hope, and aspiration; petitions for guidance and direction. Prayer is beautifully described in James Montgomery's poem "Prayer Is the Soul's Sincere Desire."*° Quiet prayer often takes us out of ourselves because of our ecstasy and intense awareness of God's presence.
Prayer is a spiritual activity. Prayer was life to Brother Lawrence, and life was prayer. We too must learn the real meaning and value of prayer, and ". . .in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God' (Phil. 4:6). Then we shall know the peace and contentment that Brother Lawrence knew, for ". . .the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:7). on faith and certainty
Brother Lawrence gives reassurance to all of us whose faith may not be strong. He had known "want of faith." There was a period of four years when he was not sure of salvation. He finally discovered that his trouble arose from lack of faith; once he recognized this, he simply "placed his sins betwixt him and God, as it were to tell Him that he did not deserve His favors. . . ."(p. 8).
10T he Methodist Hymnal, No. 303.
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He makes it clear that in his trouble he consulted God and gained reassurance because he lost his anxiety in the knowledge that the pardoning of sins is granted because of the blood of Jesus Christ. He therefore vowed to love him with all his heart. God seemed to have granted the greatest favors to the greatest sinners—this was a signal monument to his mercy.
We are doomed when the vision of God is withdrawn - from us. God wants our trust and honors it; from such we receive much grace. We demonstrate our faith in God when we are no longer worried and anxious, confident that as long as we are trying to do his will all things will work together for good.
The core of Christianity, according to Brother Lawrence, is made up of faith, hope, and love. Said he: .. all things are possible to him who believes. . less difficult to him who opes...easy to him who Joves....
From his example we learn to launch out on faith, to take God at his word and rely.on his promises. We can never know the extent of God's promises until we exercise our faith and accept his generous offers. on humility
News of the spiritual accomplishments of Brother Lawrence traveled throughout the community. Frequent requests came for interviews and letters explaining this practice of God's presence. Brother Lawrence had not gone about expounding and boasting of his success. It
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was that those with whom he had occasion to come in contact were able to observe how he lived. When the Mother of a religious order for women requested him to communicate with her to explain the method by which he arrived at the habitual sense of God's presence, he hesitated to do so, but because she was so persistent, he did it on the terms that she not show the letters to anyone.
Monsieur de Beaufort relates that in the very first conversation, Brother Lawrence led him to know that his only concern was to give light, if possible, to those desirous of serving God, but if this were not his (M. de Beaufort's) major interest, then he should not visit him again.
Brother Lawrence was called up by his Superior and questioned about his practice of God's presence. He hesitated to explain, thinking it rather presumptuous that a lay brother should teach or inform his Superior in the church.
His whole attitude was one of humility. His motives were pure and unselfish. He had discovered a method which helped him to know God better; he should share it with others, but not use it to bring popularity to himself. This gift to him, this discovery, was an undeserved favor which God had bestowed in abundance, along with many other blessings. None of his accomplishments reflected any credit on himself, for always he prayed this prayer: "Lord, I cannot do this unless thou enablest me,' and received more than sufficient strength.
Many times he went before God "'as a criminal before
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a judge," recognizing his guilt and expecting just punishment, but always, before much time had passed, his heart became aware of God as the Heavenly Father loving and caring for his children regardless of their weaknesses.
How can we be other than humble before God ? Whatever we have done is little compared with what we should have done. There are many things we have neglected to do. Much that we do is imperfectly done. It would be well for us to accept the suggestion of the Old Testament prophet: "...do justly. . love mercy, and. .. walk humbly with thy God' (Mic. 6:8). on a way of life
What we do over and over becomes easier with the doing. Brother Lawrence repeatedly reminds us that to live continuously in the presence of God is not easy: That in order to form a habit of conversing with God continually, and referring all we do to Him, we must at first apply to Him with some diligence; but that after a little care we should find His love inwardly excite us to it without any difficulty (p. 8).
He grants that at first the effort will require diligence, but he encourages us to go on regardless of the difficulties that may be encountered. He offers no crutch to lean upon. The need is for a resolute heart despite the difhculties. He used his will to drive away from his mind everything that was capable of interrupting his thought of God.
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We need to watch lest useless thoughts slip in to spoil our conversation with God. These should be rejected immediately, and when our thoughts wander, as they will, we should turn them back to things of God.
One does not become holy all at once. This should be a sobering but encouraging thought for us. Our growth and development are gradual. We must resolve to renounce everything that does not lead to God and learn to be absolutely dependent upon him. Brother Lawrence tells us that once this is begun, God gives "'as in a clear mirror," answers to our requests for guidance. There can be no doubt that the way to heaven lies in perfect resignation to God, a way in which we shall always find sufficient light for our conduct.
Brother Lawrence assures us that everyone can converse directly with God, some more closely than others, but that God knows what each of us is capable of doing. We should begin this new way of life, for "perhaps He is just waiting for one generous resolution on our part." This is too big a venture for us to attempt on our own, but we have the assurance that God will be with us to help us, and by constant practice we may some day perfect the habit of living moment by moment in the awareness of the presence of God.
What will be our reward after all our efforts, trials, and failures? Success must come to us, and at that time we shall know that no price was too high to pay for such a reward. .
11Steere, op. cit., p. 33.
THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD
God's treasure, he says, is like an infinite ocean, yet a little wave of feeling, passing with the moment, contents us. Blind as we are, we hinder God and Stop the current of His graces. But when He finds a soul permeated with a living faith, He pours into it His graces and favors plenteously; into the soul they flow like a torrent which, after being forcibly stopped against its. ordinary course, when it has found a passage, spreads with impetuosity its pentup flood (p. 24).
I say again, let us enter into ourselves. Time presses, there is no room for delay; our souls are at stake. . . .for, in the spiritual life, not to advance is to go back. But those whose spirits are stirred by the breath of the Holy Spirit go forward even in sleep (p. 25).
Brother lawrence's Challenge to Us
This new way of life will call for new attitudes resulting from our closer walk with God. We learn to accept—even to welcome—suffering. Brother Lawrence reasoned that after such great joy as he experienced in the presence of God, he should have a turn at pain and suffering. He was not uneasy about this, for he knew well that God would give him strength to bear whatever came upon him. In perfect resignation he resolved to endure anything for God.
Many Christians have learned to turn suffering and pain into blessings. Pain greater than any physical suffering can occur when, once having known God, we lose our closeness to him.
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Failure no longer has the sting of defeat when we learn to practice the presence of God. We simply confess our faults and weaknesses and admit our inability to do anything without God's help. The prayer used at such times by Brother Lawrence was: I shall never do otherwise {than fail} #f Thou leavest me to myself ; it is Thou who must hinder my falling, and mend what is amiss(p. 9).
When we act toward God and speak with him in simplicity, imploring his assistance in our affairs, there is no need for our continuing to worry. We simply rise after every fall and try again. ye ae RC SH 6
Anxieties have no place in our lives when we embark upon this new life. Brother Lawrence learned to be calm and unhurried in his everyday tasks, regardless of the confusion around him. He organized his tasks to do things "in season" and proceeded in the even tenor of his way. r oe
How wonderful it would be for us who live in a world of hustle and bustle to calm ourselves and not allow our environment to throw us off the course we have begun! It is possible to be more aware of God in day-to-day activities than in periods especially set aside for devotions.
Self-evaluation takes on a different complexion when made in terms of Christ's'way of life. As we attempt to examine what we really are, ",..we should find ourselves worthy of all contempt, and not deserving indeed the name of Christians... .we
THE PRACTICE OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD
should not wonder that troubles, temptations, oppositions, and contradictions happen to us from men' (p. 17). Many times God must humble us by pain and labor until our only recourse is to rely solely upon him and to do everything unto him.
There is much for us to learn from others who are striving as we are to know God better and to love him more. One who sought diligently this new way wrote: I felt God's love so powerfully upon me that only a mighty sorrow crept over me. . . sorrow for the past, mixed with regret....
Well, what did I do? I committed myself to him [God] in the profoundest belief that my individuality was going to be destroyed, that he would take all from me, and I was willing. In such a surrender lies the secret of a holy like:??
Brother Lawrence has pointed out a way for us, that we should "'so fix our will and our affections upon God as to permeate all that we do with this relationship."
There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful than that of a continual walk with God. Those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it; yet I do not advise you to do it from that motive. It is not pleasure which we ought to seek in this exercise; but let us do it from the motive of love, and because God would have us so walk.
Were I a preacher, I should above all other things, preach the practice of the Presence of God; and were La
12Leuba, "Studies in the Psychology of Religious Phenomena," American Journal of Psychology, VIL (1896), p. 375. Used by permission.
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"director," I should advise all the world to do it, so necessary do I think it, and so easy, too (pp. 26-27).
Let us accept this challenge to love God without reservation, strengthened by his love and this prayer: O Love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee; I give Thee back the life I owe, That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.1* ea O ee
13George Matheson. (See The Methodist Hymnal, No. 318.)