Book Review: The Practice of the Presence of God

The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

One of my goals this year…is to intentionally practice the presence of God in all things.

  • Fame and greatness are relative values and often a delusion and a snare, depending upon circumstances and an attitude of mind.
  • Useless thoughts spoil all; that the mischief began there; but that we ought to reject them as soon as we perceived their impertinence to the matter in hand, or our salvation, and return to our communion with God.
  • That the most excellent method he had found of going to God was that of doing our common business without any view of pleasing mean, and (as far as we are capable) purely for the love of God.
  • All things are possible to him who believes; they are less difficult to him who hopes; they are more easy to him who loves and still more easy to him who perseveres in the practice of these three virtues.
  • The end we ought to propose to ourselves is to become, in this life, the most perfect worshipers of God we can possibly be, as we hope to be through all eternity.
  • We have a God who is infinitely gracious and knows all about our wants.
  • I know that for the right practice of it the heart must be empty of all other things, because God will possess the heart alone; and as He cannot possess it alone without emptying it of all besides, so neither can He act there, and do in it what He pleases, unless it be left vacant to Him.
  • One way to recollect the mind easily in the time of parer, and preserve it more in tranquility, is not to let it wander too far at other times.  You should keep it strictly in the presence of God; and being accustomed to think of Him often, you will find it easy to keep your mind calm in the time of prayer, or at least to recall it from its wanderings.
  • We cannot escape the dangers which abound in life without the actual and continual help of God.  Let us, then, pray to Him for it continually.  How can we pray for Him without being with Him?  How can we be with Him but in thinking of Him often?  And how can we often think of Him but by a holy habit which we should form of it?
  • Loves sweetens pains; and when one loves God, one suffers for His sake with joy and courage.

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