practicing presence

I found myself in the classics section of Lifeway again the other day. It's my favorite spot. There are books like E.M. Bounds Power through Prayer, Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Cost of Discipleship, The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, God Smuggler by Brother Andrew, Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis, and the entire works of C.S. Lewis. Who wouldn't love that shelf?

There are still a good amount of books that I haven't read yet on that shelf, so when I visit it, I always look for what I want to read next. This time brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God jumped out at me. I'd heard good things about it, and with a title like that I couldn't resist. [not to mention it was $6]

I feel like when God is showing me something, it is usually something that lingers awhile. Lately His presence has been something that I've been noticing & learning about over and over. 

I by no means live out of the awareness of His presence continuously throughout the day, but lately He's  been showing me glimpses of what that looks like. Which, I've found highlights the times where I'm not living from his presence, making it more noticeable. 

Anyway, I read brother Lawrence's book today [it's only 95 small pages long]. I highly recommend it. His life was literally lived out with God daily. Minute by minute. I want that closeness with God. I want to pray continually. I want my everyday thoughts to be turned into conversation with the Lord. I want my eyes taken off of myself and my desires. That is no place for my focus to be. 

So I feel encouraged by the example of faith that brother Lawrence set. It makes me see that communion with God like that is attainable through surrender. I'll leave you with some quotes from the book. I hope this is as encouraging to you as it was to me :)

"My preference is to retire with Him to the deepest part of my soul as often as possible. When I am with Him there, nothing frightens me, but the slightest diversion away from Him is painful to me"

"Even suffering will be easier when we are with Him, but without Him, even the greatest pleasures will be joyless"

[spoken of brother Lawrence]"He was a citizen of heaven, not concerned with things on earth"

"Brother Lawrence's only means of going to God was to do everything for the love of Him. He was thus indifferent about what he did. All that mattered was that he did it for God. It was He, and not the activity, that he considered. He knew that the more the thing he did was opposed to his natural inclination, the greater was the merit of his love in offering to God. He knew that the pettiness of the deed would not diminish the worth of his offering, because God- needing nothing- considers in our works only the love that accompanies them"