The Practice of the Presence of God

“He would tell the Lord endearingly and often that he felt deceived, because his Christian walk had thus far been so pleasant and not filled with suffering as he had anticipated.”

Although Brother Lawrence had anticipated punishment from God for his flaws, he instead found mercy that surprised him. This quote expresses Lawrence’s strongly positive view of the spiritual life. Lawrence’s spirituality stresses God’s mercy and forgiveness and the positive benefits from seeking God’s presence. This introduces the text’s theme of Spiritual Humility and the Rejection of Ego.

“Lord, I will never be able to do that if You don’t help me.”

An expression of Brother Lawrence’s sense of humility and sense of dependence before God, a necessary first step to achieving an awareness of God’s presence. Lawrence said this habitually before embarking on a good deed, and found immediately that he had the strength to achieve it. Thus, the quote illustrates the effectiveness of Lawrence’s spiritual method.

”All we really have to do is to love God and rejoice in Him.”

This quote conveys the simple, minimalist nature of Brother Lawrence’s spirituality. In God’s eyes, the intention of a person’s heart matters more than the weaknesses into which they might fall because of temptation. If they get the intention right—loving God—everything else will follow.