The book “The Practice of the Presence of God,” by Brother Lawrence, played an important role in helping me learn to pray and be aware of God throughout the day.
I have found that practicing God’s presence is one secret to having a deeply satisfying, personal relationship with him. In brief, it involves being aware of him all through the day.
I have not arrived, I still have much to learn, but normally that describes my life. I practice God’s presence, and I can say from experience it is the only way to live.
Here is the story of how I learned it and how you can too.
My story of learning to practice God’s presence
Two books have been crucial in teaching me how to practice God’s presence.
First and most important of course is the Bible. That is the basis for all true knowledge of God, an inexhaustible source of instruction about God and a means of fellowship with him. More on that later.
Brother Lawrence and The Practice of the Presence of God
Second is a book I read a few years ago that God used to teach an approach to practicing God’s presence through prayer.
There is a spirit to this book that affected my heart. Just its title, The Practice of the Presence of God, gave me a new way of looking at prayer.
If you have grave concerns about many tenets of Roman Catholic theology, as I do, you might reject the book before reading because the author was a French monk some 400 years ago.1 But I believe the author, Brother Lawrence, who was not a church leader or theologian, had a genuine relationship with God through faith in Christ, despite some wrong beliefs.
Several people have translated the book, but I recommend the edition by Whitaker House, published in 1982. You can get it on Kindle or in paperback at Amazon, or from Whitaker House.
I also highly recommend Harold Myra’s 40-day devotional on the book published in 2017 by Discovery House, available in Kindle and paperback. It contains devotions written by Myra (former publisher and ceo at Christianity Today) and a modern paraphrase of The Practice of the Presence of God.
I’ve reread it numerous times because it affects my heart. I feel God’s love and am stirred to relate to him personally.
The best book
Throughout my life I have practiced God’s presence through a daily devotional time of Bible reading and prayer, which I still do.
I love this more than a good meal. It is my reference point for knowing God in my mind and spirit.
I know what it is like to feel his presence because in these times of devotion I hear his voice in Scripture. And that is a sure plumb line.
I know what the peace and the thoughts of God feel like in my soul because I have experienced them so often in these times alone with him. I typically invest 1–2 hours a day alone with God.
For much of my life, regrettably, I did not always carry God’s presence with me throughout the day, even though I was a pastor and an editor of Christian publications. I could have a great hour alone with God in the morning but then go all day without pausing to pray again.
I could fall into lingering fear, selfishness, resentment, or despair.
Learning to practice God’s presence has changed that.
Catching fire
In recent years there has been another strong influence on how I practice God’s presence. I’ve learned from several people much more about how to walk in God’s anointing.
Essentially this involves expressing ongoing verbal praise and thanksgiving throughout the day when possible, with a conscious effort to tune into God and maintain a sense of his presence.
Here is what that looks like. As I walk down the sidewalk, or wash dishes, or take a shower, or have some other unfocused time, you will hear me singing quietly, or saying phrases like “Hallelujah, thank you, Lord, hallelujah, praise you, Father, for your mercy, hallelujah, holy, holy, holy is the Lord” and so on, or praying in tongues.
And with this praying, there is urgency, intensity, fire, passion. Connection with God.
I learned this by praying with others and sensing their spirit. This too is God’s presence.
It is more than a thought about God, but a feeling for God that is expressed verbally. And it is more than human emotion, for God’s Spirit inhabits our praises.
The Spirit of God flows like a river and burns like a fire.
Footnote
- I believe strongly in the truths of the Reformation, that we are justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.