Soon after finishing “Respectable Sins” (see post below), I read through “The Practice of the Presence of God with Spiritual Maxims” of Brother Lawrence. Lawrence (born Nicholas Herman) was a Frenchman who lived part of his life in a monastery during the seventeenth century. You can read a biography about him here.
I was encouraged by Brother Lawrence’s words and example of loving God. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book.
“[It is] a shameful thing to quit His conversation to think of trifles and fooleries.”
“[In] order to form a habit of conversing with God continually, and referring all we do to Him, we must first apply to Him with some diligence… [After] a little care we should find His love inwardly excited us to it without any difficulty.”
“[It is] a great delusion to think that the times of prayer ought to differ from other times… [We] are as strictly obliged to adhere to God by action in the time of action as by prayer in the season of prayer.”
“Pray remember what I have recommended to you, which is, to think often on God, by day, by night, in your business, and even in your diversions. He is always near you and with you; leave Him not alone. You would think it rude to leave a friend alone who came to visit you; why, then, must God be neglected? Do not, then, forget Him, but think on Him often, adore Him continually, live and die with Him; this is the glorious employment of a Christian.”
“We must hinder our spirits’ wandering from him upon any occasion. We must make our heart a spiritual temple, wherein to adore Him incessantly. We must watch continually over ourselves, that we may not do nor say nor think anything that may displease Him.”
“You are young, my brethren; profit therefore I beseech you from my confession, that I cared too little to employ my early years for God. Consecrate all yours to His Love. If I had only known Him sooner, if I had only had some one to tell me then what I am telling you, I should not have so long delayed in loving Him. Believe me, count as lost each day you have not used in loving God.”
I recommend this book if you are struggling to apply the commands “Pray continually” (I Thessalonians 5:17), “Set your heart and mind on things above” (Colossians 3:1-2), and “Be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray” (I Peter 4:7).
Brother Lawrence wrote much about the power of prayer, but he did not write about how Scripture changes (sanctifies) us. This was the only weakness that I found in his message. Jesus knew the transforming power of Scripture when he prayed for his disciples in John 17:17, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” I thank God for really changing my thoughts and attitude by reading and thinking about verses and passages in the Bible–I know some of the sanctifying power that Jesus prayed for.
In John 4:24, Jesus declared, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” Prayer is important, but studying the Word cannot be neglected. Of course, I gave Brother Lawrence grace while I read because he was a monk–I expect that he did know the Bible well.
If you’re interested in this book, go ahead and read it. Just remember that one weakness I wrote about, and then be encouraged and challenged by the main message.
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