The Practice of the Presence of God

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Sin hinders everything now, especially man’s experience of God’s presence. Because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve are now exiles; their mission is in shambles as they stand outside of Eden. The presence of God they once knew freely is no longer free.

Presence of God - Goodreads The Practice of the Presence of God - Goodreads

That like the tree, all of us - in our ordinary, unoccupied state, stripped of all our endless diversions and distractions - will remain denuded of all REAL and LASTING comforts, in empty surroundings, unless God steps in. If we are honest, many of us can think of God as our “magic genie” from time to time. We keep him on the shelf until troubles arise or there is something our neighbor has that we really want. The problem is, real relationships don’t work this way—especially with the triune God. The Lord over all will not be left on the shelf of anyone’s life. I must know, love and serve God in this world that I may gain the happiness of heaven.’ (Baltimore Catechism) It is not necessary for being with God to be always at church. We may make an oratory of our heart wherein to retire from time to time to converse with Him in meekness, humility, and love. Every one is capable of such familiar conversation with God, some more, some less. He knows what we can do." As a humble cook, Brother Lawrence learned an important lesson through each daily chore: The time he spent in communion with the Lord should be the same, whether he was bustling around in the kitchen—with several people asking questions at the same time—or on his knees in prayer. He learned to cultivate the deep presence of God so thoroughly in his own heart that he was able to joyfully exclaim, “I am doing now what I will do for all eternity. I am blessing God, praising Him, adoring Him, and loving Him with all my heart.”If I would have stopped reading about 3/4 of the way through, I probably would have given this book three stars instead of two.

Experiencing the Presence of God: Teachings from the Book of Experiencing the Presence of God: Teachings from the Book of

When we are in doubt, God never fails to show us the right way to go, as long as our only goal is to please Him and show our love for Him.” The Practice of the Presence of God is a book of collected teachings of Brother Lawrence (born Nicolas Herman), a 17th-century Carmelite friar, compiled by Father Joseph de Beaufort. The compilation includes letters, as well as records of his conversations kept by Brother Lawrence's interlocutors. The basic theme of the book is the development of an awareness of the presence of God. There is no doubt that this man was devoted to loving God, but it is doubtful that he was much devoted to loving people the way Jesus did. Christ calls his disciples to be people who are ready to live godly lives in front of others as before the face of God. There is a difference between saying “God is everywhere,” and saying “God is here.” The former is the default category for most Christians. We talk about God’s presence being inescapable and that he is “everywhere present” (Ps 139:5-12; 1 Kings 8:27).

But there is a problem, isn’t there? Adam and Eve replace blessings for curses when they eat the forbidden fruit. These curses cut right to the heart of who they are and what they were made to do. For Eve, pain overwhelms the promise of a people. For Adam, perspiration and thorns will impede the promise of place.