This is a book summary of The Practice of the Presence of God In Modern English by Brother Lawrence & Marshall Davis (Amazon).
Here’s a short video clip of Rupert Spira reading from the book The Practice of the Presence of God In Modern English by Brother Lawrence & Marshall Davis:
Quick Housekeeping:
- All content in “quotation marks” is from the author (otherwise it’s paraphrased).
- All content is organized into my own themes (not the author’s chapters).
- Emphasis has been added in bold for readability/skimmability.
Book Summary Contents:
Real Prayer: The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence & Marshall Davis (Book Summary)
About Brother Lawrence
“It was a great delusion to think that times of prayer ought to be different than other times. It is just as important to adhere to God by action in the time of action, as by prayer in time of prayer. His prayer was nothing other than a sense of the presence of God.”
- “Brother Lawrence was born Nicolas Herman in 1611 in the town of HĂ©rimĂ©nil in the French Lorraine. Born into a poor family, he received little formal education as a child. As a young man, he joined the army and fought in the Thirty Years’ War. At the age of eighteen, while in military service, Herman had an experience of God that began his spiritual journey.”
- “During winter, Herman saw a barren tree, stripped of leaves and fruit. While contemplating the upcoming springtime and the transformation that would happen to the tree, a transformation of his soul occurred. His friend and biographer described it in these words: ‘At that moment he saw clearly the Providence and Power of God.’ Brother Lawrence had awakened to the Presence of God. That awareness of Divine Presence continued unabated for the rest of his life.”
- “He said that all bodily spiritual disciplines and exercises are useless. All that is needed to bring us to union with God is love. He had pondered this subject much, and concluded that the shortest way to God was to go straight to Him by a continual exercise of love and doing everything for His sake.”
- “He spent the hours appointed for private prayer in thinking of God. The purpose of this was to convince his mind, and deeply impress upon his heart, the reality of Divine existence. He surrendered himself to an attitude of faithful devotion and insight rather than reasoning and thinking. By this simple and sure method, he practiced the knowledge and love of God, resolving to use every effort to live in a continual sense of His Presence, and if possible, never to forget Him. When he had prayerfully filled his mind with an attitude of great devotion of that infinite Being, he went to his work in the monastery kitchen as a cook. He considered what the job required, and when and how each thing was to be done. Then he spent all his time at work, as well before and after his work, in prayer.”
Working
“I would apply my mind carefully to the presence of God, even when I was in the midst of my work. I considered God to be always with me and often in me.”
- “At all times – every minute of every hour, even at the busiest time of my work – I drove from my mind everything that was capable of interrupting my thought of God.”
- “Train yourself to worship Him and seek His grace. Offer Him your heart from time to time in the midst of your daily work. Do it every minute of the day, if you can. Do not restrict yourself to certain religious rules or forms of devotion. Instead act with a general trust in God, with love and humility.”
- “We must go about our daily activities quietly, calmly, and lovingly, asking Him to bless the work of our hands.”
- “What offering is more acceptable to God than to, periodically throughout the day, leave behind the things of our outward senses and withdraw within to worship Him in the secret place of the soul? By doing this we destroy the love of self, which can survive only among the things of sense. These times of quiet retirement with God rid us unconsciously of self-love.”
- “I recommend that you meditate often on God, day and night, during business and recreation. He is always near you and with you; do not leave Him alone. You would consider it rude to ignore a friend who came to visit you. Then why neglect God? Do not forget Him. Meditate on Him often. Adore Him continually. Live and die with Him. This is the glorious vocation of a Christian.”
Praying
“The time of work is not different for me than the time of prayer. In the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several people are calling out at the same time for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the Blessed Sacrament.”
- “Know that God is with you in everything you do. He is at the very depth and center of your soul. Why not pause for a moment from time to time in the midst of your busyness, even during the act of prayer, to worship Him within your soul?”
- “How can we pray to Him without being with Him? How can we be with Him unless we think of Him often? And how can we think of Him often unless we make this a holy habit?”
- “I worshipped Him as often as I could, keeping my mind in His holy Presence. Whenever I noticed that my mind had wandered, I brought it back to Him. I found this very difficult, and yet I continued in the practice, without feeling guilty when my mind wandered involuntarily. I made this my constant exercise all day long, whether it was the appointed time of prayer or not.”
- “It is the most spiritual, the most real, the most free, and the most life-giving form of prayer.”
- “At other times during prayer, I feel all my spirit and all my soul lifted up without any intent or effort on my part. My soul feels as if it were suspended and firmly fixed in God, as in its center and place of rest.”
- “I have stopped practicing all forms of devotion and set prayers, except those which I am obliged to participate in.”
- “Use prayers such as: ‘My God, I am wholly Yours. O God of Love, I love You with all my heart. Lord, make my heart even as Yours.'”
Desiring
“Sometimes my thoughts wander away from God by necessity or infirmity. But soon an inner desire brings me back to God. This inward yearning is so delightful and delicious that I am ashamed to describe it.”
- “May all our energy be devoted to knowing God. The more one knows Him, the more one desires to know Him. Knowledge is commonly understood as the measure of love. The deeper and more extensive our knowledge is, the greater will be our love.”
- “Sometimes I consider myself as a stone before a sculptor, who is making a statue. I present myself to God, and I desire Him to make His perfect image in my soul, and make me entirely like Himself.”
- “If we desire to enjoy the peace of paradise in this life, we must accustom ourselves to intimate, humble, loving communion with Him.”
- “The soul which enjoys God desires nothing but Him.”
- “I desire only Him, and to be wholly devoted to Him.”
Suffering
“Pain and suffering would be a paradise to me if I were suffering with God. The greatest pleasures would be hell for me, if I were to enjoy them without God. My greatest comfort would be to suffer something for His sake.”
- “I am always happy. Everyone else suffers.”
- “God permits us to suffer a little in order to purify our souls and help us continue with Him.”
- “We must steadfastly believe, and never doubt, that all suffering is for our good.”
- “When our minds are focused on God, suffering will be filled with peace and solace.”
- “When one loves God, one suffers for His sake with joy and courage.”
- “When we are with Him, even sufferings will be sweet and pleasant to us. Without Him even the greatest pleasures will seem like cruel punishments. Praise God for everything!”
- “How sweet it is to suffer with God! However great the suffering may be, we receive it with love. It is paradise to suffer and be with Him.”
- “If the ship of our soul is still tossed with winds and storms, let us awake the Lord, who sleeps in it, and He will quickly calm the sea.”
Willing
“I cannot describe what happens within me now. There is no suffering or difficulty because I have no will but God’s will. I attempt to accomplish God’s will in all things. I am so surrendered to God that I would not pick up a straw from the ground against His will, or from any other motive but love of Him.”
- “All who aspire to union with the Divine should be careful concerning the will. Whatever is exciting pleases the will; that is the way the will works. Remember that God is beyond our understanding. To be united with God it is necessary to deny the will all tastes and pleasures, both physical and spiritual. When detached in this manner, it is free to love God above all things. If the will can know God at all, it can do so only through love.”
- “God works in our hearts according to His will.”
- “Without submission of the heart and spirit to the will of God, devotion and perfection cannot exist.”
- “Be careful that your mind does not wander back to the world again. Keep it fixed on God alone, so that, being subdued by the will, it may be trained to abide with God.”
- “My God, I am completely devoted to You. Lord, remake me according to Your heart.”
- “Let us remember often that our only purpose in this life is to please God. Everything else is folly and vanity.”
- “Let it be your purpose only to keep your mind in the presence of the Lord.”
- “I trust that when I have done everything I can, He will do with me whatever He pleases.”
- “I resolved to give all for the All … Let Him do what He pleases with me.”
- “God knows best what we need, and everything that He does is for our good.”
- “Be satisfied with the condition in which God places you.”
Practicing
“When we begin the spiritual life, we should do a thorough inquiry into our human nature, probing to its deepest depths.”
Not books, orders, devotions, or other methods:
“I read many books containing different methods of going to God and various practices of the spiritual life. These only served to confuse me, rather than facilitate what I sought, which was simply to become wholly God’s.”
- “I have not found my way of spiritual life in books.”
- “When I took religious orders, I resolved simply to give myself to God alone and to renounce everything but the love of Him.”
- “It is a common error of religious persons to neglect this practice of stopping for a moment in order to worship God in the depth of their soul and enjoy briefly the peace of communion with Him.”
- “It is not necessary to be in church to be with God. We can make our heart a chapel where we can withdraw from time to time, and commune with Him in meekness, humility, and love.”
- “It is necessary to put our whole trust in God, laying aside all other concerns, even some particular forms of devotion. Such devotions, though very good in themselves, can be practiced excessively. They are only a means to attain to an end. When by the exercise of the presence of God we are with Him who is our end, it is unnecessary to return to the means. Instead we should continue in our love for Him, persevering in His holy presence.”
The Practice:
“If I were a preacher, I would preach the practice of the presence of God above all things … I cannot imagine how religious persons can be satisfied without the practice of the presence of God. Personally, I dwell with Him in the depths of the center of my soul as much as I can.”
- “This is the best and easiest method I know. I use no other, and therefore I advise everyone in the world to do it. We must know God before we can love God. In order to know God, we must think of Him often. When we grow to love Him, then we shall think of Him often.”
- “Most often my method is a simple attention to God combined with a general sense of hunger for God.”
- “To practice this correctly, the heart must be empty of all other things. God will possess the heart alone. He cannot possess it solely without emptying it of everything else. He cannot act in the heart, and do what He wants within it, unless it is empty.”
- “Make it your practice, before beginning any task, to look to God, even if it is just for a moment. Look to God while doing any activity and also after you have completed it.”
- “We are to practice honoring God and His Glory in everything that we do and say.”
- “By getting up after every fall, and by frequently renewing my faith and love, I have arrived at a state of mind where it is more difficult for me NOT to think of God as it was at the beginning to think of Him.”
- “By repeating this practice often it becomes second nature, and the presence of God becomes our normal state of mind.”
Presence:
“I make it my practice only to persevere in His holy presence. I do this simply by paying attention to, and directing my affection to, God. I call this the actual presence of God. It is a habitual, silent, and secret communion of the soul with God. This often causes such joys and raptures inwardly, and sometimes also outwardly, that I am forced to make an effort to moderate them to prevent their appearance to others.”
- “The practice of the Presence of God is the most holy, the most all-encompassing, and the most necessary practice of the spiritual life. It trains the soul to find its joy in His Divine Companionship. At all times and at every moment, it engages the soul in humble and loving communion with Him, without rules or methods. This is practiced in all circumstances.”
- “By the practice of the Presence of God, by steadfastly gazing upon Him, the soul comes to a full and deep knowledge of God. It has Unclouded Vision. Its life is spent in unceasing acts of love and worship, contrition and simple trust, praise, prayer, and service. At times life seems to be one long unbroken practice of His Divine Presence.”
- “The Presence of God is the life and nourishment of the soul.”
- “The Presence of God is our spirit in contact with God. It is a realization that God is present.”
- “Truly we could give God no greater evidence of our trust and faithfulness than by turning from the creation to find our joy in the present moment in the Creator.”
- “Most importantly, maintain a habit of the awareness of God.”
- “No soul, which takes delight in worldly things, can find full joy in the Presence of God.”
- “O my God, You are with me, and I must now, in obedience to Your commands, apply my mind to these outward things. I beseech You to grant me the grace to continue in Your Presence. To this end I ask that you grant me Your assistance, receive all my works, and possess all my emotions.”
Union
“There are three degrees of union of the soul with God. The first degree is general union, the second is momentary union, and the third is authentic union.”
- “General union is when one realizes that the soul is always united to God solely by grace.”
- “Momentary union (which is experiential, but not actual) is when we experience union with God through performing certain action. We remain united to Him only for as long as we are performing that action.”
- “Authentic union is perfect union … It is deeply spiritual, yet very simple. It fills us with a joy that is completely calm, and with a love that is very humble and reverent. It lifts the soul aloft to heights where the reality of God’s love compels the soul to adore Him. The soul embraces Him with a tenderness that cannot be expressed. It must be experienced to be understood.”
- “It will be as if He were one with our soul, and our soul one with Him.”
- “There is no sweeter and delightful life than that of continual communion with God.”
- “We should commit ourselves unceasingly to this one goal: that everything we do be little acts of communion with God.”
- “I see Him so clearly that sometimes I want to say, ‘I do not believe any longer; I see!’ I experience what faith teaches.”
- “The eye of faith becomes so clear that the soul can almost say, ‘Faith is swallowed up in Sight, I see and I experience!'”
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