|
Contents
Uplifting Prayer
About Our Father's Business
God's Way
Things Of God
Blessed
Comforted
Governed By Love
Uplifting Prayer
1.. The practice of the presence of God puts prayer at the very center. Brother Lawrence called practicing God's presence the holy habit of prayer. More specifically, the holy habit of prayer is a continual conversation of the soul with God. We might say, then, that we live prayerfully or our lives become a prayer.
"One way to re-collect the mind easily in the time of prayer, and preserve it more in tranquillity, is not to let it wander too far at other times." ... Brother Lawrence
Brother Lawrence made a distinction between the time of prayer and other times to make the point that we can be calm and tranquil at all times when we stay close to God and engage in an ongoing conversation with Our Father.
Time set aside for prayer, scheduled, or formal prayer times, are important. As a foundation for the lifelong habit of practicing God's presence, this is when we learn to speak honestly and openly with God. Out of the habit of scheduled or set times of prayer, we, then, more easily and naturally, extend our prayerful conversation into what Brother Lawrence meant by other times.
When we employ our time of prayer in simple and open communication with Our Father, the experience becomes so sweet that we find the conversation not only difficult but unnecessary to close. In other words, we simply continue our conversation with God from prayer time to prayer time.
2. "Sometimes to pray for His grace. Sometimes to offer Him your sufferings. Sometimes to return Him thanks for the favors He gives you. The least little remembrance will always be pleasing to God." ... Brother Lawrence
What we do in the time of prayer may be more formal or structured than at other times. We may recite or read composed prayers. Our prayers may be quietly spoken or unspoken. What we carry over into other times will usually grow to be more plain and conversational; such as short remarks, words of affection, and a silent 'Thank You, Father.
Brother Lawrence's use of the word remembrance, which we may take to mean consciousness or awareness of God's presence, highlights the very nature of prayer. Without our recognition of the person of God and our relationship to Him, there is no prayer. Without our words and thoughts directed to Him personally, there is no prayer.
The difference between meditation, reflection, contemplation, and prayer is that, in the first three we think about God; in prayer we speak to God. Prayer is a personal and private conversation of the soul with Our Father, the Living God.
3. Then Our Lord said: "Pray like this." As a response to His disciples' request to teach them to pray, Jesus, rather than instructing them in steps, concepts, and principles, gave them the perfect word example, The Lord's Prayer. Also known as the Our Father or Pater Noster, this prayer perfectly addresses Our Father about the needs we all have in common and it applies universally and equally to all God's children.
The Lord's Prayer begins by acknowledging God as a person, Our Father, and by affirming His perfect will. Then come the simple but comprehensive requests including: the request that He supply our daily bread and basic needs, the request that He forgive our sins as we forgive others, the request that He lead us away from temptation, and the request for Our Father to deliver us from evil.
Without God, none of these things are possible. Without God, not even one of these things can be accomplished in our own strength. It is, was, and will forever be His kingdom, His power, and His glory.
In addition to this first instructive example, The Lord's Prayer, we find everything else we need to know about prayer in The Gospel. As we read, we notice a gradual building of remarks and examples. As Jesus taught His disciples and followers, so too, through the words of the four books of The Gospel, He teaches us today. Chapter seventeen of the Book of John contains Jesus' most eloquent prayer to Our Father spoken aloud for the benefit of His disciples. In this prayer He said: "Neither do I pray for these alone. But I pray also for those who will believe in me through their word so that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in me, and I in You."
Our Lord, the Son of God, closed the prayer with these words: "And I declare that the love, with which You have loved me, be in them, and I in them." Through Jesus Christ, the Living Word of The Gospel, we learn to pray to Our Father. Through Jesus' way of loving Our Father, we learn to love Our Father. This is how we experience, at the very least, a glimpse of the divine unity of God's presence and kindgom.
4. Brother Lawrence wrote: "Sometimes, when I apply myself to prayer, I feel all my spirit lifted up without any care or effort on my part. This often continues as if it was suspended yet firmly fixed in God like a center or place of rest."
When we make a habit of prayer, engage in an ongoing conversation of the soul with God, and think, speak, and act in the awareness of His holy presence; we experience times when we are freed from all sense of earthly concern.
Unaware of anything except the sense of being uplifted, we know this is the gift for which there are no words, the gift indescribable. We know this is the gift of Our Father's divine love.
About Our Father's Business
1. "Our sanctification does not depend on changing our works. Instead, it depends on doing, for God's sake, what we commonly do for our own." and "doing our common business purely for the love of God."
... Brother Lawrence
Something very wonderful happens when we do all we do purely for the love of God. Little things take on a sacred quality. The most common tasks now have a sweetness and lightness as we perform them in God's presence. Whatever we do out of love for Him keeps us mindful that we are about Our Father's business.
We gain a new and heightened ability to appreciate ordinary things as God continually reveals Himself anew. In both the familiar and the unfamiliar, we feel a blessed assurance. When we are about His business, God's strength is all we need and He supplies it in full.
When we make a shift in attitude and offer all we do to God, we begin to live in the world but not of the world. This sharpens our focus and frees us to see that, in all matters, great or small, we are always "about Our Father's business." In God's presence, with Our Father at our side, and in continual conversation with Him; He leads and we follow.
2. Brother Lawrence said "God always gave us light in our doubts, when we had no other design but to please Him."
Doing God's will with gladness is most pleasing to Him. The more we prayerfully read The Gospel, the better we are able to walk in the obedient ways of the Son of God. Yet, 'Thank You, Father', we will always have times when we need His personal guidance.
Sometimes we find the words in The Gospel but need to look to Our Father for the meaning and the way He wants us to apply the words. We live in the world where things are not always what they seem. The devil, in countless ways, is constantly cranking out new deception and more complexity. Even the children of God, who seek truth and simplicity, can get caught up in confusion unless we remember to stay close to Our Father all the time.
Sometimes our doubts stem from a habit of resistance that prevents our singleness of purpose. Much of our growth in the practice of the presence of God comes from obedience; much of our growth comes from patience; and underlying everything else is humility. If we are willing to see and let go of any secret selfish reasons or motives, God will clear the clouds of confusion or doubt. A 'Yes, Father' or 'Thank You, Father' then brings happy and holy results when we follow through and do His will.
As we become more open and honest with God, turn to Him at the first shade of doubt, and acknowledge that obedience to His will is always the best way; we often accomplish things with greater ease and less effort. In obedience to Him and with gladness, we calmly and quietly go about His business.
God's Way
The practice of the presence of God is a way of life where we engage in continual conversation with God; walk with Him in love, humility, simplicity, and faith; and do nothing and think nothing which may displease Him, because that is God's will for us.
In becoming established in the practice of the presence of God, what Brother Lawrence called the holy habit, we live simply according to God's will and way. When we live the way of God rather than the way of self, we become free of selfish pride, power, and greed - the ways of the world. In choosing to live God's way, according to His will, we become His own and live in His kingdom and presence.
After Jesus' disciples had been at His side for some time, He said to them: "... it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven ... whoever has understanding, more shall be given him." Understanding is the ability to see and hear God's way. The "mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" are the ways of God. Just like Jesus' first disciples, our understanding begins with a tiny mustard seed of faith and grows to something much greater. This is what Brother Lawrence meant when he wrote: "Sometimes, I might say I believe no more, but I see."
Understanding is a gift given to those who give up their worldly ways to walk with God in faith, love, humility, and simplicity. Understanding is given to those who heed Jesus' call of 'Follow Me'. In The Gospel we read that understanding was given not only to the twelve, but also to many other men and women who, though less prominently mentioned in the record, followed Our Lord in countless ways behind the scenes.
When Jesus was betrayed by Judas, who arrived with "a great multitude who were armed with swords and staves."..."They laid their hands on Him, and took Him." Only in chapter fourteen of the account of Mark is mentioned the following: "There followed Him a young man who had a linen cloth cast about his naked body. When they grabbed him and laid hold of him, he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked."
This once mentioned event is an example of the depth of understanding God gives those who do His will. This young follower of Christ later wrote the book of Mark, a most concise and important book of The Gospel.
Throughout history, there are many known examples of those who have been given God's gift of understanding because His will for them was to reveal it to others. Also, because God readily grants His gifts to those who would be last and go unnoticed, there are countless others who might be described, in the words of Brother Lawrence, as "little known by the world, but known and extremely caressed by God." Through the practice of the presence of God we, like those first followers of the Son of God, also receive the understanding Our Father shares with His own.
This understanding can only come from an openness on our part to listen and see. More importantly, we must be willing to hear and perceive. In explaining to His disciples why so many people had such little and shallow understanding, Jesus referred to the words of the prophet Isaiah: "...the people's hearts are hardened. Their ears are dull of hearing. They have closed their eyes." These words end with the reason for so much general apathy and unwillingness: "They do not see or hear for fear they will be converted and have to change their hearts."
Two thousand years ago, yesterday, or today - when we are willing to hear and look at a point of view, we risk having to change our minds. We may even have to put aside our own way and begin to do things God's way! Brother Lawrence said: "Perfect resignation to God was a sure way to heaven, a way in which we have always sufficient light for our conduct. In difficulties we need only have recourse to Jesus Christ and beg His grace with which everything became easy."
God has many ways of drawing us to Him. Sometimes He has to bring our lives to a crisis point in order to show us that there are really only two ways of living, God's way and our own way; and our own way simply does not work. At the same time He begins to open our eyes to see something of His way and the possibility of living in His presence.
God prepares us. Though the process may seem painfully slow, it is always perfectly suited to His good plan for us. As God guides us into willingness, He begins to reveal to us "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven."
Things Of God
"The more one knows God, the greater one desires to know Him. Knowledge is commonly the measure of love. The deeper and more extensive our knowledge, the greater is our love."
... Brother Lawrence
1. When we first read that Brother Lawrence renounced, for the love of Him, everything that was not God, we may be puzzled. Our first thought may be, 'What exactly does he mean by that?' or 'Okay, so where is the list?'. This seems to be a perfectly normal first reaction. And at the same time, we may also have an instinctive sense of his general meaning. Yet, for many of us, 'everything that is not God' sets us in a new direction where we begin to do some searching.
The idea of 'let your conscience be your guide' is about as helpful as 'let nature take its course'. Why? Without becoming established in the practice of the presence of God, these are two empty phrases. Without practicing God's presence, they are both vague and subject to countless shades of meaning.
With regard to 'let your conscience be your guide', even with a strong sense of right and wrong, we cannot help but see how our ability to rationalize, excuse, blame, minimize, and downplay our own faults, can result in some distortion. We, alone, even with the best intentions, simply are incapable of being objective about ourselves. Unless and until we develop a strong relationship with God, who knows us better than we or anyone else knows us, our conscience will continue to be an undependable guide.
The same is the case with 'letting nature take its course'. Through nature we may experience much of the sense of the kingdom of heaven. Yet, sadly, many stop there, confusing nature with the Creator of nature, the person of God, who is also our Creator.
As God has many ways of drawing us to Himself, one of His main ways is through the attraction of His endlessly fascinating and wonderful natural world. We discover that nature is of God, but the course of nature is directed by the same supernatural person and power of God who created each of us. To 'let nature take its course' without enjoying a personal relationship with the Creator of All is to miss out on the true delight of all creation.
Brother Lawrence attributed his turning to God, his conversion, to a nature experience he had at the age of eighteen. It was an experience of the divine through nature that drew him to the indescribable providence and power of the person of God. In other words, nature is a pathway to God; but we must keep in mind that nature is only a pathway and not an end in itself. God is so much more than nature, as a creator is more than his creation.
Another avenue we may search, in looking for 'everything that is not God', is the path of law. Surely, if we play by the rules and follow God's ten commandments we can avoid 'everything that is not God'. But Our Lord, Jesus Christ, said we must do better than that. He explained that to live by the letter of the law is the way of the Pharisee. These were not bad people, but their approach to living by the law made them slaves to the law.
In other words, they put the law above God, a dangerous practice then and a dangerous practice today. To be enslaved by the letter of the law prevents us from hearing and seeing Christ's essential message: "...the hour comes, and is now, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth." Real worship is beyond legal boundaries. When we put God first in everything and in all ways; when our attitudes, motives, words, and actions are pure; spirit and truth merge into living a life of divine love.
2. It seems that God sometimes leads us on a path of discovery through ruling things out. This is called life experience. Many a spiritual journey seems, to the seeker of truth, like a series of blind alleys and wrong directions. It may seem like a waste of time, and failure upon failure leads us to the conclusion that we have tried all, ruled it all out, and have gotten nowhere.
While it may seem we have taken the hard way and God has dealt harshly with us, no one knows better than Our Father the value of each of His children's experience. Very often this is the time, when the stage is set, for God to introduce us to the simple approach. If it is not Brother Lawrence's 'The Practice Of The Presence Of God', it will be something similar. It will be an approach that leads us to The Gospel, which is called the living word because it is alive, changeless, and truth incorruptible.
If God, in His mercy and goodness, leads us to Brother Lawrence's approach to practicing God's presence, He has given us an everlasting gift, which, the more we use it, the greater its value. In our search to determine 'the things that are not God', we find our answers not only in the words but also in the example of Brother Lawrence's life in God's presence.
A little flame reflecting the message of the Son of God, Brother Lawrence lived by the one law that enables us to separate the things of God from the things not of God: the law of love.
Blessed
When we become established in the holy habit of the practice of the presence of God, we live in a love that was never known by any of us before. God's love is higher, deeper, purer; more constant, vital, and tender than it is possible for us ever to have humanly imagined. It is so far beyond ordinary human experience that the only way we can truly know it, understand it, or even hint at a description of His love is by engaging in the all for the All relationship.
Brother Lawrence wrote that it seemed God treated Him as His favorite. When we live in Our Father's presence and our sole endeavor is to do His will, we, too, feel that Our Father treats us as His favorite. We become, like John, a 'beloved' disciple.
When we live in the all for the All relationship, we are blessed. The meaning of the word 'blessed' is 'favored by God's special love' which, like grace, only He can bestow. Blessing is entirely within the province of God, The Most Loving of Loving. We need only read The Beatitudes in Matthew's record of Christ's Sermon on the Mount to find examples of those who are 'favored by God's special love'.
Favored by God's special love are the poor in spirit, those of humble heart. Favored by God's special love are those who mourn yet suffer loss for His sake; those who are meek -the gentle who gladly go last in order to put Him first; and those who hunger and thirst after righteousness in spirit and in truth.
Favored by God's special love are the merciful, the pure and simple of heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake. And favored by God's special love are those who are reviled and spoken of falsely or maliciously for His sake.
Our Father said, "This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him." Thus, to follow in the ways of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, brings the favor of God's special love. In the words of Brother Lawrence, to be blessed is to "walk before God simply, in faith, with humility and with love."
We are often faced with the limitations of language and words to express ideas, especially a concept such as love. With regard to the blessing or favor of the special love that comes from practicing God's presence, Brother Lawrence wrote, "those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it."
Only when we live in the all for the All relationship does this concept become clear. Only when we live in Our Father's presence does the notion of love become simple but never shallow. Only when we engage in a continual conversation of the soul with God does He reveal the meaning of love to us.
Comforted
As seekers of truth, weary pilgrims, souls hungry and thirsty, some of us are brought to that small opening that is nearly imperceptible in the dense, high wall of the world. Any number stop there. Only God knows how many stop and for what reason they stop. But, for those of us who cannot or do not stop, who recognize this opening as a gate, or who perceive the glimmer of possibility that there is rescue and comfort on the other side; we push the gate open.
Somehow, in the pushing it open, we have passed through and are on a pathway. Often we experience a momentary sense of well-being, as if a preview of things to come. God has countless ways of leading us to the gate, but, there is truly only one way to proceed on the path. No longer can we settle for an arm's-length relationship with God. No longer can we put off His kingdom for later. Right now, right where we are on the path, we must embrace God's will and way. Right now, we must live, move, and have our being in His presence. The way to proceed on the path is by living the practice of the presence of God.
In the practice of the presence of God, what Brother Lawrence called the holy habit, we live with God in the sweetest way possible: the all for the All relationship. In complete surrender to Our Father, we forsake the worldly ways of the self so He may work His perfect will for us.
We engage in a continual, silent, and affectionate conversation with Our Father. We walk with God in faith, love, humility, and simplicity. Out of love, we strive to do nothing and think nothing which may displease Him. Calling God to mind at every possible moment, every opportunity, we focus our attention on Him and silently say, "Thank You, Father" throughout each day.
This path of the practice of the presence of God, this way for being in the world without being worldly, this delight in God and the things of God, is the result of opening the gate to which Our Father led us. Somehow, through His mercy and goodness, we did not stop. We pushed it open. We said 'Yes, Father'. We left the world behind and entered His kingdom.
What may have seemed strange and uncomfortable to us at first, now seems more natural and normal than we could possibly have imagined. We could no more entertain the idea of going back to the ways of the world than we could envision a day, or even an hour, without God.
Yet, from time to time, we may have occasion to grieve those we left outside the gate. From time to time we may feel a sadness over how little change we see in the mean and petty ways of the world. We are heartsick over the lack of true humility and genuine love for God.
Brother Lawrence's Tenth Letter begins, "I have had a good deal of difficulty bringing myself to write to M_. I do it now purely because you desire me to do so. Please address it and send it to him." In this private and personal comment, Brother Lawrence shared with his friend the grief and pain he experienced in writing to someone from his past who was still living in the ways of the world. This is the kind of sadness we experience when we recognize the gulf between our past and present life. And, for a little while, we grieve.
We see in The Gospel how often Our Lord experienced this kind of grief and disappointment. His lament over His children of Israel and His sadness at the young man who could not forsake his worldly possessions to follow Him are but two of many such occasions of grief and pain. He shared these feelings freely with His disciples as He shared them with Our Father.
Yet, Our Lord also offers the ultimate words of comfort to those close to Him. These words are beautifully presented in the sixteenth chapter of John where Jesus explains how, "You will be sorrowful but your grief will be turned into joy."
Through the practice of the presence of God, we come to understand the second beatitude: "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted." We see that our comfort and joy is not a promise for some distant time but a present moment experience. In God's presence and living according to His will and way, Our Father turns our grief into joy and our sorrow into comfort just as they happen. In His presence darkness can never overcome His light. And we say, 'Thank you, Father'.
Governed By Love
1. "Is it not much shorter and more direct to simply do everything for the love of Him? There is no finesse about it. One only has to do it generously and simply."
... Brother Lawrence
This remark of Brother Lawrence is a summary of The Gospel. This is the message delivered, taught, and lived by Jesus Christ. God sent His Son to both reaffirm the old and establish the new. Our Father sent His Son to clarify, refine, and fulfill the ten commandments; and to deliver the new message: love is the power, the energy, and the framework of Our Father's kingdom.
God, the Creator, and His kingdom are one and the same. As we are His children of light, He is our Almighty King and He is our holy dwelling place and sacred realm. He is All. Jesus Christ said that to abide we must: "love the Father as I love Him and love eachother as I love you."
Our Father loves each of us without reservation. His Son, sent in the person of Jesus Christ, was utterly selfless and completely obedient to Our Father. He said, "If you know me, then you know the Father who sent me." When we come to know the Son of God, we, then, see the Father who is all-loving and created us to share Himself and His glorious creation with us.
2. Brother Lawrence said he had always been governed by love without selfish views. Sometimes this is not the case with only children; but we need to keep in mind that he grew up in a small village of family and relatives. Even in his boyhood he set a positive example and was a spiritual influence on his family, some of them following him and his uncle, also a lay brother, into religious communities.
When, as a young soldier, he had to return home, critically wounded, and unable to contribute to the family village welfare, we can well imagine this was quite a humbling experience for him; one of the ways God draws to Himself those who love without selfish views.
"Love without selfish views" is love most pure. To love selflessly is to share, to give with no strings attached, no expectations, no hidden motives, or thought of return. It is the love with which we were created. To love without selfish views may be more difficult for some than for others. Some say it is impossible and give up or never even try. These people, perhaps the majority, are strong proof, indeed, that loving without selfish views is humanly impossible.
Though Brother Lawrence said he had always been governed by love without selfish views, it was when he finally "resolved to make the love of God the end of all his actions," that he began to experience the first taste of Our Father's holy freedom. When we place ourselves under the governance of this highest form of love, our tiny mustard seed of faith opens to the words of Jesus Christ: "With God all things are possible."
When we come to really know God as the Father whose nature is love, so compelling is the discovery, it seems we cannot move fast enough to bring ourselves into submission. We beg God to be governed by His love and His love only because we see that this is Christ-love, this is pure and true love.
3. "The whole substance of religion is faith, hope, and charity. In the practice of these we become united to the will of God. Everything else is indifferent and to be used as a means that we may arrive at our end and then be swallowed up by faith and charity." ... Brother Lawrence
When we accept God's will that we be governed by His law of love, we agree to live by a high standard, an enlightened standard of thought, word, and deed. As God reveals Himself to us, as we begin to receive understanding, as we come into the way of God's will, we are on that path that Our Lord told His close ones: "many seek and find, but few enter upon." We are on the path from which turning back would be a most serious offense against Our Father and would result in our lonely return to darkness, torment, and utter misery.
In chapter twelve of Luke, we find the parable of the good steward. Jesus uses this parable to explain, in plain terms, how the standard of the law of love works.
Jesus told His disciples: "The servant who knew his lord's will but did not prepare or act according to his lord's will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that did not know and committed things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten lightly. To whomever much is given, of him much is required. To whomever much is entrusted, of him even much more will be demanded."
While ignorance is no excuse, a first offense from one who knows no better, is of less consequence than from one who knows and willfully disobeys. The more Our Father gives of Himself to us, the greater the degree of our responsibility and stewardship.
Dear One, consider this: The laws of man, flawed and often unjust, serve worldly purposes only. Is it not better to live, right here and now, under God's higher law of love?
The worldly view of love is quite different from God's law of love. Worldly love is arbitrary, often shallow, and based largely on attractions, likes and dislikes. In the world the word love is used and misused to the point of being meaningless.
God's love, the law of love, is no fickle or idealistic notion. It is built on a solid foundation of faith and obedience to God's perfect will. The only way for us to live under man-made laws, which we must do, is to obey them in the spirit and truth of Our Father's kingdom law of love. The only way for us to love eachother is with this selfless love. The only way for us to love Our Father is with this same love, Christ-love.
Will we be misunderstood? Probably. Will others take advantage of us? Possibly. Will we be persecuted? Perhaps. But, let us keep two things in mind. First, our practice of the presence of God is quiet, private, and personal. True humility never draws attention to the self. The light we shine should reflect only Our Father.
Second, when we place ourselves under the governance of God's law of love, become united to His perfect will, and live in His sacred presence and kingdom; "whether God leads us by suffering or by consolation all will be equal to a soul truly resigned."
Absolutely nothing compares to Our Father's gift of the holy freedom we experience through obedience to His will. No other relationship compares to the love relationship we establish by practicing God's presence. 'Thank You, Father'.
|