The Practice of the Presence of God - Softcover

Lawrence, Brother

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1495341631 ISBN 13: 9781495341632

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014

Synopsis

In a world full of "doing", "performing", "keeping up with the Joneses", and an innumerable other distractions and pressures, Brother Lawrence was a man gifted by God to have the vision of true fellowship with God. He tells us simply that being a Christian means to have a constant love relationship with God, only made possible through Jesus Christ's sacrifice. He reminds us not be guilty or ashamed (a very difficult thing to know if you're not told explicitly, and something only known through faith). The message of the churches (at least in the Western world) has been so diluted by the culture of "results" and "knowledge". We are often given guilt trips by church leader because we aren't "up to par" or because we don't buy into the church's vision. After attending a church for many years, we're still spiritually dry, and at the same time expected to serve more and more? Is that the abundant life? Instead, we are supposed to be taught how to have fellowship with God! From that, everything else flows. There are no shortcuts! Brother Lawrence exhorts us to have such a dear love for God that we are completely at rest with Him. It does takes time and discipline to develop the intimacy, but with any other love relationship (w/spouse, etc.), after a little effort and focus, the love between the two of you carries the relationship quite automatically.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Brother Lawrence was a man of humble beginnings who discovered the greatest secret of living in the kingdom of God here on earth. It is the art of "practicing the presence of God in one single act that does not end." He often stated that it is God who paints Himself in the depths of our soul. We must merely open our hearts to receive Him and His loving presence.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."For nearly three hundred years this unparalleled classic has given both blessing and instruction to those who can be content with nothing less than knowing God in all His majesty and feeling His loving presence throughout each simple day.

About the Author

Brother Lawrence (1614 – 1691) served as a lay brother in a Carmelite monastery in Paris. Christians commonly remember him for the intimacy he expressed concerning his relationship to God as recorded in a book compiled after his death, the classic Christian text, The Practice of the Presence of God.

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1495341631
• ISBN 13: 9781495341632
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 52