The Practice of the Presence of God [Mass Market Paperback]

Brother Lawrence (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1982

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. For nearly 300 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.

Editorial Reviews

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.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Whitaker House; New Abridged edition (June 1, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0883681056
• ISBN-13: 978-0883681053
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #30,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Worship & Devotion > Devotionals
  • #14 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Spirituality > Devotionals

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Dishonest paraphrase; get the translation from Spire, April 26, 2009

By 

Jeffrey Pinyan (Princeton, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Practice of the Presence of God (Mass Market Paperback)

The 1982 publication by Whitaker House is not very good at all. It is a loose paraphrase. In the words of the publisher's preface: "In this abridged edition, we have sought to update and clarify the language of this Christian classic, paraphrasing where necessary, while keeping the essence of the message intact." It goes way overboard. It excises several passages, some of which are distinctly Catholic:

A) mention of praying at set times throughout the day (in his Carmelite monastery) in Conversation #2
B) a reference to receiving absolution through a confessor in Conversation #2
C) references in Conversation #2 to acts of mortification are corrupted; Br. Lawrence spoke of "bodily mortifications" as "useless, except as they serve to arrive at the union with God by love" and that "all possible kinds of mortification, if they were void of the love of God, could not efface a single sin." (pp. 21-22) The Whitaker version renders these two separate clauses as one, "that all possible good works or self-abasing acts of contrition we could possibly do would not erase a single sin." (p. 18)
D) a quote from Br. Lawrence at the end of Conversation #4 in which he mentions kneeling in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament

It also re-orders his 15 letters, damaging them in the process:

A) Whitaker's Letter #6 appears to be completely fabricated
B) Br. Lawrence's 11th and 13th letters are missing completely, probably because they praise the salvific quality of suffering and bearing suffering joyfully
C) Br. Lawrence's 14th and 15th letters are merged into one, retaining only the first sentence of letter #14

The edition published by Spire is far better.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book, look for a better edition, March 28, 2007

By 

Z. M. Ridgway (Waco, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Practice of the Presence of God (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a great book, with practical application for the spiritual practice of all Christians of any denomination. This edition, however, is heavily abridged, cutting the much larger original down to about 95 pages.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rare gem (spirituality), April 30, 2006

By 

Gabriel E. Borlean (Odense, Denmark - birthtown of fairytale-writer H.C. Andersen) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Practice of the Presence of God (Mass Market Paperback)

As a "follower of Christ" (Christian) who considers himself an Evangelical Protestant, this little devotional book will hold a special place in my library and my heart. For all Christian believers, the richness and power of Brother Lawrence's life's witness and words are a fountain of Truth, a treasure that is as elegant (spiritually) as it is simple. For the non-believers, I am afraid that reading this booklet (a spiritual treasure in disguise) will just confirm St. Paul the Apostles's words that "the message of the cross is ... foolishness to the Gentiles" (1 Corinthians. 1:18, 23 and 2:14).

The only way to do justice to this booklet is to quote from it and let you get a taste of it ...

This is a unique biography because it is not compiled by the Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection (birth name Nicholas Herman but known by his monastic name) but by the ones around his life in 17th century France. Thus one learns very little about the beginnings of his life but very much about his godly lifestyle in the last 30 years of life of bliss (presence of God in his heart) and suffering (3 physical and debilitating ailments).

We learn about this Spirit-filled vessel in God's vineyard - Brother Lawrence, by reading the Eulogy of the abbot of Lawrence's Christian community, 4 short notes of his conversations with his spiritual father - Abb? de Beaufort, 16 very short letters of spiritual advice and encouragement Brother Lawrence wrote to friends and seekers, a manuscript found at his death called "Spiritual Maxims" and a memoir of a leader in the church in France.

The followings are a selection of the many highlights and underlined phrases and sentences from this book:

"Busy yourself with keeping your mind in the presence of the Lord."

"My most normal habit is to simply keep my attention on God, and to be generally and lovingly aware of Him."

"I occupy myself solely with keeping my attention on God and by being generally and lovingly aware of Him."

"We have an infinitely good God who knows what we need."

"Console yourself with the One who keeps you fastened to the cross."

"We should love our friends, but without prejudicing the love of God which must be first."

"Think often about Him; worship Him without ceasing. Life and die with Him. This is the beautiful call in the life of a Christian."

"...we should love one another through our words of counsel and even more through our good examples."

"...our only business in this life is to please God. ... my little progress in the path of perfection."

"I applied myself to practicing the presence of God ... Doing this gave me such a high esteem for God that faith alone was capable of satisfying me."

"A devout woman told me that the spiritual life is a life of grace that begins with service fear, increases through the hope of eternal life, and is consumated by pure love."

MY PRAYER: May we all experience God's love, which truly can consume all other passions, and be filled with His grace which will empower us to truly love our neighbors (Christian and non-Christian) as ourselves. This is my life goal !