The Practice of the Presence of God
How to foster a sense of God’s presence throughout the day
(This is another post connected to my major post on what to do before starting spiritual direction.)
To really make progress in one’s spiritual life, it is important that we lift our minds to God frequently, following St. Paul’s admonition to “pray without ceasing.”
Brother Lawrence was a simple Carmelite whose extraordinary spiritual life was preserved in some letters he dictated, excerpted below. His secret: constant small prayers that helped hi
m recall that God was at his side. Many spiritual authors recommend this “method” of praying as especially compatible with a busy daily routine.
From The Practice of the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence, O.C.D.
“I worshipped God as often as I could, keeping my mind in His holy presence and calling it back as often as I found it had wandered from Him. I made this my business, not only at the appointed times of prayer but all the time; every hour, every minute, even in the height of my work, I drove from my mind everything that interrupted my thoughts of God… When we strive to keep ourselves in His holy presence, and set Him always before us, this hinders our sinning against Him, and doing anything that may displease Him. It also begets in us a holy freedom, and, if I may so speak, a familiarity with God, where, when we ask, He supplies the graces we need. Over time, by often repeating these acts that call our attention back to God, they become habitual, and the presence of God becomes quite natural to us… A little lifting up of the heart and a remembrance of God suffices. One act of inward worship, even for a soldier marching with sword in hand, is prayer which, however short, is nevertheless very acceptable to God… Let one think of God as often as possible. Let him accustom himself, by degrees, to this small but holy exercise. No one sees it, and nothing is easier than to repeat these little internal adorations all through the day…
“If sometimes we become a little distracted from the Divine presence, God gently calls us back by a stirring in our souls. This often happens when we are most engaged in outward chores and tasks. Then it is good to respond with exact fidelity to these inward drawings, either by an elevation of his heart towards God, or by a meek and fond thought regarding Him, or by such words as love forms upon these occasions (for instance, “My God, here I am all devoted to You,” or “Lord, make me according to Your heart”).
“…I know that for the right practice of the presence of God, the heart must be empty of all other things; because God will possess the heart alone. He cannot possess it alone without emptying it of all else; neither can He act there and do in it what He pleases unless it be left vacant to Him… Believe me. Immediately make a holy and firm resolution never more to forget Him. Resolve to spend the rest of your days in His sacred presence, deprived of all consolations for the love of Him if He thinks fit. Set heartily about this work, and if you do it sincerely, be assured that you will soon find the effects of it… We must work faithfully without trouble or disquiet, recalling our mind to God mildly and with tranquillity as often as we find it wandering from Him. It is, however, necessary to put our whole trust in God. We must lay aside all other cares and even some forms of prayer, which though very good in themselves, have become mere routines. Those devotions are only means to attain to the end. Once we have established a habit of the practice of the presence of God, we are then with Him who is our end. We have no need to return to the means. We may simply continue with Him in our commerce of love, persevering in His holy presence with an act of praise, of adoration, or of desire or with an act of resignation, or thanksgiving, and in all the ways our spirits can invent…
“If the mind is not sufficiently controlled and disciplined at our first engaging in prayer, it contracts certain bad habits of wandering and dissipation. These are difficult to overcome. The mind can draw us, even against our will, to worldly things… Let it be your business to keep your mind in the presence of the Lord. If your mind sometimes wanders and withdraws itself from Him, do not become upset… “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. Keep your mind strictly in the presence of God. Then being accustomed to think of Him often, you will find it easy to keep your mind calm in the time of prayer, or at least to recall it from its wanderings. I have told you already of the advantages we may draw from this practice of the presence of God. Let us set about it seriously and pray for one another.”