While in seminary, I was introduced to Brother Lawrence by my professor of Christian Spirituality, Dr. E. Glenn Hinson, who passed away earlier this year. Dr. Hinson had a way of pointing us toward voices in the Christian tradition who spoke with clarity and depth about walking with God. Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection (1614-1691) was one such voice. A humble lay brother in a Carmelite monastery in Paris, Brother Lawrence became known not for lofty sermons or theological treatises, but for his simple and profound intimacy with God. After his death, his conversations, letters, and notes were gathered into the classic Christian text, The Practice of the Presence of God, a required reading on Dr. Hinson’s syllabus. 

The devotional guide I use, A Guide to Prayer, takes its theme this week from Brother Lawrence. In it, Marjorie Thompson writes, “A simple lay monk, Brother Lawrence, made famous the phrase ‘practicing the presence of God.’ He was speaking of a conscious awareness of God in the midst of washing dishes, preparing meals, and having conversations in the community that was his ‘family.’” Evelyn Underhill later urged believers to “learn the discipline of keeping our eyes open to the divine Reality shining through our most ordinary moments.” 

Brother Lawrence himself once wrote: 

 
“As for my set hours of prayer, they are only a continuation of the same exercise. Sometimes I imagine myself as a stone before a sculptor from which he will carve a beautiful statue. Presenting myself before God, I ask him to form his perfect image in my soul and make me entirely like himself.“

As an article in Christianity Today (Jan/Feb 2018) explains, seventeenth-century France was filled with turbulence – political unrest, religious conflicts, and social upheaval. Yet in the monastery kitchen, amidst pots, pans, and ordinary duties, Brother Lawrence discovered a way of life centered on God’s presence. He often said that whether he was flipping a cake in the pan or picking up a piece of straw, he sought to do it all out of love for God. 

In today’s world of constant distraction and clamor, I find myself drawn to this simplicity. In my own prayer life, I’ve been asking God to help me be present in the moment. C.S. Lewis puts it this way in The Screwtape Letters…“The present is the point at which time touches eternity.” In other words, the past can hold us captive, and the future can stir fear or anxiety – but the present moment is illuminated with God’s eternal rays. And I don’t want to miss the moment! 

So, I pray: Lord, help me to be present when I am walking my dog in the quiet of the morning. Help me to be present when I am worshiping with the church family. Help me to be present when I am listening to Melanie and Isabella share about their day. Help me to be present in the narthex when greeting one person at a time. Help me to be present when I am having coffee with a friend, pulling weeds in the garden, reading Scripture, or simply sitting in stillness. Help me be present to hear God speak. 

And here I find myself circling back to Brother Lawrence’s image of prayer – like a stone before the sculptor, waiting patiently, silently, trustingly – “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). That is the invitation for me, and for us as a church family: to present ourselves before God, allowing Him to shape us into His image and form Christ within us. 

Grace and peace,