Few Christians have had as much impact as the 17th-century French monk Brother Lawrence with his little book The Practice of the Presence of God. It’s a book that transformed my own prayer life and has done the same for many others.
Brother Lawrence was born Nicolas Herman in eastern France in 1614 to a peasant family and, although poorly educated, was taught the Christian faith. One midwinter, Nicolas saw a tree without leaves and was deeply struck by an awareness that God would soon take this seemingly dead object and bring it to life. Although that awareness of a God who could resurrect things stayed with him, Nicolas did little with it. He became a soldier, fighting in the brutal chaos of the Thirty Years War where he was captured, nearly executed and suffered wounds that made him permanently lame.
Invalided out of the army, Nicolas briefly became a servant. Then, at the age of 26, he joined the Carmelite Order of monks in Paris. Taking the name Brother Lawrence, he remained part of the monastic community for 50 years until his death. He never became a priest but stayed a lay monk, and for years his main duty was cooking and cleaning in the kitchens of the priory. When his health began to fail, Brother Lawrence was given the responsibility of repairing sandals for the monks. He wrote:
‘We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed. And it is not necessary to have great things to do. I turn my little omelette in the pan for the love of God.’
Despite Lawrence’s lowly role, lack of education and simple language, he became increasingly valued over the years for his spiritual wisdom and the peace he showed. People came to talk with this gracious, gentle man, or wrote him letters seeking guidance. Slowly, Brother Lawrence’s down-to-earth sayings about the spiritual life became prized and remembered. In 1691, known to only a few people outside the priory, Brother Lawrence died at the age of 77.
In the normal way of things, all memory of such an obscure monk would have soon faded. Yet within a few years, some of his sayings, sixteen letters and conversations, were compiled into a book which came to be called The Practice of the Presence of God. In it we find the principles by which Brother Lawrence lived: the ideal of a life in which every thought and action remain focused on God, not simply during formal prayer or worship but throughout every daily task, however humble. As he wrote, ‘It is enough for me to pick up a straw from the ground for the love of God.’
The Practice of the Presence of God had a surprising history. It became popular amongst many Protestants across Europe and was recommended by people such as John Wesley. It has never been out of print and over the years Christians of every denomination have found it profoundly helpful.
It is important to recognise that in the teaching preserved to us, Brother Lawrence’s focus lay in the specific area precisely summed-up in that title The Practice of the Presence of God.
Let me point out three aspects of Brother Lawrence’s life and teaching that are worth pondering.
First, he displayed personal humility. Brother Lawrence seems to have been content to be a ‘nobody’ at the lowest level of the monastic system. Humility is not thinking ‘less of yourself’ but ‘thinking of yourself less’ – Brother Lawrence clearly lived that out in his life and ministry. His words reveal a quiet, humble man without any spiritual superiority; someone who never talked down to his hearers. Part of what is significant about this remarkable man is that he chose to be unimportant.
Second, he demonstrated heavenly simplicity. There have always been complex or costly paths to spiritual growth, whether practices, pilgrimages or programmes. In contrast, Brother Lawrence points to the single overriding necessity of one thing: a lasting personal relationship with God in Christ himself.
Third, Brother Lawrence described a holy intimacy. This modest man would never have considered himself a theologian but his focus on knowing the presence of God comes very close to Jesus’ command: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’ (Matthew 22:37 NIV).
Brother Lawrence wrote:
‘The most holy and necessary practice in our spiritual life is the presence of God. That means finding constant pleasure in his divine company, speaking humbly and lovingly with him in all seasons, at every moment, without limiting the conversation in any way.’
Sadly, there is always a danger of ‘other things’ coming between us and God in Christ; whether bad things such as sins, needs or greeds, or the best of things such as our Christian ministry and vocation. Knowing God must always come first.
We often talk about ‘meeting with God’ but frequently restrict that to a particular time or place: the ‘quiet time’ or our church worship. That Brother Lawrence, limping around in the noise and smells of a monastic kitchen, could know the presence of God and rejoice deeply in Christ is a reminder to all of us.
Let’s all seek to ‘practice the presence of God’ in our lives.
J.John
Reverend Canon
