The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

Have you ever procrastinated reading a book because you thought it would be long and difficult, only to discover it's only an 1 hour and 15 minute audiobook? 

That happened to me when I read The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence.

What struck me when I listened to this book was how gracious Brother Lawrence was to himself when he got sidetracked and forgot to spend time in God's presence while going about his tasks. He didn't belittle, berate, or lecture himself, but was grateful that he was now reminded to practice the presence of God once again. 

As a recovering perfectionist, I was floored by his response to his "failure". 

He didn't teach us how we can avoid getting distracted and perfectly practice the presence of God, but he showed us how to get back on track when we are aware that we have wandered away from God. 

I encourage you to read his book and then start to practice being in the presence of God throughout the day. As we intentionally spend time in God's presence, we will find that we are talking to God and listening to God as we go about our tasks. 

Praying with the Bells

Most summers, I dust off my copy of a prayer book that provides morning, midday, evening, and night prayers and do my best to pray at the proper time (6-9, 11-2, 5-8, and bedtime) as I try to show myself grace for the times I am busy or just simply forget. 

This summer, while I haven't brought out my summer prayer book, I have been structuring my day around bells as I volunteer on a farm at a Catholic college. As the bells toll, I use them as a reminder to drink water, but I hope to also cultivate the practice of praying when the bells chime.

I work at a school during the school year and I hear a lot of bells. Each class is dismissed and started by a bell, with a 1-minute warning bell thrown in for good measure, so over the course of my day, I hear over 30 bells. What if I used these bells as a prompt to pray? Not long, elaborate, showy prayers, but simple, silent, one-sentence prayers.

-God, I ask for wisdom for my job.

-Lord, show these children Your love.

-Jesus, may I show Your peace to those I interact with today.

-Spirit, give me Your words to say when someone is suffering.  

30+ opportunities to pray.

30+ reminders to intercede for those in my line of sight.

30+ moments to refocus on God.