Practicing the Presence

I have abandoned all particular forms of devotion, all prayer techniques. My only prayer practice is attention.

I carry on a habitual silent and secret conversation with God that fills me with overwhelming joy. I live as if there were no one, save God and me in the world. The most holy and necessary practice in our spiritual life is the presence of God.

That means finding constant pleasure in this divine company, speaking humbly and lovingly with Him in all seasons at every moment, without limiting the conversation in any way. There is no sweeter manner of living in the world than continuous communion with God.

To practice this correctly, the heart must be empty of all other things. God will possess the heart alone. He cannot possess it solely without emptying it of everything else. He cannot act in the heart and do what He wants within it unless it is empty. Emptiness is that which frees us from religiosity and leads us to true spirituality.

It is not necessary to have great things to do. I turn my little omelette in the pan for the love of God. The time of business does not differ with me from the time of prayer. And in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in His great tranquility as if I were on my knees.

If the vessel of our soul is still tossed with winds and storms, let us awake the Lord who reposes in it, and He will quickly calm the sea. A little lifting of the heart suffices. A little remembrance of God, one act of inward worship are prayers that, no matter how short, are nevertheless acceptable to God.

One way to recollect the mind easily in the time of prayer, and preserve it more in tranquility, is not to let it wander too far at other times. You should keep it strictly in the presence of God. I cannot imagine how religious persons can live satisfied without the practice of the presence of the divine. For my part, I keep myself retired with Him in the depth of the center of my soul as much as I can. And while I am there, I fear nothing, for the least turning from Him is insupportable.

How happy we would be if we could find the treasure of which the gospel speaks. All else would be as nothing. As it is boundless, the more you search for it, the greater the riches you will find. Let us search unceasingly and let us not stop until we have found it. Let us seek Him often by faith.

The world appears very little to a soul that contemplates the greatness of God. God is within us. Seek not elsewhere. By repeating this practice often, it becomes second nature, and the presence of God becomes our normal state of mind.
-Brother Lawrence