“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call
him Immanuel” (which means “God
with us”). Matthew 1:23
More words of wisdom
from Brother Lawrence of the
Resurrection, 1600s…
(See the March 9th
entry for background information about this obscure French monk).
“What is the
presence of God? It’s when we focus our spirits on the Lord or when we realize
He’s right here with us. It can happen through our imaginations or
understandings.
I know a man who has
practiced the presence of God for the past forty years. (Brother Lawrence is
being modest and is talking about himself in the third person here) He
understands what it means to be in the presence of God, though he has several
names for it:
• A simple act
• A clear, distinct
way to know God
• A fuzzy vision
• A loving gaze
• Waiting on God
• Silent chats with
God
• Soul peace
They’re all just
different names for the same thing, he told me—synonyms for practicing God’s
presence. Then he described for me how this sate of being has become natural
for him.
He often calls his
mind into God’s presence as soon as he’s done with his workday—and often while
he’s still in the middle of things. He just lifts his heart of hearts to the
Lord. It’s no work at all to do this, no effort; it just happens out of habit.
But his very heart and soul are held up to the heights of God, who is his rest
and the bull’s-eye of his soul….”
From: “Practicing God’s Presence, Brother Lawrence
for Today’s Reader”,
by Robert Elmer, 2005
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