Book Review: The Practice of the Presence of God

Over the course of CIY and the following weekend, I reread The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. I agreed with the good Brother on most of what he said, but there are a few items we disagreed on. I will share the latter first in order to create a bifid that properly conveys my meaning.

My disagreements with Brother Lawrence are few: he is too ascetic and he is too uninvolved with the world for my liking. His asceticism borders on the Gnostic concept that the body is evil. He would probably put it in the more mild terms that the body is incapable of good, or the ultimate good. In his view of human nature, he tends to err on the side of total depravity. While I would agree that with our flesh nature alone we can’t become all that we are meant to be, I will by no means assert that neutral natural desires should be squashed. I’m not going to stop enjoying hugs and kisses, mud between my toes and the wind in my hair, coffee and Blue Ash Chili even though they are tied to my physical body. I will also not live as though God and myself were the only people in the universe. That simply is not true, nor should it be. Being personally invested in the lives of others is the best way to impact them.

Now I will move on to the things the good brother and I agree on. They are many, but I won’t need to take as much time to explain them all. (One thing must be noted before I continue: I can’t verify much of what he says from personal experience, given that I’m not nearly as mature as he was in these matters, but I can say that they are doctrinally sound as far as I know.) Living in the presence of God is a practice. It’s a virtue. You have to work at it and gradually cultivate the lifestyle. An integral part of this practice is doing every little thing as if you were doing it for God. This helps you constantly remember him and turn your thoughts in his direction. When you live in the presence of God, you experience peace no matter what your circumstances are. I think that’s all I have for now. It’s a quick and easy read, so I highly recommend it to all. He gives a much more thorough explanation for each of these things I’ve touched on, and he has the benefit of speaking from experience.

Book Information:
Title: The Practice of the Presence of God (and Spiritual Maxims)
Author: Brother Lawrence (Nicolas Herman)
Year Published: late 1600's