One of my favorite friends in the world is the ocean. In fact, in some of my loneliest moments, I’ve felt the ocean kept the best company.
The ocean carries presence. Waves approach and withdraw, thundering in the distance and whispering upon the shore. Though the tide varies its reach, the ocean remains: present. Even if you never trek down from the dune to the water’s cold edge, the edge will come to you. Like the best sort of friend, the ocean knows how to come close and how to leave you alone.
Likewise, God’s presence remains… present. Sometimes we don’t notice Him because life delights us, distracts us, or discourages us from seeking Him. Other times His nearness feels like the home we never had, a tidal wave of love that crashes into our weariness or grief.
The point is, He’s always there. David asks:
“Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.”
– Psalm 139:7-10
Whether we’re intentionally seeking Him or stumbling our way through life, we will eventually encounter the presence of God. Yet the nature of His presence beckons us for more. A man named Brother Lawrence believed we can learn to practice the presence, dwelling in sweet communion at every moment with God.
We can learn to approach God and in doing so, gain an irreplaceable friend.
WAYS TO PRACTICE GOD’S PRESENCE
- Attention: Brother Lawrence’s experience taught him to keep his soul’s attention on God. Whatever the moment brought, he gently returned his gaze to the Lord. He didn’t shame himself when distracted, but remembered a steadfast Love waiting to be experienced again… and again… and again.
This is easier said than done. With all of the digital distractions today, keeping our attention on anything for any period of time can be challenging, let alone an invisible presence. It is easy to shame ourselves for forgetting God’s love.
I think of the times when I zip through a store with impatience. Sometimes I recollect myself at the outskirts, realizing that there might have been more for me at that store than my agenda. Perhaps there was a person I passed who needed a smile, or perhaps the Lord would have shown me something I missed.
Or I think of the days when I don’t make time to sit with the Lord. Even as my spirit begins to suffer from not being connected to His unconditional love, shame bleeds into my heart.
Sometimes it’s tempting to linger in the shame, but Brother Lawrence is right. Once we recognize that our heart has drifted from its awareness of God’s love, we have only to return it. We’re human, our distractedness understandable, and like a small toddler, we must gently guide ourselves back.
Our mind and heart are prone to wander, but our soul finds fulfillment in God. Practicing His presence begins with choosing to seek it with our whole being. When we pay attention wholeheartedly, again and again, He promises to be found (Jeremiah 29:13).
- Conversation: “To be constantly aware of God’s presence, it is necessary to form the habit of continually talking with Him throughout each day,” writes Brother Lawrence (Practicing the Presence, p. 11).
This doesn’t mean we need to pray outloud nonstop. Our very thoughts can beckon His response. We invite Him into our internal world: our ponderings, frustrations, and small wins—the ordinary, everyday moments.
As Brother Lawrence expresses, “He is nearer than you imagine” (p. 36). He hears the quietest sighs of our heart, and will respond when we direct our thoughts towards Him.
In fact, some of the Lord’s clearest responses to me come not when I am in the secret place, asking for Him, but rather when I am in the middle of something and momentarily turn my gaze towards Him. In these moments, His voice feels more like an interruption and one I might have easily missed.
In fact, lately I’ve been relying on these interruptions to get through my day. Before I drive to a new place, I often ask if He’ll provide the perfect place to park, and He does. So many times I have watched a car back out just as I pull in. Or when I’m at work struggling to find a resource, if I just pause and ask for His help, within minutes I will uncover it in my email or browser. Sometimes when I’m feeling discouraged and tell Him so, I’ll hear a song playing through my speaker that feels like a hug from Him.
Just as Jesus called His disciples friends, God truly wants to be our friend. He will respond when we converse with Him throughout our day, and often things go better.
- Pursuit: The Psalms, Gospels, and testimonies of believers establish this truth: God answers when we call.
Sometimes we forget to pursue Him in seasons of jubilee, but He will always be found when we seek Him with all of our heart. He will be found because He never left.
So many times David cried out for deliverance, and within the same psalm praised God for his salvation. I think of Psalm 22 that memorably begins with, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This psalm always read as a lament to me until I spent time in the middle half of the passage and discovered a turning point: “Save me from the mouth of the lion,” David cries, and in the same breath, “You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen… glorify Him, for He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted… but has heard, when he cried to Him” (Psalm 22:21-24).
Brother Lawrence brings this point home, declaring: “If the vessel of our soul is still being tossed by winds or storms, we should wake the Lord who has been resting with us all along, and He will swiftly calm the sea” (p. 30).
If we want to encounter God’s calming presence, deliverance, and rescue in the storm, sometimes we have to pursue it.
WHY WE NEED HIS PRESENCE
Those who adore God will cherish the consistent nearness of His presence. They pine after it, as for a ray of sunshine in winter. Yet not all of us have experienced enough of God to understand the treasure of His presence.
The more I seek God and find Him, the more I want Him. Sometimes I get hung up on the seeking part and find myself too weary, distracted, or hurried to put in the effort of finding Him. In this way, I lead myself into the desert and often it is only the grace of God, much like the evening tide, that draws me back.
Unintentionally, we can erect walls that bar us from full connection with God and abundant life. These walls may be unforgiveness, busyness, or doubt. Yet His loving presence is the healing for the pain these walls protect.
For anyone hesitant to draw near or feeling too busy to prioritize the effort of finding God, Brother Lawrence gently invites: “Let us go down into our hearts, dear friend, breaking down the dike, making way for grace, and making up for lost time!” (p. 30).
The blessing of God’s presence is to pour life into every moment of our day. His presence guides our hearts into love and restores sacredness to the ordinary. His presence empowers us to overcome any circumstance and to step into our heavenly calling.
Isaiah 58:11 promises that when we surrender to God, “the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” When we dwell in His presence, we live an abundant life.
The practice is worth it, Brother Lawrence assures us, for “If God can find a soul filled with a lively faith, He pours His grace into it in a torrent that, having found an open channel, gushes out exuberantly” (p. 29).
Like the ocean, His presence is always there—a gift waiting to transform our lives. He can find us, but He desires us to find Him. We can step towards the water. We can immerse ourselves in His grace.
READ MORE:
Brother Lawrence. The Practice of the Presence of God. Whitaker House, 1982.