Now Solomon loved the Lord . . .

Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God

“I have given up all but my intercessory prayers to focus my attention on remaining in His holy presence. I keep my attention on God in a simple, loving way. This is my soul’s secret experience of the actual, unceasing presence of God.”

Monsieur de Beaufort

“He [Brother Lawrence] said his prayers consisted totally and simply of God’s presence. His soul was resting in God, having lost its awareness of everything but love of Him. When he wasn’t in prayer, he felt practically the same way. Remaining near to God, he praised and blessed Him with all his strength. Because of this, his life was full of continual joy.”

Gary Tyra, Christ’s Empowering Presence (p.183)

“A good number of the classic works on Christian spirituality emphasize the important relationship between the practice of the presence of God and an ongoing engagement in worship, praise, and thanksgiving. I want to underscore that the connection between giving thanks to God and experiencing his presence is not only correlative, but causative as well”

“Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David… So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”