Practicing The Presence Of God: Old Habits For A New YearSample

Day 2: The End of all our Practice

Many of us wake up every Monday through Friday and head to a job for the express purpose of providing for our family and ourselves. We may enjoy the work or we may not, but the ends—supporting the ones we love—justify the means. We work because we love. 

Our practices or disciplines of the spiritual life have a similar end, and before we begin exploring the riches of Brother Lawrence’s method of “practicing the presence,” we should take great care to firmly plant in our hearts the ultimate end of all our spiritual striving. This too, would be the first lesson Brother Lawrence would wish to teach because it is the very thing that drove all of his practice. 

In the opening pages of his book Lawrence reveals that our driving pursuit ought to be a resolute love for God. He notes that those who do not advance in spiritual practices most often, “neglect the love of God which is the end.” He goes on to say that what we do, or how we do it is not near as important as “a heart resolutely determined to apply itself to nothing but Him.”

In any spiritual practice, if an ever-deepening devotion to God is not its ultimate aim, then the point of the practice has been missed. In Brother Lawrence’s words we hear echoes of what Paul was communicating to the young and unruly Corinthian church in his first letter to them when he writes, “if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have…but have not love, I gain nothing.” Action, then, that is void of love is worth little in the kingdom of God. 

This should not, however, deter us to act. We know down deep that if we do not live the Christian life, we cannot say we really believe it. The good news is that all of our means can be beautiful things when we hold fast to the proper ends. Our spiritual activities, whether they be “practicing the presence” or feeding the homeless, can be a fragrant aroma to God and inwardly and outwardly fruitful—when the motivations of our heart are fixed on Him. Recall Jesus’s words to his disciples: “As the branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.” Christ goes on to say that, “whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” 

God is our great end. That is the lesson Lawrence teaches. But he would also be eager to teach us that God is equally our means: 

“This King, full of mercy and goodness, very far from chastening me, embraces me with love, invites me to feast at his table, serves me with his own hands, and gives me the key to his treasures. He converses with me, and takes delight in me, and treats me as if I were his favorite.”

Let Lawrence’s words soak in. Our ever-present King embraces us, invites us, serves us, converses with us, takes delight in us, and gives us grace upon grace. In other words, our heavenly Father pours out means upon immeasurable means. The result? Our spirits soar. Thus, we not only live for him, we live from him. For man, God is both his end and means.

The proper end of all our practice is a deep, abiding love of the Father. And he who began a good work in us will be sure to complete it.

Reflection

1. Life is full of competing ends. Where does God stack up among your list? Is He ultimate in your heart?

2. How have you felt God’s presence in a previous spiritual practice? Chronicle that experience by writing it in your journal.

Practice

Are your spiritual practices undergirded in the love of God? One way to ensure this is to give your motives to Him before you begin any activity or practice. Consider offering up a prayer like this: “Most merciful Father, may the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight. May the activity I have committed to undertake bless you and bring glory to your name. Amen.”