Nearer Than We Imagine: Meditations on Practicing the Presence of GodSample

To Be Completely His

I still believe that all spiritual life consists of practicing God’s presence and that anyone who practices it correctly will soon attain spiritual fulfillment.

To accomplish this, it is necessary for the heart to be emptied of everything that would offend God. He wants to possess our hearts completely. Before any work can be done in our souls, God must be totally in control.

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In the way of God, thoughts count for little; love does everything. And it is not necessary to have great things to do. I turn my little omelet in the pan for the love of God; when it is finished, if I have nothing to do, I prostrate myself on the ground and adore my God, who gave me the grace to make it, after which I arise, more content than a king. When I cannot do anything else, it is enough for me to have lifted a straw from the earth for the love of God.

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Our adoration of God should be done in faith, believing that He really lives in our hearts and that He must be loved and served in spirit and in truth. We need to realize that He is the independent One, upon whom all of us depend, and that He is aware of everything that happens to us.

The Lord’s perfections are truly beyond measure. By His infinite excellence and His sovereign place as both Creator and Savior, He has the right to possess us and all that exists in both heaven and earth. It should be His good pleasure to do with each of us whatever He chooses through all time and eternity. Because of all He is to us, we owe Him our thoughts, words, and actions. Let us earnestly endeavor to do this.

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God has various ways of drawing us to Him, but sometimes He hides from us. In those times, the sole support of our confidence must be our faith, which must be totally in God. Such faith will not fail.

Remember that God never leaves us unless we go away first. We should be careful never to separate ourselves from His presence. We must dwell with Him always.

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To adore God in spirit and in truth means to adore Him as we should. Because God is a Spirit, He must be adored in spirit. That is to say, we must worship Him with a humble, sincere love that comes from the depth and center of our souls. Only God can see this adoration, which we must repeat until it becomes part of our nature, as if God were one with our souls and our souls were one with God. Practice will demonstrate this.

Second, to adore God in truth is to recognize Him for what He is and ourselves for what we are. Adoring God in truth means that our hearts actually see God as infinitely perfect and worthy of our praise.…

Third, to adore God in truth is to admit that our nature is just the opposite of His. Yet, He is willing to make us like Him, if we desire it. Who would be so rash as to neglect, even for a moment, the respect, the love, the service, and the continual adoration that we owe Him?

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There is no sweeter manner of living in the world than continuous communion with God. Only those who have experienced it can understand. However, I don’t advise you to practice it for the sole purpose of gaining consolation for your problems. Seek it, rather, because God wills it and out of love for Him.

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Sometimes I imagine that I’m a piece of stone, waiting for the sculptor. When I give myself to God in this way, He begins sculpting my soul into the perfect image of His beloved Son. At other times, I feel my whole mind and heart being raised up into God’s presence, as if, without effort, they had always belonged there.

Some people may consider this attitude self-deceptive. But I cannot permit it to be called deception, since, in this state of enjoying God, I desire nothing but His presence. If I am deceiving myself, the Lord will have to remedy it. I want Him to do whatever He pleases with me; all I want is to be completely His.

Thought: Practice [God’s presence] energetically…. It truly is better late than never.

We hope this plan has encouraged you as you daily practice the presence of God. Explore other resources at https://www.whitakerhouse.com/book-authors/brother-lawrence/