The Practice of the Presence of JesusSample

Songs in the Night

The seventeenth-century monk Brother Lawrence is best known for practicing the presence of God in the midst of everyday tasks and deep suffering. He once wrote, “I know that for the right practice of the presence of God, the heart must be empty of all other things; because God will possess the heart alone.”

I often practice the presence of my Savior in the dark of night when physical pain is keeping me up. Rather than contend with anxiety, I empty out my heart and pour the beauties of Jesus into it. I fill it with love words for him, each borrowed from the Bible: “Oh, Jesus, to me you are altogether lovely, the fairest of ten thousand, the bright and morning star, my Bridegroom for whom I long. You are the Rose of Sharon, the Lily of the Valley. As Song of Songs 1:2-3 says, ‘Your love is more delightful than wine . . . . Your name is like perfume poured out.’”

The heart cannot stay filled with muddled thoughts when its hollows are overflowing with the loveli­ness of Christ.

One night recently, my usual sleep position was not working, and I lay wide awake. This par­ticular night I recited Isaiah 40:31 over and over: “Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Eventually, I fell asleep.

In the morning when my friend pulled back the drapes, she gasped and stepped away from the bay window. There perched on my small birdbath was a massive hawk. His tal­ons clutched the rim, he arched and ruffled his feathers, and we marveled at the awesome creature, sitting serenely, a pic­ture of supreme beauty and breathtaking power. After my harrowing night, how precious of God to gift me with “strength in the morning.”

When we open the eyes of our hearts, God will always surprise us with signs of his grace. I suppose if God can direct a whale underwater to swallow Jonah, he can direct a huge hawk to greet me at the start of a new day. How did Jesus greet you this morning? What reminders has he given you of his love for you?

Meditate: Ask God to open the eyes of your heart to see evidences of his care.