The Practice of the Presence of God in Modern English

By: Brother Lawrence

Narrated by: Melissa S. Fawcett

Length: 1 hr and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

The Practice of the Presence of God in Modern English is a modern translation of the timeless spiritual classic. Written over 300 years ago in French, The Practice of the Presence of God is here presented in language understandable to the twenty-first century English listener. Not a paraphrase or an abridgment, this version is a faithful rendering of the text in the spirit of the original work.

Brother Lawrence was a 17th century Christian who had a dramatic spiritual awakening at the age of 18. Seeing a tree in winter, his soul suddenly opened to the presence of God. Within six years he had entered a Carmelite monastery in Paris, where he worked chiefly in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning. He practiced a simple and natural method. He merely turned his attention to the Divine Presence available at all times during any activity. He reports that he was as fully present with God while washing dishes in the kitchen as he was when partaking of the sacrament in worship.

The profound peace and joy evident in Lawrence’s life attracted many visitors, who sought to learn the secret of his unique spiritual practice.

Originally published shortly after his death, this volume consists of personal conversations and letters, which communicate how one can experience God at all times. Also included in this edition are his Spiritual Maxims, a document that was discovered among his belongings after his death.

©2013 Marshall Davis (P)2023 Marshall Davis

Some of the previous reviews make me wonder if I read the same book

Short book; rich content. Worthy read.

Brother Lawrence’s letters helped me see the beautiful connection between the grace that fuels love for God and the intentionality of training the mind “practicing” to stay focused on God in a way that patterns one’s life to be always set before God. It’s a way of peace, contentment, joy, trust and courage.

Challenging & inspiring

What a beautiful and freeing way to understand communion with God. I am challenged by the straightforward simplicity of Brother Lawrence’s observations in practicing the ongoing presence of God.

Just finished

Pretty good if you are religious. Good tips at the end of the audio book

Profound!

Enriching to my soul! A little slow to follow so it may not appeal to the masses. Intimacy can be learned and this is a great manual on how to develop it with The Lord.

A bit dated

The overall book is good, but some of the ideas and means of practice are very dated and conservative in belief. I think there are some very good nuggets of knowledge in the book and it is definately worth the 1.5 hours to listen to it. I hope you find some useful bits like I did!

How is this a "spiritual classic"?

Save yourself some time and money. Just record a voice memo of yourself saying, "practicing the presence of God," and play it on a continuous loop for eight hours. You'll get as much from that as from this book, which is basically just someone saying repeatedly, "Brother Lawrence constantly practiced the presence of God," over and over again for hours without ever actually talking about what that means or how one pursues such a practice. I'm not in any way knocking the narration; the reader is quite good. It's the material that is profoundly disappointing.