![]() ![]() In the deep of winter, Herman looked at a barren tree, stripped of leaves and fruit, waiting silently and patiently for the sure hope of summer abundance. As Christianity Today notes in their Christian History section on Brother Lawrence:ĭuring this period, Herman had an experience that set him on a unique spiritual journey it wasn’t, characteristically, a supernatural vision, but a supernatural clarity into a common sight. I should note that joining the Monastery wasn’t a sudden decision (he had already had “spiritual experiences,” and spent time as a hermit in the desert). During his time at the Monastery, he served in the kitchen calling himself the lord of the pots and pans. Consequently, he entered the Carmelite Monastery in Paris as a lay-brother, taking the name Lawrence. An injury eventually brought him back to his parents’ home to recuperate, where he finally decided to devote his life to serving God. When he came of age, he joined the armed forces (in part for a steady diet and a small stipend). Nicholas Herman was born in 1611 (died in 1691) to peasant parents in Lorraine, France. Lawrence’s practice is absolutely simple, which is perhaps why it is difficult to “practice.”īlessed be Overview of Brother Lawrence’s History I’ve decided to give a little history on who Brother Lawrence was, before moving onto using his own words to describe his practice. I think it is also about truly recognizing that we are (as Paul writes) a Temple of God.Īs it is considered a classic in Christian devotional literature, Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God has had many editions (I’m referencing Whitaker House’s 1982 edition). It is learning to constantly commune with this larger source out of Love. Practicing the Presence of God is about seeing God in all things, recognizing that we belong to a part of the Body of Christ, which is much bigger than we are. This “practice” is probably more an attitude, a perspective upon which to look at the world, if you will. Express your God-given difference, explore your God-given dreams, endure your God-given difficulties and enlist your God-given dynamic.Today I wanted to talk about the spiritual practice I mentioned on Sunday. Would you like to prosper as Joseph prospered? Prosperity is the progressive realization of the will of God for your life. How humbling it is to know God is with us, too! God was with him in times of persecution, responsibility, temptation, of slander, and suffering. When the Bible says that, “God was with him,” it means that God was for him, working on his behalf. However, in Genesis 50:20, when confronted by his brothers, Joseph said: “As for you, you thought evil against me but God meant it unto good.” God allows us to have difficulties in life He does not cause these things, but wherever man rules, God overrules. He’s falsely accused and thrown in prison. Adrian Rogers says, “You don’t find the will of God God’s will finds you.” Joseph endured his God-given difficulties. We must present ourselves to Him and ask Him for the mind of Christ. ![]() How can we know what we are supposed to hope for? God has not promised to fulfill our fantasies rather, He has plans for us and wants us to dream God-given dreams. When Joseph was just a teenager, God put a dream into his heart. When we refuse to conform, it resents our nobility in the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 12:2 says, “Be not conformed to this world.” The world wants to squeeze us into its mold. When God saved us, God made us different we are somebody in his sight. ![]() His brothers hated him because he would not conform. Joseph was different, distinct by his nobility. Joseph expressed his God-given difference. The Bible says, “.the Lord was with him.” (Genesis 39) There are four principles in Genesis 37 that reveal how to prosper like Joseph. No matter what happened to him, Joseph practiced the presence of God. Perhaps the most Christ-like character in the Old Testament was Joseph. The secret to an abundant life is practicing the presence of God. There are many people who are existing, but are not living.
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