Practicing the Presence of God

Posted on June 24, 2026, tagged as

In the seventeenth century, a French Carmelite friar called Brother Lawrence lived a simple, prayerful life working in the kitchen and repairing sandals. He taught a philosophy of relating to God through simple, everyday actions. In 1692 his writings and thoughts were published in a pamphlet entitled Practicing the Presence of God. Using this phrase as an inspiration, I want to propose a spiritual practice

Practicing the presence of God is a big idea, but I suggest starting small. Brother Lawrence taught that one should keep up a simple dialogue with God throughout the day. He thought that by maintaining an awareness of God one could remain calm and experience both being loved by God and loving God in return. Of course, people who don’t believe in God or are unsure of how to relate to a divinity may find this to be a useless idea. But read on, for the method may work regardless of one’s spiritual orientation.

As with all these meditations, start by sitting quietly in a comfortable position. Allow your body to relax. Think about being loved. Feel loved. If you believe in God, feel loved by the god of your understanding. If you cannot do this, feel loved anyway. Either way, if you have trouble feeling loved, think about someone who loves you, and feel that love. If you think nobody loves you, imagine an ideal person who will love you just the way you are. If you think you are unlovable, you are mistaken.

Do this for just a few minutes. You will know when to stop. As time goes on, you may find yourself being more aware of your higher power at times during the day.  Actually, this is practicing the eleventh step in that it is a way of improving our conscious contact with the god of our understanding. Don’t make it more complicated or difficult than it has to be. Just enjoy the experience and move on with your day.

For those who believe in God, you may find yourself starting to feel love for God in return. Let this happen naturally. Some may feel themselves loving the universe, or some other idea of something greater than themselves. If this reciprocity of love manifests in the practice, it is a bonus. And it will improve the quality of your life. Enjoy.