In His Presence

I believe that I now understand the title of the little book … "The Practice of the Presence of God" by Nicholas Herman, a seventeenth century Carmelite monk from French Lorraine, known as Brother Lawrence.

In it he tells of his practice of acknowledging that God was always present "with him" where ever he was or what ever he was doing. 

I've read the words from his heart in this little book, words like these ...

"I spent hours in thinking of God, so as to convince my mind of, and to impress deeply upon my heart, the knowledge and love of God, resolving to live in a continual sense of His presence, and if possible never to forget Him anymore."
 
It didn't happen overnight.  I'm sure he had to work at it ... and here's part of  how he did it.

"I worshiped Him the oftenest that I could, keeping my mind in His Holy presence, and recalling it as often as I found it wandered from Him.

At times a crowd of wandering thoughts would invade my mind and take possession of the place of God; when such happened, I proceeded straightway to expel them and return to my commune with God."

Most believers know and except that God's presence is everywhere, even filling the universe.  Simply stated ... God is everywhere.  We can't go anywhere, where God is not.

But I want to look at this from another perspective.  It's not so much that God is always present with us ... but it has become more meaningful to me if I say it this way ... that we are always in His presence.

Okay ... you say that is the same thing.  Maybe ... but what if it's not.  The air we breath is always around us.  We just take that for granted, and we are thankful that it is.  I don't want to take God's presence for granted like we do the air we breathe.

I always want to acknowledge that I am in His presence ... willfully desiring to present myself unto Him daily ... actively seeking more of Jesus, who by the way knows the worst about me and is still willing to spend time with me.   

Being aware that I am in His presence every moment ... causes me to desire that all my actions, all that I do ... will be my very best as I attempt to please the Lord in all things.  It has taken a while, but I think I'm getting a little better at including the Holy Spirit working along side of me in my daily routine.

Thru out the day I find little things that allows Me to give credit to the Lord ... like His helping hand being placed upon both Peg and me.  The Lord gives us both so much, how can we not give Him all the praise and worship as often as we remember too.

Graham Cooke says that we should never exit worship.  If we can breathe ... then worship should flow from us like our breath does.  Breathe Him in, breathe worship out.  Thanksgiving ... even for the little things that just goes right.          

If I'm out in the hot sun working in my yard and I walk under the shade of one of my trees and I feel a cool breeze upon my back, I say ... "Thank you Lord Jesus" ... for I consider that refreshing breeze, His breath reminding me that He is still there.   

To be ... in His presence.  Think about that.  We live every day in the very presence of God flowing in and around us.  What a privilege we have been given.

There is nothing like being in ... the presence of God.