The Practice of the Presence of God 

“Let us occupy ourselves entirely in knowing God. 

The more we know [God] the more we will desire to know [ God]. 

Brother Lawrence 

I first encountered Brother Lawrence in a college course on “Christian Spirituality.” He was a humble cook, but he learned to cultivate the deep presence of God. In his spiritual classic, “The Practice of the Presence of God”, he invites his readers to focus our lives entirely in “knowing God.” His invitation raises the question whether it is pos-sible for us to know God. The prophet Isaiah proclaims the following in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” In the story of Job, the character Job is chal-lenged with the question, “Can you find out the deep things of God?” In other words, can we “know God?” Can we do what Brother Lawrence invites us to do? 

If we are left in our own humanity, the answer would be “no”. While we humans are inquisitive, curious crea-tures who love to explore, when we begin to think about God, we are left searching. I think this is what the prophet Isaiah was saying in the passage I just referenced. Left on our own, knowing God would be difficult, if not impossi-ble. Thankfully, though, we have not been left alone. God wants to be known. 

First, God has taken the initiative to be known through God’s creation. Theologians call this God’s general reve-lation. Paul refers to God’s general revelation in Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.” God’s desire to be known goes beyond general revelation. God doesn’t want to avoid us. In fact, God has taken some very specific actions to be known. For example, in the story of Adam and Eve, God came looking for them. God sent the prophets. Ultimately, God came directly to us in Jesus. Theologians refer to the gifts of God’s son, God’s Library (Bible) and God’s Spirit as “special revelation.” Through these gifts we can know God. 

In the Gospel of John, Jesus is recorded numerous times saying the following words, “I am…” followed by a common symbol of his time and place. Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.” “I am the light of the world.” I am the true vine.” When Jesus spoke these words, he was telling us something about himself and about God. By under-standing the meaning of these images, how those meanings connect with our lives today, and incorporating them into the center of our lives, we can experience a closer relationship with Jesus and a deeper understanding of God. We can respond to Brother Lawrence’s invitation. We can “know God!” 

As we enter the season of Lent, a period of preparation leading up to our celebration of Easter, I invite you to prepare for Easter by joining our Lenten Small Groups on Sundays at 9:30am or a weekly zoom meeting at a time to be determined as we study Jesus’ “I Am” sayings. 

Pastor David