Brother Lawrence describes 4 benefits of practicing the presence of God in the sixth and last of his Spiritual Maxims. He observes that practicing the presence of God:
1. Develops a vibrant, living, and active faith that permeates every aspect of our lives, especially in our particular areas of need. Brother Lawrence goes on to describe what happens the more this vibrant faith advances: “The more it (one’s faith) advances, the more it becomes alive, and finally its faith becomes so penetrating that it could almost say, ‘I no longer believe, I see and experience.’ ”
2. Strengthens our hope and gives us a foretaste of the feast to come.
3. Inspires the will and “sets I ablaze with the fire of sacred love”, resulting in “a passionate desire to see God loved, known, served, and worshiped by all creation.”
4. Merges everything we do into one continuous act of worship, since the soul is always in God’s presence.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Putting theory into practice”
