Presence Project Week 6
Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast. — Psalm 139.7-10
…the loving gaze that finds God everywhere. — Brother Lawrence
Learning
Another theme that emerges in practicing being present to God is the importance of growing this intention into a habit. With his signature simplicity Brother Lawrence teaches that “the habit is formed by the repetition of acts and by frequently bringing the mind back into God’s presence…yet once [the habit] is formed we will find contentment in everything.”
Employing inescapable logic Lawrence argues, “We cannot ask [God] for [help] unless we are with him. We cannot be with him unless we think of him often. We cannot think of him often unless we habitually practice this holy exercise.” Lawrence advises that if we bring ourselves into awareness of God’s presence often enough we will become accustomed to doing so, and we will find that “there is nothing easier than to repeat these little inner adorations frequently throughout the day…while at work, [and] at every possible moment.”
Practicing
Contemplation – an invitation to spend 10 or 15 minutes a day reflecting on God and God’s presence.
Imagine your partner or closest friend.
● Do you need to be with them to be thinking about them, remembering kindnesses, feeling warm about the connection you have?
● Bringing them to mind when you’re not physically with them and smiling about the thought is the heart of mindfulness.
● Then as you hold that mindfulness and bask in it or enjoy its glow you are doing the act of contemplation.
Daily, spend time being mindful of God’s love and presence, and hold that mindfulness gently for a time of restful contemplation.