The Practice of the Presence of God

The Practice of the Presence of God is a book of collected teachings of Brother Lawrence (born Nicholas Herman), a 17th-century Carmelite monk. Compiled by Father Joseph de Beaufort. The compilation includes letters, as well as records of his conversations kept by Brother Lawrence's interlocutors. The basic theme of the book is the development of an awareness of the presence of God.


The first conversation in the book recounts Brother Lawrence’s conversion to Christianity at 18 years old: “...in the winter, seeing a tree stripped of its leaves, and considering that within a little time, the leaves would be renewed, and after that the flowers and fruit appear, he received a high view of the Providence and Power of GOD, which has never since been effaced from his soul.”


At the age of 24, Brother Lawrence joined the Discalced Carmelite order in Paris, taking the religious name “Lawrence of the Resurrection”. He spent the rest of his life with this order, dying on 12 February 1691. During his time as a monk he was much preoccupied with the cultivating a keen sensitivity to the presence of God in everyday life.