The Practice of the Presence of God

The Best Rule of a Holy Life

Brother Lawrence 1692

Conversations and letters describe a monk's efforts to keep God in mind throughout ordinary work. His monastery kitchen becomes a place of prayer, even amid the noise of cooking and washing dishes.

39 pages 46 min reading time

One of the most widely read classics of Christian spiritual writing, loved by Catholics and Protestants alike.
Argues that prayer does not have to wait for church or quiet time, and that a person can talk with God in simple words all day long, even while working.
Teaches that small acts done out of love for God, like flipping an omelet or picking up a straw from the floor, matter as much as grand religious deeds.
Its phrase "the practice of the presence of God" became a common name for this habit of staying aware of God throughout the day, used by teachers and writers across many churches.
Shaped later Christian thinkers and missionaries, among them the American missionary Frank Laubach, whose own letters on living every minute with God were directly inspired by it.

Never meant as a book

Brother Lawrence wrote no book himself, and his talks and letters were gathered only after his death.
Recorded by a visitor

A church official named Joseph de Beaufort wrote down his conversations with Lawrence and later published them.
Most writings destroyed

Lawrence is said to have destroyed most of his own notes out of humility, so only a few letters survived.
Saved by Protestants

After a French church dispute over quiet prayer, Catholics there neglected it, but Protestants abroad kept it alive.