Mtr Taylor Devine

Dear Friend,

I came across this lovely prayer from Brother Lawrence, author of The Practice of the Presence of God, that I thought you might find meaningful today.

“O my God, since thou art with me, and I must now, in obedience to thy commands, apply my mind to these outward things, I beseech thee to grant me the grace to continue in thy presence; and to this end do thou prosper me with thy assistance, receive all my works, and possess all my affections."

I am really drawn to prayers for liminal spaces, prayers that remind you to lay down what has been done, prayers to pick it up again, prayers for returning home, and prayers for leaving again. Blessings on our way that remind us that it's not all ours to carry, and that the grace we might extend isn't a product of our own merit or hard work, but is a gift from God.

The impression I get from the little bit of Brother Lawrence that I have read is that he loved to dwell with God in the contemplative, and struggled to take that awareness into his active life, and in working at that was given the grace to enjoy God's presence in both the mundane and spectacular moments. How does one live in the reality of God's presence when the task at hand is arduous or boring? I think his posture of prayer, and practice, and grace are a start.

May God be with you in the "outward things" of this day,
-Mtr Taylor