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. Amen. (Brother Lawrence)
This prayer of Brother Lawrence made me think about how we CAN be close to God and aware of his presence in our everyday living.
Often I can be busy at work for most of the day and realise that my thoughts or heart have not turned to God at all but have been caught up with tasks. How can we know His continual presence when we are busy with life? How can we intentionally walk with him whilst carrying out every day tasks? There are so many distractions. How does God become part of our distractions so they are longer distractions?
The prayer finishes with ‘possess all my affections’. What affections do we have that take us away from that closeness? Brother Andrew asks that God would ‘grant him the grace to continue in His presence’.
The Lord hears the cry of our hearts for a greater intimacy and closeness to Him.
Sandra shared this as part of the Fasting Study Group during Advent.
We run the Fasting Study Group in Lent and Advent. We can also arrange groups at other times. You can find out about the scheduled groups HERE. Or CONTACT US if you would like us to arrange a Fasting Study Group at a different time.
