The Practice of the Presence of God: The Best Rule of a Holy Life

Brother Lawrence was a man of humble beginnings who discovered the greatest secret of living in the Kingdom of God here on earth. 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. 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.