“I’m busy!” Those words are uttered so frequently that we do not even notice them anymore. Our culture wears those words like a badge of honor. “I’m busy” unfortunately doesn’t just describe our calendars. It can also describe our hearts. This is as true for ministers as it is for anyone. As I mentioned in a previous article, this can be due to a minister’s internal drive to please people and/or perform.
Being busy is not a bad thing in and of itself. After all, God has given us a big mission to accomplish. However, there is a difference between having a busy day and having a busy heart.
Are You Present?
Have you ever been in conversation with someone who gets a text, and they immediately look at their phone or watch? Probably most of us. And we all have likely done it as well. It’s a symptom of the busyness that is happening internally. This busyness makes it nearly impossible to be present with people. Yet our presence is one of the biggest gifts we have to offer.
Likely you have heard the statement that “people don’t care what you know until they know how much you care.” Being present with others is a significant way of showing you care. I have experienced personally in times of crisis, pain, or questions how what I need from someone has more to do with them being with me than what they say to me. This has huge implications for disciple making, pastoring, and simply being a friend. We reproduce who we are. It does not matter how many tools, strategies, or programs we have to offer. If we cannot fully offer ourselves, we inhibit the process.
The challenge is that we live in an angst-filled world of anxiety that vies for our attention from every angle. Much more capable writers have written about rising levels of anxiety and decreasing capacity to pay attention in our culture. It’s a real dilemma and I wrestle with it as well. Yet, if we want to build into others’ lives, we must find ways to increase our capacity to be present.
“If we want to build into others’ lives, we must find ways to increase our capacity to be present.”
Practicing God’s Presence
I have found help in being present in an ancient practice that is incredibly simple. It’s called “the practice of the presence of God.” The phrase comes from a 17-century monk named Brother Lawrence whose unpublished writing, conversations, and letters were turned into a book after he died. Brother Lawrence’s goal was simply to keep himself consciously aware of God as much as possible throughout his day.[1] In practice, “it is a form of micro-prayer done on the fly. A mini-conversation with God.”[2]
Brother Lawrence became a kind, peaceful, and loving person who saw all of his work (washing dishes, cooking, shoe repair) as service to God. Over time, he began connecting with God in all of his work. Where once anxiety and sadness ruled his heart, peace and joy took over. Where once he viewed himself as the “clumsy oaf,” he began seeing himself as God’s friend.[3] Where once memories of war and hardships consumed his mind, God’s presence became his focal point.
The remarkable thing about Brother Lawrence is that the more he practiced the presence of God, the more he was able to be present to others. People from all walks of life sought him for his counsel even though he was not a leader, author, or anyone of renown. Creating space to be more present to God created capacity for him to be more present to people and it was attractive.
“The more he practiced the presence of God the more he was able to be present to others.”
It’s About Relationship
Practicing God’s presence is simply growing in our awareness of His loving presence. As Brother Lawrence instructs, “We must stop for a brief moment, as often as we can, to love God deep in our heart, to savor [Him], even though this is brief and in secret.”[4] At times it may be an act of listening. At other times it may be resting in His presence and receiving His love. It is not about technique. It’s about relationship.
While the Bible doesn’t specifically use the phrase “the practice of the presence of God,” biblical phrases like “abiding in Christ” or “staying in step with the Sprit” capture the essence of it. The idea is there in passages such as Psalm 16:8 (NIV): “’I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Or consider Jesus’ constant awareness of His Father’s presence in passages such as John 14:20 (NIV): “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”
The power of this practice is that it can fill our day with an acknowledgement of God being with us. Instead of our day being consumed with tasks and meetings, we can create moments of respite through simply pausing to give attention to God. The practice helps us place God at the center of our day instead of our calendar being the center. Instead of prayer being that thing we do at a certain time, prayer becomes more conversational. Ultimately, the practice forces out fear, anxiety, and distraction to create more space for God which in turn creates more space for others.
“The practice forces out fear, anxiety, and distraction to create more space for God which in turn creates more space for others.”
The Key to Practicing the Presence
Practically speaking, the key to practicing the Presence of God is to integrate it into our everyday experience. A simple way as taught by Brother Lawrence to grow in our awareness of God is to say a simple prayer or praise whenever you are reminded of Him. You could recite a portion of a Psalm. You could have a couple phrases handy that you recite.
For instance, I will often say something like “I am listening to your voice, Good Shepherd” or sometimes I just whisper the name, “Jesus.” Brother Lawrence advises that “when we practice the presence, we enjoy and become familiar with God’s divine company, speaking humbly and looking to [Him] lovingly for support all the time, at every moment, without methods or limits, especially during times of temptation, pain, loneliness, exhaustion, and even disbelief and stumbling.”[5]
The practice of God’s presence is a way to break into the busyness of our days with attention to God. Whether our pause is for 15 seconds or 15 minutes, the very act of pausing to turn our thoughts to God creates space for Him to fill, crowding out worries, temptations, and fears. As a result, this creates capacity to be present to others. The more attentive we are to God, the more available we are to people.
[1] Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God (Springdale, PA.: Whitaker House, 1982), 4.
[2] Lawrence and Carmen Acevedo Butcher, Practice of the Presence (Minneapolis: Broadleaf Books, 2022), 2.
[3] Lawrence and Butcher, 16.
[4] Lawrence and Butcher, 48.
[5] Lawrence and Butcher, 47.
