David Given Schwarm

Brother Lawrence insisted that, to be constantly aware of God’s presence, it is necessary to form the habit of continually talking with Him throughout each day. To think that we must abandon conversation with Him in order to deal with the world is erroneous. Instead, as we nourish our souls by seeing God in His exaltation, we will derive a great joy at being His.

Another thing he mentioned was that our faith is too weak. Instead of letting faith rule our lives, we are guided by our petty, everyday, mechanical prayers, which are always changing. The church’s only road to perfecion of Christ is faith.

The dear brother remarked that we must give ourselves totally to God in both temporal and spiritual affairs. Our only happiness should come from doing God’s will, whether it brings us some pain or great pleasure. After all, if we are truly devoted to doing God’s will, pain and pleasure won’t make any difference to us.

We also need to be faithful, even in dry periods. It is during those dry spells that God tests our love for Him. This will often bring us to a maturity further on in our walk with God.

Brother Lawrence wasn’t surprised by the amount of sin and unhappiness in the world. Rahter, he wondered why there wasn’t more,considering the extremes to which the enemy is capable of going. He said he prayed about it, but because he knew God could rectify the situation in a moment if He willed it, he didn’t allow himself to become greatly concerned.

To succeed in giving ourselves to God as much as He desires, we must constantly guard our souls. In addition to being involved in spiritual matters, the soul is involved in the things of this world. However, when we turn our backs on Him, exposing our souls to the world, He will not so easily answer our call. When we are willing to accept God’s help and guard our souls according to His desires, we may commune with Him whenever we like.