David Given Schwarm

When he was troubled by something, he seldom consulted anyone about it. Knowing only that God was present, he walked in the light of faith and was content just to lose himself in God’s love no matter what happened. There, in God’s love, he would find himself again.

He remarked that thinking often spoils everything and that evil usually begins with our thoughts. In Brother Lawrence’s opinion, we should reject any thoughts that distract us from serving the Lord or that undermine our salvation. Freeing the mind of such thoughts permits a comfortable conversation with God, but Brother Lawrence added that this isn’t always easy. When he was first saved, he had often spent his entire prayer time rejecting distractions and then falling immediately into them again.

He said that a sharp distinction should be drawn between acts of this intellect and those of the will. the former are of little importance, while the latter mean everything. All we really have to do is love god and rejoice in Him. He declared that all the possible good works or self-abasing acts of contrition we could possibly do would not erase a single sin. In fact, God often chooses those who had been the greatest sinners to receive His greatest grace, because this can reveal His goodness more dramatically.

Only the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse us of sin. For this reason, we should strive to love Him with all our hearts.

Brother Lawrence said he concentrated on doing little things for Him, since he was unable to do bigger things. After that, anything the Lord willed could happen to him, and he wouldn’t be concerned about it. therefore, he didn’t worry about anything and asked God for nothing expect that the might not offend Him.