David Given Schwarm

Dear Friend,

I’d like to use this occasion to inform you of the thoughts of one of our brothers concerning the wonderful results and the continual help he receives from the presence of God. We could both profit from them. (It is believed that Brother Lawrence was referring to himself in the following. His humility restrained him from saying so.)

For more than forty years, this brother’s principle endeavor has been to stay as close as possible to God, doing, saying, and thinking nothing that might displease Him. He has no reason for doing this, except to show his gratitude for God’s pure love and because God deserves infinitely more than that anyway.

This brother has become so accustomed to God’s divine presence that he relies on it for help on all sorts of occasions. His soul has been filled with constant inner joy that is sometimes so overwhelming, he feels compelled to do what may seem to some as childish things, in order to prevent the feeling from becoming too intense.