Practicing the Presence (Second Conversation)

That with him the set times of prayer were not different from other times: that he retired to pray, according to the directions of his Superior, but that he did not want such retirement, nor ask for it, because his greatest business did not divert him from God.

I love this passage.  Do you have times set aside in your life for prayer?  Are there places that you go that seem to help you enter into a prayerful attitude?  Are there certain exercises or certain prayers that you find particularly helpful?

My own personal answer to all of these is "yes" and I don't think that there is anything wrong with that.  However, I love what this interviewer is saying about Brother Lawrence and his attitude towards a "quiet time" (to use our own modern Baptist terminology).  He's essentially saying, "Why do I need a 'quiet time' when my whole life is communion with God?"  He's saying that even in the busiest part of the day, when there are a hundred things to do and a thousand different things he could be thinking about, his focus and attention is on God.  If he were driving a car, he might be talking with; if he were making a meal, it was be as though he were cooking with God; if he was gardening, he would be doing it with and for God.  In essence, he's advocating for living your everyday life as prayer.  This is such a wonderful, simple, and incredibly difficult practice to cultivate.

What activity can you use today to lead you into prayer?  How can you turn some chore, some monotonous, some routine part of your day into prayer.  Write about your experience with this in the comments below (click on the "comment" just below the title above).