Having “an habitual, silent, and secret conversation with God”

Thou my daily task shalt give; Day by day to Thee I live; So shall added years fulfil, Not my own, my Father’s will. (Josiah Conder 1836)
… Learning to live deliberately with God, to make our time with the Lord as important as other significant experiences, is our “daily task.” That’s because, as Brother Lawrence discovered, each minute in our lives is an opportunity to open our hearts to God’s “abiding Presence.” Wherever he went and during whatever menial task he was assigned, Brother Lawrence tried to maintain “an habitual, silent, and secret conversation of the soul with God” (The Practice of the Presence of God, xi, 31). I like to visualize God’s “abiding Presence” as it appeared when the Lord’s spirit blew through the room and blazed in people’s hearts on the day of Pentecost. They were assured, right then, that Christ was still going to be with them, would always be sustaining and comforting them. And that same Spirit of the Lord is by your side and my side right now, walking with us and talking to us, wrapping his light and love around us. But, just as Brother Lawrence realized in the 17th century, living in these right-now moments with a heart open to God takes practice. (Living Calm ©️ 2016)