Practicing God's Presence: Brother Lawrence for Today's Reader by Robert Elmer

For centuries, the sayings of Brother Lawrence, a seventeenth-century monk, have shown believers how to follow and live like Christ. Originally published as a brief booklet shortly after Lawrence's death in 1691, his classic work The Practice of the Presence of God has crossed nearly every denominational and cultural line and influenced tens of thousands. Today's reader will enjoy exploring how he or she can better practice the presence of God. In a clear, readable style, Robert Elmer unlocks these treasured spiritual insights by paraphrasing Brother Lawrence's centuries-old English into a new modern update that everyone can understand.

Author: Robert Elmer
Located in: Bayiew, ID
Submitted: January 03, 2005

Tell us a little about yourself. God seems to have used everything I've done in my writing career to prepare me for rewriting this book. Freelance writing, newspaper editing, advertising writing... I've always worked to develop a clear, easy-to-read style. And now here it is! A chance to rewrite a tremendously popular classic in a style that speaks to today's readers. I'm very excited about "Practicing God's Presence."

What was your motivation behind this project? Many people have told me they've read and enjoyed "The Practice of the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence. But the old language honestly was a little thick. So I was motivated to produce a book that reads today as fresh as when Brother Lawrence first wrote the words, hundreds of years ago.

What do you hope folks will gain from this project? This timeless classic has been translated and re-translated over the centuries. It's a special book written by a humble French monk about a living, daily prayer relationship with the Lord. And the first time I read it I was startled by its down-to-earth, practical tone. My prayer is that a new generation of readers will rediscover "Practicing God's Presence."

Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: The style of "Practicing God's Presence" may remind you of the popular Bible paraphrase called "The Message." In fact, I'm so pleased that "Practicing God's Presence" is endorsed by Eugene Peterson, who's responsible for "The Message." You can read them both, side-by-side.

>>Learn more about Brother Lawrence.