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Practicing the Presence of God
A four-week course on Living Daily With God
The Christian classic by Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, recounts a life at peace with God that is simple, secure and satisfied. Practicing God’s presence is walking by the light of faith in God’s presence as He completes the perfect work He begins in us. God’s presence often eludes us, so we resort to living by our striving. Our striving can never reach God but God can reach us. God is with us whether or not we notice Him and He perseveres to complete all we need to live with Him. God tells us His way is a child's way (Luke 18:17) who simply follows God on His “ancient paths,” where we find rest for our souls (Jeremiah 6:16)
In Isaiah, we read that God establishes our peace or completeness, “since You have also performed for us all our works” (26:12). What does this promise mean? How has God performed our works at the same time that we are to work out our salvation (Philippians 2:12)? God’s promise speaks of His holy rest for us, where He completes us and our good works He prepares us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10)
The goal of this four-week course is to learn how to live more fully in God’s Sabbath, where He completes in Jesus the work we need to live with Him. Our classes will focus on the holiness of God in His rest and the kind of faith that leads us to Him. We will apply theories of psychology to help us better understand how we resist and how we accept God’s work in our relationships, thoughts and emotions
Class Description
1. God’s rest. The Sabbath is God’s rest from His works, His holy boundary with creation. In Jesus, we discover God’s holiness is His adequate grace to us: God’s free, complete and perfect work of redemption. Psychology of boundaries
2. God’s way of faith. God designs our spirit to feed on the object of its trust. What we trust shapes our spirit (Psalm 115:4-8). God sends Jesus to teach our spirit to wholly trust Him so we can become like Him (1 John 3:2-3). Psychology of values
3. God’s kingdom within (Luke 17:21). God is both transcendent King and with us, our Immanuel. The paradox of God reigning over us and living in us is resolved in His will to live with us. God is King who gives Himself as the sacrifice to transform us - His subjects - so we can share His kingdom (Hebrews 12:10, 14). Psychology of dialectics
4. God’s will for us: God’s love for us (Ephesians 2:4-7). God’s holy love most contrasts with our love in His last supper, His cross, and our daily struggles and suffering. Learning that God’s love is holy and distinct from our love prepares us to receive and live by His unique and redeeming love. Psychology of vulnerability