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Have you ever read a book/article, heard a sermon, or had an experience that you sensed in the midst of it that your life would be changed forever? This is such a book! Bro. Lawrence, in a very simplistic and often repetitive manner, has solidified for me what it means to truly walk with the Lord, to pray without ceasing, and to experience God's presence in such a way that I can find joy in tribulation and be assured that He will never leave me nor forsake me...I mean really grasp it!! The repetitiveness isn't a drawback in the least...as the saying goes: "repetition is the mother of learning". I'm thankful that Bro. Lawrence doesn't give "how-to's". The manner in which his walk w/ God is shared provides a blue print or outline, yet challenges the reader to discover his/her own unique way of walking with, praising, and glorifying God with our entire lives and in all circumstances. It's refreshing to know that a monk over 300 years ago actually struggled w/ being distracted in prayer from time to time. Yet he was able to confess it, forgive himself, and try again. Read it and be blessed.

This is such a simple spiritual book that anyone who wants to know more about prayer and the Christian life should enjoy reading through it. Brother Lawrence had one basic message, which was the importance of the experience of God and His love in the depths of one's soul. His sayings in this book were placed in writing and published after his death, in a beautiful text that conveys much of Brother Lawrence's warm personality as well as the depth of his prayer life.

Brother Lawrence was not a devotional writer per se. Rather, having once been footman to the French treasurer, he became for 15 years the cook at the Paris Carmelite monastery. In this collection of his messages given to those who lived around him, he spoke of prayer through the course of a busy day, amidst the noise of a monastery kitchen. The book has much to say to the modern person who is trying to live a spiritual life in the midst of a busy career or home.

Brother Lawrence's personality shows through this work. He was described by his first biographer as a man with a "rather rough exterior" but who "made you feel that you had found a friend, to whom you could unbosom yourself wholly." His words convey this accessibility to those around him, and his true wish to share with others how better to live in a constant awareness of the presence of God throughout our daily lives.

I just can't believe it. Of all the thousands of books I have read, this small book has caught my heart. Sure I could have read it in an hour but the wisdom that flows from this edition just simply cooled the hurry of my life.

It is a book that I will place next to my Bible and refer to it every time I sensed that God is far away. Each section of the book stands on its own and yet such a lovely intricate meshing makes the reading more of an experience that a reading exercise.

The one section that caught my spirit reads: "The Time of business, said he, does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clutter of my kitchen (he was a cook) while several persons are calling at the same time for different things, I possess God in as great a tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the Blessed Sacrament".

In another section he speaks of the opportunities to be in HIS prsence when we are stricken with an ailment.

Such statements are throughout the book which will cause one to stop and meditate. I will be buying copies to give to those in my circle that hunger for a closer walk and relationship with God over anything and anyone in their lives.