We all have heroes. Not the superheroes we see on tv, but everyday people that have influenced and impacted our lives in great ways; people that we honor because we know that by honoring them we can glean from their wisdom and experience, and thus share in their inheritance.

Here are a few of mine:

Brother Lawrence (1614 - 1691)

“to give all for the all”

There isn't much to say about Brother Lawrence but that he was a man who learned and made a lifestyle out of practicing the Presence of God.

Born Nicolas Herman in Hériménil, France, he became a foot soldier for the French army at age 18. During the Thirty Years’ War he was wounded, which forced him to retire from the army. This injury left him with a severe limp.

After leaving the army he entered monastery, hoping to “sacrifice to God his life with its pleasures,” and to live a life of suffering for God. However, he said that God had disappointed him, having met with nothing but “satisfaction” in that state.

This began in Brother Lawrence a lifelong experience of discovering the riches of living every moment in the Presence of God, and committing every small act for the Love of Him—to be God’s pleasure.

Because he had no formal education, Brother Lawrence entered monastery as a layman. His primary monastic duties being such were cooking and cleaning in the kitchen. He admits that at first this was a very unwelcome task for him, but because he purposed to do everything for the love of God, no matter how small, he found great ease and even great joy in doing things. Brother Lawrence, in His own words, said that he “felt joys so continual and great that [he] could scarcely contain them.” This was all the while he was among the pots and pans.

He developed the simple philosophy that it was not the greatness of the work that mattered, but the love with which it was performed. He believed that it was “a great delusion to think that the times of prayer should differ from other times.” In his own words he said that “the most excellent method [he] had found of going to GOD, was that of doing our common business without any view of pleasing men, and (as far as we are capable) purely for the love of GOD.” [Gal. i. 10; Eph. vi. 5, 6.]

"Nor is it needful that we should have great things to do. . . We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God."  - Brother Lawrence

By following this simple way, Brother Lawrence discovered a place—a path—so simple yet so sacred, that its worth can be measured by nothing less than God Himself.

Here are a few more quotes from recorded conversations with Brother Lawrence:

“There is needed neither art nor science for going to GOD, but only a heart resolutely determined to apply itself to nothing but Him, or for His sake, and to love Him only.” - Brother Lawrence

“You need not cry very loud; He is nearer to us than we think." - Brother Lawrence

"I began to live as if there were no one save God and me in the world..." - Brother Lawrence

“The King, full of mercy and goodness, very far from chastising me, embraces me with love, makes me eat at His table, serves me with His own hands, gives me the key of His treasures; He converses and delights Himself with me incessantly, in a thousand and a thousand ways, and treats me in all respects as His favorite. It is thus I consider myself from time to time in His holy presence.” - Brother Lawrence

“Let us think often that our only business in this life is to please God. Perhaps all besides is but folly and vanity. ” - Brother Lawrence

“We ought not to be weary of doing little things for the love of God, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed.” - Brother Lawrence

“We need only to recognize GOD intimately present with us...” - Brother Lawrence

“In the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquillity as if I were upon my knees in the Chapel.” - Brother Lawrence

By his own testimony, Brother Lawrence spent the last 40 years of his life in practice of the presence of God. This lifestyle of the Presence attracted many to him. Despite his lowly position as a layman, many would come to be with him and seek spiritual guidance. He was known for experiencing a profound Peace and Joy (bliss) that could be felt and experienced around him.

Brother Lawrence continued to live so faithfully until his death in 1691. He was described on his deathbed as being, “very cheerful,” and he himself said that he felt “never so much satisfied as then, praying that he would see [God] soon.”

He never wrote any books; most of what we know about him is because of a man named Abbe Joseph de Beaufort who recorded his conversations with Brother Lawrence. These recorded conversations were later put together into the small book we now know as “Practicing the Presence of God.” This book went on to shape the lives of many, including known men and women like John Wesley, A.W. Tozer, and Madame Jeanne Guyon. Today it can be found for free on the internet.

What I Love:

God loves paradoxes.

I find it amazing how a man like Brother Lawrence, who didn't make any attempt at building a ministry or changing the world; who simply and profoundly purposed to live every moment for the Love of God, ended up impacting the world for centuries and generations after him.

I love the value he placed on continuous communion with the Lord, and the pure simplicity of his gospel. I love that he showed us it is possible to live every moment, 24/7, in practice of the Presence of God, and in that lifestyle find true joy and contentment.

Perhaps most of all, I love his simple secret of experiencing this bliss that comes from within. It is an act so simple that it is often forgotten:

“We need only to recognize GOD intimately present with us.”

The life of Brother Lawrence goes to show us that history is made in the Secret Place, hidden with God. I believe that many, if not most, of God’s best friends on the earth are hidden, without a platform and unknown to the world. They may be unsung champions, nameless and faceless; yet they are those who are privileged to know the Father Face to Face.

As another author wrote: “Brother Lawrence left the gift of a way of life available to anyone who seeks to know God’s peace and presence; that anyone, regardless of age or circumstance, can practice—anywhere, anytime.” [1]

P.S. This post ended up being much longer than I intended. It will be continued in Real Life Heroes - Part 2

[1] http://xacollegestation.com/the-practice-of-the-presence-of-god/
And also: