Everything Could Be a Prayer: Brother Lawrence
A few years ago, I discovered an artist named Kreg Yingst. After the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in 2012, he decided that he needed some small way to bring light and healing into a dark world, so he began creating woodcuts of various saints and other pieces of religious art. If you’ve been in my office, you may have noticed that I have an entire wall of icons of saints that are important to me. Every one is a piece created by Yingst.
He compiled 100 of his icons into a book of devotions called Everything Could Be a Prayer, which I have been reading through. So this week, every devotion will feature Yingst’s art and words; I am merely the curator. I hope that they speak to you as they speak to me.
-Ryan Young
“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.”
-Isaiah 41:10
Nicolas Herman, known as Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, was a humble Carmelite monk living in Paris. A self-described "clumsy oaf," Lawrence cooked at the monastery–a job he hated–and later mended sandals.
He was not a theologian, but after Lawrence passed away, some of his letters were published in a book titled The Practice of the Presence of God.
The spiritual insight Lawrence presents boils down to this: God is always there, and God always cares. "We need only to recognize God intimately present with us to address ourselves to Him every moment," he insists. This methodless method is an awareness and sensitivity developed toward the Holy Spirit.
"We can do little things for God. I turn the cake that is frying on the pan, for love of God," Lawrence confides. Amid the endless clamor of pots and pans, Lawrence found solace. In the simplicity of a grateful word or a loving thought directed heavenward, he found peace. "A little lifting up the heart suffices," he says. "A little remembrance of God, one act of inward worship."
Our workdays are cluttered with tasks and responsibilities, and sometimes we suddenly realize we have been on autopilot. What would it mean to "retire" with God in the center of our souls, as Brother Lawrence invites?
Lawrence encourages us to redirect our thoughts toward God. We can become aware of the God who dwells in the "oratory of our heart."
Prayer: O Beloved of my heart, I'm grateful that you will never leave me nor forsake me. You stick closer than a brother. Closer than my breath and heartbeat. I take comfort in this. Keep me aware of your gentle presence through my waking hours, and blanket me while I sleep. Amen.
