Spiritual Quotes

Practicing the Presence of God

Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me. —Psalms 38:21 (KJV)

For, whoso thus beholds, in every place,
In every form, the same, one, Living Life,
Doth no more wrongfulness unto himself,
But goes the highest road which brings to bliss.
—The Song Celestial (Bhagavad Gita), translated by Sir Edwin Arnold

He told me...that we ought to act with God in the greatest simplicity, speaking to Him frankly and plainly, and imploring His assistance in our affairs, just as they happen. That God never failed to grant it, as he had often experienced. —Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, recorded by M. Beaufort

He told me...that with him the set times of prayer were not different from other times; that he retired to pray, according to the directions of his superior, but that he did not want such retirement, nor ask for it, because his greatest business did not divert him from God. —Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, recorded by M. Beaufort

He told me...that we should establish ourselves in a sense of God’s presence by continually conversing with Him. —Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, recorded by M. Beaufort

He told me...that we might accustom ourselves to a continual conversation with Him, with freedom and in simplicity. That we need only to recognize God intimately present with us, to address ourselves to Him every moment, that we may beg His assistance for knowing His will in things doubtful, and for rightly performing those which we plainly see He requires of us, offering them to Him before we do them, and giving Him thanks when we have done. —Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, recorded by M. Beaufort

By rising after my falls, and by frequently renewed acts of faith and love, I am come to a state wherein it would be as difficult for me not to think of God as it was at first to accustom myself to it. —Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, recorded by M. Beaufort

The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and 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 tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament. —Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God, recorded by M. Beaufort

The kingdom of heaven is to be found only within, and this is done once for all, and in a manner in which it cannot otherwise be done, when we come into the conscious, living realization of the fact that in our real selves we are essentially one with the Divine life, and open ourselves continually so that this Divine life can speak to and manifest through us. In this way we come into the condition where we are continually walking with God. In this way the consciousness of God becomes a living reality in our lives; and in the degree in which it becomes a reality does it bring us into the realization of continually increasing wisdom, insight, and power. —Ralph Waldo Trine, Character-Building Thought Power

Give thyself more diligently to reflection: know thyself: take counsel with the Godhead: without God put thine hand unto nothing! —The Golden Sayings of Epictetus

Think of God more often than thou breathest. —The Golden Sayings of Epictetus