Pots and Pans

I have been in a place of seeking God recently. I know that sounds very un-pastor like, or even unchristian. Shouldn't we always be seeking God? Of course. But I confess, I go through dry times, and I have been in one. So I have been striving to pursue God with a greater level of intensity. This practice has involved a couple of things, listening to sermons of people I respect, and reading the works of other people who challenge me in my walk. In addition, I have sought to meditate on scripture I have memorized. This morning I was sitting here in my office looking over my bookshelf for something to read. In the past, I have had subscriptions to Relevant Books, and they would send out a box with music, their most recent magazine, and several books. I tend to be a great book starter and horrible book ender, yet overall, just terribly inconsistent at reading altogether. Anyway, I have a number of books on my bookshelf that I have never read, or even opened for that matter.

My eyes stumbled upon the book, "God is Here; Connecting with him in Everyday Life" by Steve Case, and I was instantly curios. The cover even had an strong endorsement by Tony Campolo. The cover also has the statement, "A modern look at Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God. I have heard of Brother Lawrence many times, and have many people talk about the significance of his writings and life. I even tried downloading and audio book of The Practice but never got through it. I decided I would give this book a try, at least the beginning of it.

The first chapter was a biography of Brother Lawrence, which there really isn't a ton of, but it did give some context to the challenges he faced. It was helpful. But it was chapter 2 that has really drawn me into this book, because it focused on a prayer of brother lawrence that goes like this:

Lord of all pots and pans and things...
Make me a saint by getting meals and washing up the plates.

Often I wrestle with the idea of what is God wanting to accomplish in my life, and there is a tendency to want that to be some grand thing, so great level of leadership or production, or what not. My ego causes me to want to be great in the eyes of men. Yet here is the prayer of a man who wants to be moment by moment in the presence of God, and his prayer is to the God of the big things and the little things, that he would be consecrated to God through humble and menial service...getting meals and washing plates. He goes on to express that times of prayer and times of work are no different, in that both are times of be present with God.

Oh to live that kind of life. To daily, hourly, moment by moment practice being...breathing the presence of God, no matter what I am doing. I guess that's why they call it practicing.