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LIVING PRAYER
Brother Lawrence was a monk who lived almost 300 years ago and worked in the galley of his monastery. He wrote a book, The Practice of the Presence of God, which today is considered a classic in the area of Christian devotion. Brother Lawrence spent much of his time in the monastery scullery scrubbing pots and pans. He also had a collateral duty as the monastery cobbler. In these jobs, he said, he learned to glorify God in simple tasks and to pray with his hands. By bringing to each small job the best of his ability, he developed the practice of living prayer. Whether he was bustling around the galley, repairing shoes or kneeling in prayer, he learned to grow spiritually as well as mentally and to cultivate a never-ending, ever-deepening sense of God's presence. Each day you do hundreds of small tasks. Perhaps you feel at times unrecognized or unnoticed, or that your job is insignificant in the great scope of things. The fact is it doesn't matter what you do or what position you hold. What really matters is the spirit in which you work, and how you approach your work. Brother Lawrence teaches us an important and very wise lesson: Even the simplest tasks, when done to the best of your ability, are important in God's eyes. Whenever you bring to any job the best of yourself, your fullest mind, an honest heart, and a striving for excellence, then your work, no matter what you do, becomes like a living prayer to God. CAPT Jane F. Vieira, CHC, USN
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