Why I Wrote Together

I wrote Together to create the daily prayer guide that I needed. Perhaps by God's grace, it will also enable you to experience life with God.

So why did I need a new prayer guide? It comes from my struggle to walk with God.

For instance, when I read the Bible, I often came across verses about our relationship with God that seemed strange, impossible, or even ridiculous. Worse, as a Christian leader, I often stuffed these unpleasant emotions and intellectual doubts. Why? Because these seemed like basic, Christianity 101 questions: how do I have a relationship with God? Surely I already knew the answer to that question? So I often figured, 'The problem is that I must try harder.'

Here's one example. In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19, Paul teaches us, "Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in everything; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Don't stifle the Spirit."

Always rejoicing, constantly praying, giving thanks in everything?

But it gets more intense. Paul explains that this way of life is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. The implications? To disobey this command would be to stifle the Spirit!

Do you obey this command?

These verses appear to create a dilemma: either we pray all the time or live in opposition to the challenging demands of the Triune God. But no matter how many quiet times I had, Bible verses I read, or prayer books I used, I could never say that I always rejoiced in God! Isn't this requirement an oppressive, legalistic burden?

As I look back on it, here's the essence of my problem: I knew what God wanted but I didn't know how to do it. And whenever we know what we should do but we aren't taught how to do it, we either give up in despair, or guilt and shame motivates us to try harder.

Either way, it's a discouraging situation.

Then I read a book that flipped the meaning of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 for me. Instead of seeing this command as a curse, I saw it as a blessing. It didn't feel sour, but sweet. It no longer repelled me but drew me closer to God.

The story of how I learned these revolutionary lessons goes back to 1692. That year, a small book by an unknown author was published in Paris. The author, Nicolas Herman, was born in a small village without the advantages of class or money. He lived through the Thirty Years War, the Black Death, and the Little Ice Age. As a former soldier, he endured chronic pain from an unresolved leg injury. For most of his life, he was a monk who lived under a vow of complete poverty, working in a kitchen and repairing sandals.

What did this relatively uneducated, poor, suffering man from the 17th century have to teach me?

Except, perhaps, in God's grace, those are precisely the reasons why Brother Lawrence understood God's love so well! Living with chronic pain and difficult circumstances, he testifies that God showed him how to abide in God's loving presence throughout the day. And he practiced this way of life for over thirty years.

Brother Lawrence is a faithful example of what 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 means. He learned to live his life with God and shared that wisdom with his friends. They found his insights so valuable that they collected and published them as *The Practice of the Presence of God*. And for over three hundred years, Christians worldwide have continued to benefit from how God revealed his constant love to Nicolas Herman's heart.

**Here's my promise to you.** If you set aside five minutes each day, for one month, to read one devotional and say a one-sentence prayer to God, you will develop a stronger friendship with God. I'm confident this works because James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." And every page of Together will help you draw near to God.