7-Week Study & Discussion Guide

The Practice of the Presence of God

by Brother Lawrence·56 discussion questions

Last updated August 16, 2026

Week 1 — FreeRead the Editor's Preface of The Practice of the Presence of God

Discussion question your group will work through:

1.The editor tells us that Brother Lawrence's birth records were destroyed in a war he himself fought in, and that the war left him crippled and in chronic pain for the rest of his life. What does it tell you about God's ways that the man who would teach the world about joyful, continuous communion with God spent his entire adult life in physical suffering?

Read all of Week 1 — free, no card

Week 1 is free. Get this guide for $29 once, or every guide for $79/year.

Yearly access renews at $79/year unless canceled · 30-day money-back guarantee

About This Study Guide

At a glance: this is a 7-week study and discussion guide for The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, with 56 questions organized by reading assignment. Week 1 is free to read, with no card required.

The Practice of the Presence of God is one of the most beloved spiritual classics in Christian history. Written by a seventeenth-century French Carmelite lay brother named Nicholas Herman — known in the monastery as Brother Lawrence — it is a slim but inexhaustible book about a single, revolutionary idea: that any person, in any circumstance, can walk in continuous, conscious communion with God. Brother Lawrence did not develop this practice in a quiet study or a peaceful garden. He discovered it in the noise and clutter of a busy monastic kitchen, while rolling over wine casks on lame legs and repairing the worn sandals of over a hundred brothers. His testimony is that God is not reserved for the chapel or the prayer closet, but is available — and eager — in every moment of every ordinary day.

This study guide moves through the book's four Conversations and fifteen Letters, plus a final week of review and reflection, for a total of seven weeks of study. Each week invites you to read the assigned section slowly — perhaps more than once — before sitting with the discussion questions. The questions are designed to be used in a small group or in personal journaling, and they move from what Brother Lawrence actually said, to what it might mean for your own inner life, to how it connects to the gospel of grace. If you are studying alone, consider writing your answers before you pray; if you are studying with others, allow silence between questions so that reflection, not performance, drives the conversation.

What you will gain from this guide is not a technique but an orientation — a fresh way of seeing the ordinary moments of your day as places where God is already present and waiting to be noticed. Brother Lawrence warned that "outside distraction spoils all," and he also insisted that the practice is available to anyone who desires it. You need no theological training, no special temperament, and no uncluttered life. You need only, as he put it, "a heart resolutely determined to apply itself to nothing but Him and to love Him only." Come with that desire, and let these weeks be a beginning.

Editor's Preface — The Man Behind the Method

Free — no card

Open Week 1 →

Read the Editor's Preface of The Practice of the Presence of God

Before we encounter Brother Lawrence's teaching, we meet the man himself — a crippled, self-deprecating former soldier and kitchen cook whose quiet life became one of the most influential spiritual testimonies in Christian history. Take a few minutes before you begin the questions to simply sit with the strangeness and beauty of that fact.

2.Brother Lawrence entered the monastery expecting to be punished for his clumsiness and faults — to 'sacrifice his life with its pleasures to God.' Instead, the editor notes, 'God surprised him because he met with nothing but satisfaction.' Have you ever approached God bracing for judgment and been surprised by grace instead? What happened?

3.The editor describes Brother Lawrence as a man who 'shunned attention and the limelight, knowing that outside distraction spoils all.' It was only after his death that his letters were collected and published.

a.Why do you think obscurity and hiddenness seemed natural — even necessary — to Brother Lawrence's way of life?

b.In your own life, do you find that public attention to your spiritual life helps or hinders your actual experience of God's presence? Be honest.

Checking your access to the other 4 questions…

Get the rest of The Practice of the Presence of God

All 7 weeks, 56 questions, closing prayers, and printable weekly handouts — plus the full PDF — so your prep is reading it over, not writing it from scratch.

220+study guides
2,800+weekly sessions
20,000+discussion questions
120+authors

Your email for the receipt

Where your receipt and sign-in link go. No password to remember.

Most leaders choose this

Full Library

Every guide in the library, all year

$59~~$79~~

The first-year discount is already applied — there’s no code to type. $59 is the first-year price for new customers, then it renews at $79/year.

Every week of The Practice of the Presence of God on the web, plus printable weekly handouts
Every guide in the library (200+ and growing)
4 full-guide PDF downloads every 30 days, so you can print a whole study ahead
If your group picks a book we don’t have yet, we write the guide — 3 included a year, $9 each after that
A leader email each week of the study: that week’s questions and a short prep note

$59 today, then it renews at $79/year.

First-year price for eligible new customers. Everything unlocks right away. We email you 30 days before it renews — cancel or pause online anytime, no phone call.

This Guide Only

One study, no renewal

$29once · yours forever

Nothing renews. 30-day money-back guarantee.

Every week of The Practice of the Presence of God (7 weeks, 56 questions)
PDF for you, printable handouts for the group
A link you can send to everyone in your group
One purchase covers your whole group — no per-person fee
No account to set up — we email you a sign-in link

Upgrade within 60 days and your $29 comes off the regular $79 year — you never pay for this guide twice.

Full Library, monthly — $25/month, renews monthly until you cancel. The same library, with 2 PDF downloads and 1 requested book a month. Worth knowing: four months of it costs more than a full year.

More than one leader at your church? Church Plan — 5 leader seats for $199/year, then $29 a year per extra seat. Renews yearly at that price plus any extra seats, unless canceled. Pay by card, or ask for an invoice your treasurer can pay. See the Church Plan

30-day money-back guarantee on the year (with 2 or fewer guides downloaded)
A receipt you can hand your treasurer for reimbursement
Every guide you download stays yours — even if you cancel
Secure checkout by Stripe — we never see your card number

Why You Can Trust This

What You Get, and Our Promise

Here’s exactly what’s in every guide — and what happens if it falls short.

What’s in every guide

A week-by-week reading plan with a short orienting note for every session
Discussion questions, follow-up prompts, and closing prayers for group conversation
PDF download + permanent web link — every guide you download stays yours, share it with your entire group
Read Week 1 of any guide free before you decide
One membership covers the whole group — no per-seat fees. Or take just one guide for $29, one time.

30-day money-back guarantee

If a guide doesn’t meet your expectations, email support@bookstudyguide.com within 30 days and we’ll refund you in full — on This Guide Only, or on the year with 2 or fewer guides downloaded. No forms, no questions.

A note from the founder: I’m Josh, and I built this because most Christian books don’t come with study materials — leaving volunteer leaders to build discussion questions from scratch on a Saturday night. That shouldn’t be the default. If anything about your guide isn’t right, reply to your order email and it comes straight to me.

You’ve previewed Week 1 of The Practice of the Presence of God. Choose the complete guide once or full-library access above; both include printable handouts and a church-ready receipt.

Review both options

7-Week Schedule

The Four Conversations — Learning to Walk with God

All 9 questions →

Read all four Conversations in The Practice of the Presence of God

1.In the First Conversation, Brother Lawrence describes his conversion at eighteen: seeing a bare winter tree and receiving 'a high view of the Providence and Power of God which has never since been effaced from his soul.' He could not tell whether his love for God had increased in the forty years since.

a.Have you had a moment — a scene, a sentence, a crisis — that gave you a new or deeper sense of God's reality? Describe it briefly.

b.Brother Lawrence says that vision 'set him loose from the world.' What does it mean, practically speaking, to be 'set loose from the world'? What would that look like in your daily life?

+ 8 more questions in the full guide

Letters One through Four — Beginnings, Struggles, and the Torrent of Grace

All 8 questions →

Read Letters One through Four of The Practice of the Presence of God

1.In the First Letter, Brother Lawrence writes that reading many books about the spiritual life made him feel 'puzzled' rather than helped. He resolved instead to 'give the all for the All' — to give himself wholly to God and renounce everything that was not God. What do you make of that phrase, 'give the all for the All'? What would it cost you, concretely, to make that resolution?

+ 7 more questions in the full guide

Letters Five through Eight — The Practice in Daily Life

All 8 questions →

Read Letters Five through Eight of The Practice of the Presence of God

1.In the Fifth Letter, Brother Lawrence makes a bold claim: 'It seems to me that whoever duly practices [the presence of God] will soon become devout.' He also says the heart must be 'empty of all other things' because 'God will possess the heart alone.' Do you find this condition — emptying the heart of everything that is not God — appealing, frightening, or both? What are you most reluctant to let go of?

+ 7 more questions in the full guide

Letters Nine through Twelve — Love, Fidelity, and the Gift of Suffering

All 8 questions →

Read Letters Nine through Twelve of The Practice of the Presence of God

1.In the Ninth Letter, Brother Lawrence asks himself and his friend a searching question: 'You and I have lived over forty years in the monastic life. Have we employed them in loving and serving God?' He adds that he is 'sometimes filled with shame and confusion' when he considers God's great favors to him alongside 'my small advancement in the way of perfection.' How do you sit with that kind of honest self-assessment — not despair, but clear-eyed humility? Is there a difference between shame that crushes and shame that purifies?

+ 7 more questions in the full guide

Letters Thirteen through Fifteen — The Final Words

All 8 questions →

Read Letters Thirteen through Fifteen of The Practice of the Presence of God. Note that Brother Lawrence died peacefully within days of the last letter

1.In the Thirteenth Letter, Brother Lawrence tells his suffering friend to stop pursuing human remedies and 'resign yourself entirely to the providence of God,' believing that 'perhaps He waits only for that resignation and perfect faith in Him to cure you.' He also says not to ask God for deliverance from pain, but rather 'for the strength to resolutely bear all that He pleases.' This is demanding counsel. What does it assume about the character of God, and about the purpose of suffering, that makes this counsel not cruel but compassionate?

+ 7 more questions in the full guide

Review & Reflection — Looking Back, Moving Forward

All 8 questions →

No new reading this week. Review your notes, journal entries, and any passages you marked throughout the study

1.Looking back across the entire book — the Conversations and all fifteen Letters — which single passage, image, or idea has stayed with you most powerfully? What is it about that particular moment in the text that lodged itself in you?

+ 7 more questions in the full guide

Book Club Questions More by Brother Lawrence Classic Devotionals Spiritual Growth & Disciplines For Individual Study For Small Groups For Senior Adults Free Question Generator Make a Reading Schedule Books like The Practice of the Presence of God

Related Study Guides

If your group enjoys The Practice of the Presence of God, these studies pair well with it.

Humility

by Andrew Murray

My Utmost for His Highest

by Oswald Chambers

The Pursuit of God

by A.W. Tozer

About the The Practice of the Presence of God guide

How many weeks is the The Practice of the Presence of God study guide?

This study guide covers The Practice of the Presence of God in 7 weeks, with week-by-week discussion questions, reading references, and closing prayers for each session.

How many discussion questions are included?

The complete guide includes 56 discussion questions across 7 weeks — an average of 8 questions per week, designed for group conversation.

Can I use this guide for a book club?

Yes — the questions are written for group discussion and work well for small groups, book clubs, church studies, and couples reading together.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What books can I get a study guide for?

Any published book — not just bestsellers that come with a curriculum. If the book is already in the library you can read Week 1 right now. If it isn't, we write the guide for you after you join: the Full Library includes 3 on-request books a year, and This Guide Only covers the one book you pick.

How long does it take to get my guide?

If the book is in the library, it's ready the moment you join. If we're writing it for you, we email the link as soon as it's ready.

What's included in each study guide?

Every guide is organized week by week, with a reading assignment, a short orienting note, discussion questions and follow-up prompts, a closing prayer, web access, a full-guide PDF, and printable weekly handouts.

Do my group members pay?

No — one membership covers your whole group. Share the PDF or a read-only link with everyone in your group; there's no per-person fee or seat limit.

Do I need to create an account?

No password to remember. Your receipt email is your account — when you want to sign in, we email you a sign-in link (or a six-digit code) and you're in.

What renews and when?

Full Library renews yearly at $79 — your first year is $59 with the current code. Month to Month renews monthly at $25. We email you 30 days before yearly renewals and two weeks before monthly renewals, and you can cancel or pause in one click from your account. This Guide Only ($29) is a one-time purchase and never renews.

Manage your membership →

How do I get reimbursed by my church?

You get one receipt, and you can add your church's name to it from your account page. If several leaders at your church want access, the Church Plan puts everyone on one invoice.

See the Church Plan →

What if we finish early or take the summer off?

Pause your membership for up to 6 months from your account page. You keep the time you've paid for, and we email you a week before it resumes.

Pause your membership →

How do I cancel?

One click from your account page — no phone call, no forms. Your access continues to the end of what you've paid for, and everything you've downloaded stays yours.

Cancel from your account →

What if I'm not happy?

There's a 30-day money-back guarantee on the Full Library year (as long as you've downloaded 2 or fewer guides) and a 30-day money-back guarantee on This Guide Only. Email support@bookstudyguide.com or request it from your account page and we'll refund you in full.

How are the discussion questions different from what I'd find online?

Free discussion questions online tend to be surface-level — "What did you think of chapter 3?" Our guides include questions designed to spark real conversation: questions that connect the book's ideas to personal experience, draw out different perspectives, and help group members open up and share honestly.

Still have questions? Email support@bookstudyguide.com

Read all of Week 1 free