The Practice of the presence of God - Brother Lawrence

Today, I wanted to share with you a book that inspired me greatly when I first became a follower of Christ. I do not remember who introduced me to this Christian Classic, but I am glad that they did.
 
The book is titled: The Practice of the Presence of God, Rules of Holy Life
 
Here is a link to the Wikipedia Article on the book, as well as one to the "Biographical" page of Brother Lawrence.
 
Since this book was written several hundred years ago, it is part of the public domain and can be obtained for free. I was glad to discover that Project Gutenberg, The Christian Classics Ethereal Library, and LibriVox have free copies of this work in written and audio formats.
 
So here are the links.
 
Free text Version at Project Gutenberg can be found here, Available in the following formats: Text, HTML, Epub, Kindle, and more
 
Free Audio version at LibriVox can be downloaded from here
 
Free and Paid copies of the text and audio versions at The Christian Classics Ethereal Library can be found here
 
I hope it blesses you in the same way it blessed me.

Joy in the Presence of God

"You make known to me the path of life; in your  presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11, ESV

I have spoken before about walking in the  presence of God. The first time I was introduced to this concept, it was  through a book called "The Practice of the Presence of God."  The Wikipedia article on this book uses two quotes from the book to summarize, in a very effective way, the  general ideal of the concept.

"That he had always been governed by  love, without selfish views; and that having resolved to make the love  of GOD the end of all his actions, he had found reasons to be well satisfied  with his method. That he was pleased when he could take up a straw from  the ground for the love of GOD, seeking Him only, and nothing else, not  even His gifts."

"That in order to form a habit of conversing  with GOD continually, and referring all we do to Him; we must at first  apply to Him with some diligence: but that after a little care we should  find His love inwardly excite us to it without any difficulty."

According to the Psalm quoted above, there  are two great benefits to developing this continual sense of the presence  of God. The first is the a sense of joy to accompany us through our days  here on earth. The second refers to the everlasting pleasures that we will  experience in Heaven. I think these benefits are enough motivation to pursue  this quality. However, I must admit that I have not applied the initial  diligence that Brother Lawrence mentioned in his book.

This psalm is definitely not the only place  in scripture that this concept appears. Similar concepts can be found at  other places that seem to imply the same sense of continual communication  and focus on Christ. Here are a few more:

"You keep him in perfect peace whose  mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." Isaiah  26:3, ESV (emphasis added)

"Rejoice always, pray without  ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is  the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18,  ESV (emphasis added)

"do not be anxious about anything,  but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let  your requests be made known to God." Philippians 4:6, ESV (emphasis  added)

Is there any other quality that the Christian  could pursue that is more important than maintaining open and continual  communication with his master?