The Believer's Secret of the Abiding Presence

by Andrew Murray, Brother Lawrence, L.G. Parkhurst Jr. (Editor)

Thirty-one devotionals from Murray combined with Lawrence's practical commentary on practicing the presence of Christ.

Genres: Christian Living, Self Help, Devotional, Christian, Spirituality

137 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Murray was Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Murray became a noted missionary leader. His father was a Scottish Presbyterian serving the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa, and his mother had connections with both French Huguenots and German Lutherans. This background to some extent explains his ecumenical spirit. He was educated at Aberdeen University, Scotland, and at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. After ordination in 1848 he served pastorates at Bloemfontein, Worcester, Cape Town, and Wellington. He helped to found what are now the University College of the Orange Free State and the Stellenbosch Seminary. He served as Moderator of the Cape Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church and was president of both the YMCA (1865) and the South Africa General Mission (1888-1917), now the Africa Evangelical Fellowship.

He was one of the chief promoters of the call to missions in South Africa. This led to the Dutch Reformed Church missions to blacks in the Transvaal and Malawi. Apart from his evangelistic tours in South Africa, he spoke at the Keswick and Northfield Conventions in 1895, making a great impression. upon his British and American audiences. For his contribution to world missions he was given an honorary doctorate by the universities of Aberdeen (1898) and Cape of Good Hope(1907).

Murray is best known today for his devotional writings, which place great emphasis on the need for a rich, personal devotional life. Many of his 240 publications explain in how he saw this devotion and its outworking in the life of the Christian. Several of his books have become devotional classics. Among these are Abide in Christ, Absolute Surrender, With Christ in the School of Prayer, The Spirit of Christ and Waiting on God.

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devotional for encouraging your faith

I enjoyed this devotional! I love the scriptures Murray shares and expounded on. We all need someone else to help make us see the Lord’s love and goodness. Receive everything as coming from Him and then trials will not seem like you are alone. This is a wonderful book to read a little bit everyday!

[Gary Emig · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books ever written about the presence of the Holy Spirit. A must-read for all Christians.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Andrew Murray is wonderful. If you can read this book in his original format, I would recommend it. However, this is Parkhurst's edited version of what Murray and Brother Lawrence said.

I felt cheated reading this book. I've read enough of Murray's writings to know how he presents his ideas. This is a summarized or truncated version of his words. Parkhurst translated Murray's language into modern words, but it's shorter. Then Parkhurst added Brother Lawrence' wisdom in bullets and finished with a prayer.

This is good for short devotions, but it's not like Andrew Murray to be this brief. Get the original to be fully blessed.

[Andy Febrico Bintoro · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 31 day devotional for practicing presence from the classic author. The authorargue that after Jesus sent the Holy Spirit into the hearts of His disciples on the day of Pentecost, we find no record of them ever regretting the absence of the physical presence of Jesus. Here the devotional focused on abiding in Christ theme.

[Trace · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve read several of Andrew Murray’s works, and they usually strike a chord with their depth and solid encouragement. The Believer’s Secret of the Abiding Presence, however, was a major disappointment. It felt insubstantial, lacking the practical and profound insights I’ve come to expect from Murray. Instead, it leaned heavily into a mystical, almost abstract spirituality that, to me, felt disconnected from real-life faith application.

While the idea of cultivating the presence of God is a noble pursuit, the execution in this book missed the mark. The content often felt repetitive and vague to me.

Similarly, Brother Lawrence’s contributions, though famous for their simplicity, felt diluted in this joint presentation. Phrases such as, “Let us occupy ourselves entirely in knowing God,” sound meaningful but seemed to float without context or depth.

Ultimately, while there were glimpses of meaningful reflections, the overall feel was more ethereal than enriching. If you’re seeking practical devotionals or deep theological nourishment, I’d recommend Murray’s Abide in Christ or With Christ in the School of Prayer over this.

[Glenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Often Andrew Murray books are overlooked by the serious reader. Sometimes, Murray is dismissed as a shallow devotional writer, or a beloved teacher of the past, but is no longer relevant, or too mystical to be practical. All these misjudgments are that misjudgments. Murray's writing is rich in Trinitarian devotion, union with Christ revelation, and Holy Spirit saturation. Murray leads the reader into a richer, fuller, on-going love relationship with Jesus. No higher compliment can be paid to a Christian writer than their works cause you to love Jesus more. I encourage you to read The Believers Secret of the Abiding Presence, you will drawn by the Holy Spirit into the riches of Christ's grace.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

A treasured read that spoke to me greatly. For those wanting to go deeper in their relationship with Christ. Learning to sit quietly in His presence and abide in the Spirit. A favorite of all time for sure. Hard to find and you may have to pay up for it, but worth every penny.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

This is a deep and rich book. Anyone who wants to go deeper into Gods presence needs to read this book.

[Janet Sketchley · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many highlighted lines! Definitely a book to read again.