Abiding Prayer: What It Means to Know God

What does it mean to know God?

Abiding Prayer is the practice of turning our hearts toward God in loving communion, not merely to learn about Him, but to know Him in a real and experiential way.

Think for a moment about the apostles, and many others throughout history, who found deep happiness and contentment even while imprisoned for their faith.

Put yourself in their shoes for a moment.

What does their future hold? Will they live? Will they ever have security, retirement income, grandchildren, or the ordinary comforts most of us hope for?

And yet, they had found something in communion with God so significant that even prison could not take it away.

Paul said:

“I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”
Philippians 4:11

That kind of contentment does not come from favorable circumstances. It comes from knowing God.

Vanity

Ecclesiastes 1 opens with the heading, “The Futility of All Endeavor.” Verse 2 says, “All is vanity.”

At some point in life, many of us begin to feel this. There are good moments, of course. We enjoy loved ones. A worship service may touch something deep within us. A meaningful act of ministry may bless us.

But still, underneath it all, we can begin to sense a certain shallowness.

In my own life, I love teaching pastors in the Dominican Republic. I am blessed when they are blessed. But I stopped getting the “high” from it long ago.

That kind of high cannot cure loneliness. It cannot give me the character to live a deeply disciplined life. And even if I did live a deeply disciplined life, would discipline alone truly make me happy?

Novelty also brings a certain high.

I have been blessed to minister in many nations. For years, it was exciting to see new places, meet new people, and watch pastors from different cultures be touched by the Father’s love. There was even a subtle pleasure in feeling special — being welcomed, honored, taken to a nice restaurant, or sitting in an airport lounge.

But eventually, all of that loses its magic.

That high is not what life is about. That high is often ego. And if we are going to continue with real passion, something deeper is required.

Many people who have accomplished significant things in sports, business, entertainment, or ministry eventually discover the same thing. Achievement can bring excitement, but it cannot satisfy the soul. This may be part of why so many famous people — ministry leaders included — end up in affairs, addictions, breakdowns, or despair.

The soul was made for more than success.

I want to pray

I want — and need — to connect with God in a real, experiential way.

I have tried church services, Bible study, 12 Steps, intercession, and many other good things. All of these have helped me connect with God in some measure. But I have found that they do not automatically produce an abiding relationship.

If we become still, even for a little while, most of us begin to feel what is really going on inside.

We feel pockets of shame. We remember times we acted fake, wanted to be seen, wanted to be esteemed, or justified selfish motives. We feel anxiety about family members, the future, finances, or whether our lives really matter.

This is where Abiding Prayer becomes so precious: it gives us a simple way to turn from striving, shame, and anxiety into the living presence of God.

In Abiding Prayer, we turn inwardly toward God and connect with the very fountain of love from which our true identity flows. We begin to discover ourselves as beloved sons and daughters. Something within us begins to cry:

Abba, Father.

In this place of prayer, people often begin to experience an inner peace and well-being. There is a sense of being “at home,” of being enfolded in love, of resting beneath the loving gaze of God.

There is a quiet loving attention toward Him — and the growing awareness that He is lovingly attentive toward us.

These experiences help describe what we mean by the presence of God.

And as we continue daily in prayer, something begins to change.

The need to perform begins to dissolve.
The fear of doom begins to fade.
The soul begins to rest.

Abiding Prayer teaches us to bring this hunger and thirst directly to Jesus, the true bread of life.

Jesus said:

“I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”
John 6:35

Human beings hunger and thirst for security, affirmation, and power. When these desires are not met in God, they become distorted. Much of the pain we see in the world comes from people trying to satisfy spiritual hunger in earthly ways.

It has been said, “If you win the rat race, you become the number one rat.”

But learning to connect with God in our spirit releases His love within us. That love begins to heal what striving could never fix.

As we commune with God through Abiding Prayer, His Spirit strengthens us in the inner man and roots us more deeply in the love of Christ. That strengthening produces increasing faith. It enables us to surrender more deeply to Jesus dwelling in our hearts as Lord.

And as Paul says in Ephesians 3:16–19, we become rooted and grounded in love — a love that surpasses knowledge.

This love surpasses the logic of needing everything to be secure.
It surpasses the need for affirmation.
It surpasses the drive to control.
It fills us with the fullness of God.

That is why the apostles, and many others who walked closely with God, could be content in any circumstance. They had a sweet communion within them and an enduring faith that rose above everything life could throw at them.