The dictionary defines abiding as an adjective with the following meaning:
continuing without change; enduring; imperishable (meaning it will not perish); steadfast: such as an abiding faith. Another definition lists: continuing in a particular condition, attitude or relationship; lasting.
This is how I want my relationship with God to be: enduring and everlasting. And what is the best way to do that? Through prayer! Prayer is our way of drawing closer to God. In prayer we can talk to God, gripe and complain, praise and worship, cry, laugh and listen.
Ah, did you catch that last one? Listen. We need to spend some of our prayer time listening to God or listening for God. This is the hardest part for most of us. We want to be able to rattle off our wants and needs and then go about our merry way without waiting to hear God’s reply. Kind of like pulling the handle on a slot machine and seeing if our numbers come up and what we want is spit out of the bottom of the machine. That is not the way relationships work.
Think about those closest to you, your parents, siblings, children, close friends. Do you spill your guts to them and then walk away before they’ve even had a chance to say ‘boo’? Of course not. You want their opinion or suggestions; condolences or just a willing ear, a shoulder to cry on. God want’s that from us too. He wants us to bring our struggles to Him, but He also wants us to listen for His answers.
Those answers may not come in a particular prayer session. We need to learn to be more open and aware of when and how God is talking to us. His answer may come in the form of a comment or suggestion from someone else. It may be finding the perfect book or website or television program that contains the answer to your prayers. Always be looking for God to work in your life.
Just recently I went to a Christian bookstore to look for some books on prayer. On the very first shelf I walked up to was a pile of half a dozen books on prayer. I was not even in the prayer section and the books were stacked in a pile not set up on the shelf as the other books were. This was exactly what I needed and I didn’t even had to search for them, they were right there, piled up in front of me to pick and choose from! Amazing. Do you see how awesome our God is?