The Saints: Abiding in Love

Why you can't be closer to God than you are right now...

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Welcome back to The Holy Go: Your weekly shot of disciple making inspiration!

Last week’s challenge was based on the first step of Spiritual Formation: Awakening to Love. Go check it out here if you haven’t already.

Today we continue our series by looking at the second A, Abiding in Love.

If “Awakening to Love” is about becoming aware of who we are in Christ and the incredible inheritance we have as a believer, then “Abiding in Love” is how we participate in this.

Equip

Have you ever wanted to be closer to God?

I remember reading stories of Christian mystics and wanting to be “as close to God” as they were. For example,

St Francis would wake up in the middle of the night to pray. One night a young friar, curious about these prayer times, followed him into the woods. When he arrived, he saw St Francis in deep conversation and was so overwhelmed by the glory of God that he fell down as though dead. Francis later found him, picked him up, and took him back.

St Teresa also experienced unusual manifestations in prayer. The most famous was levitation during deep prayer. She was embarrassed by it, as she hated attention. She only wanted people to look at Jesus.

As I read these stories I would think:

“Wouldn’t it be amazing if I could be that close to God?”

As I considered their lives marked by passionate love for God, and the impact they had, I thought:

I want what they have!

Not Closer, More Aware

But as I read more about the mystics, I realised I had something backwards.

I thought they were closer to God.
But they’re not.
They’re just more aware.

St Teresa taught that our union with Christ “is not a thing of the imagination, but a true and most certain possession of God.”

So if it is real, we should be able to participate in it and experience it. She called this “Mystical Union” and taught ways to enter it through prayer.

I’ve summarised her steps from The Interior Castle as a simple guide for prayer. Instead of teaching what to say, it’s more of a map of where to go:

Steps to Prayer

Step 1: Searching
“The soul begins to consider the things of God.”

We become aware of God’s presence. We turn our attention from the world and begin to search for Him in each moment.

Step 2: Meeting
“It is the Lord who begins to give the soul knowledge of Himself.”

We begin to sense God’s presence. As we go deeper, the noise of life quietens and we recognise He is already here.

Step 3: Enjoying
“The soul is given a great peace and delight in God’s presence.”

We begin to commune with God. We know He is here, we sense Him, and we begin to enjoy His presence.

Step 4: Mystical Union
“The soul is so united with God that it seems no longer itself but wholly His.”

We are now so deeply absorbed in God’s presence we are unaware of the world around us. We may feel overwhelmed by love, peace, or stillness. We realise God is in us, and we are in Him.

More than a Moment

I love how Teresa describes prayer as a journey into awareness of our union with Christ. We may not always move through every step, but it shows us what we’re growing into: a life of abiding with God.

Abiding in Christ is not just a moment, but a lifestyle of becoming aware of what is already true.

If we cannot be any closer to God than we are now, then:

• We can become aware of His presence at any moment

• We can hear His voice throughout the day

• We have constant access to love, joy, and peace

• We carry the life, love, and power of Jesus

Our first step in The Saints formation is to Awaken to Love.
The next step is to Abide in Love.
Next week we’ll look at Abounding in Love.

Activate

This weeks activation is to spend some time reflecting on your prayer life.

Question: At what step do you usually give up or move on to something else?

Spend some time in prayer now, and go a little longer and ask God to take you to a deeper level of awareness. Instead of focusing on what you are saying to God, focus on your awareness of God.

Let’s Go!