how to abide in God daily

This blog was inspired by my Jaylen (much like most of the things I do are).

If you know my Jaylen, you know he is incredibly observant, kind, and hilarious.

Over the years we have had a real close relationship and one of the reasons I believe we have such a close bond is because I involved him in everything.

If God spoke something to me, I shared it with him. If I sensed something spiritually, I taught him how to respond. If I was learning, he was learning right alongside me. I wanted to open the world up to him….to draw him into spaces of learning, curiosity, and understanding. Involving him wasn’t just about teaching him; it was about inviting him into a life we were living together.

Over this past year, I’ve realized that a lot of people live parallel lives.

I did some studying on what “parallel living” really means, and it’s when two people exist next to each other but not with each other. It’s sharing space without depth; proximity without connection.

Honestly, I think we can all relate to relationships where there has been physical closeness, but emotional distance where it’s simply that surface-level connection. It’s the same as being around someone without truly being with them, and to be honest that’s how so many people live with God.

They believe in Him, but they don’t involve Him. They know about Him, but they don’t abide in Him.

I think many people assume abiding in God is a time slot…where it’s only for Sunday mornings, a quiet moment, a prayer window kind of like something you clock in and out of.

But abiding is a life intertwined with Him.

Most people think they can only abide during “spiritual moments”… at church, during worship, while praying, or when reading the Bible. I used to believe that, too.

Back during the quarantine days in 2020, I learned what it meant to abide daily, but it came out of a season where the usual rhythms of life were disrupted, and I began to realize something important: we can’t depend only on structured quiet times to stay connected to God.

I remember one morning in particular where I woke up extra early to sit with God, and for once, I had the house quiet and the time to myself. But unexpectedly, Jaylen woke up early too.

I immediately felt disappointed for the early morning wake up because I had been so excited for that alone time with God.

But in that moment, I felt the Lord gently correct me. He impressed on my heart that I don’t have to “earn” His presence or earn hearing His voice by carving out the perfect quiet moment. I have access to Him all day long, no matter what I’m doing.

So I got up and started washing dishes with music playing for Jaylen and I to dance too. And as I did, I realized I could hear God just as clearly in the middle of washing dishes as I could sitting in stillness before Him. The only difference was my awareness of Him.

Just like we would never confine motherhood or relationships to special occasions…we don’t only connect with our children on holidays or milestones; the same is true with God. He is not looking for scheduled visitation. He desires daily involvement. Moment by moment.

This is where we shift from parallel living to shared life. When we begin to live in that shared life, God becomes part of everything…not just the spiritual moments, but the ordinary, messy, beautiful, everyday ones too. We were designed for constant communion with Him.

And my heart has always been stirred to help people understand the simplicity of abiding in God..because I once longed to understand what it actually looked like in real life, not just in theory. And I’ve learned it is built on a relationship marked by constant communication, trust, honesty, and commitment—even on the days I don’t feel it.

The more we see it as a real relationship with God (and His Spirit within us), the more we learn how to abide, stay in step with Him, and live with a sensitive awareness to His presence in everyday life.