Intimate communion with God, what does that mean?

[Abide with me.]

What do you pray about for extended periods of time?
When I pray it's usually no longer than for a few minutes and fairly simple, but I watched a documentary about Benedictine nuns praying for hours silently, does anyone else do that? What goes on in your head?
They talk about an intimate communion with God and being a bride of Christ, I have an intimate communion with my husband occasionally.. but what do the nuns mean by that?
I'm new to christianity and am totally open to asking God into my life, but I have never felt an intimate communion with God, what does that mean?

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

For me it is when I let my thoughts become silent, or maybe I should say less turbulent. With less distraction it is like I am silently next to God. We touch each other in silence. Other prayers and scripture pave the way. I think sisters do a lot of that.

 

[Carl Emerson]

If you ask Him into your life by repentance and rebirth then your experience of Him will change dramatically.

Human intimacy and intimacy with God are very different - it is a Spirit to Spirit intimacy reserved for Him alone.

Just to be clear there is no sexual aspect associated with Godly intimacy.

 

[tturt]

We're to pray without ceasing (I Thess 5:17) but there's alone time also "But you, when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret..." Matt 6:6 There will be interruptions but don't pursue them. Just spend a time deliberately focusing on Yahweh.

Can include during each dedicated time:

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name." Psa 100:4

Musical component - can be "O sing unto The Lord - can't sing? No worry "O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation." Psa 95:1 Singing to an audience of ONE Psa 7; 9; 13; 18; 21; 27; 30; 33; 57; 68; 89; 92; 95; 96; 98; 100; 101; 104; 109; 126; 135; 146; 149 (not all the ones in Psalms) Just thought it was interesting to see how many Scriptures encourage singing to Him). Also, there's several Scriptures about singing a new song such as Psa 98:1 All we have to do is change a few words of a current one to make a new song.

Consider Scripture that is all about Him such as Psa 145.

Meditate (focus) on some of His titles, names, and attributes - there's hundreds.

Overall:
"Worship is primarily an attitude or posture of the body bowing ...even bowing the human spirit before God. Praise, on the other hand, is an utterance. Thanksgiving comes when we thank God for what He has done. In worship, we relate to God's holiness. In praise, we relate to God's greatness. In thanksgiving, we relate to God's goodness." Derek Prince, The Teaching Legacy of Derek Prince, Victory in Praise, Vol 13, Issue 4

 

[ViaCrucis]

What do you pray about for extended periods of time?
When I pray it's usually no longer than for a few minutes and fairly simple, but I watched a documentary about Benedictine nuns praying for hours silently, does anyone else do that? What goes on in your head?
They talk about an intimate communion with God and being a bride of Christ, I have an intimate communion with my husband occasionally.. but what do the nuns mean by that?
I'm new to christianity and am totally open to asking God into my life, but I have never felt an intimate communion with God, what does that mean?

My guess is that they are talking about what is known as contemplative prayer.

Christian contemplation - Wikipedia

Throughout the history of the Church there have been various spiritual exercises and aids to developing one's prayer life.

St. Paul instructs that we should pray without ceasing. He doesn't mean that we should constantly be asking God for things, but rather it is an invitation and call to a lifestyle of prayer--of directing the heart and mind toward God.

The Bride of Christ reference is an analogical reference to the Church. In several places in Scripture God's people are collectively compared to being a bride, with God/Christ as the groomsman. In the middle ages in the West, a number of medieval Christian mystics used this bridal language about the Church as a way of speaking of the intimacy between God and His people, and at times of the intimacy between God and the soul. And thus of developing a rich interior life of inward (as well as outward) devotion to God.

Without wanting to say anything negative about those things (because I don't see them as a negative), considering your newness to the Christian faith it is almost certainly better at this point to focus on Christian basics. Being firmly instructed and grounded in basic Christian teaching and practice. These other things can come later, and with time, and with a solid foundation under your feet a richer prayer life will happen as you grow in faith.

I'm not saying to dismiss anything or trying to turn you off from anything, only that it's okay to take baby steps. Being Christ's disciple is about the journey, not the destination. The destination we already know, for Christ has received it for us and given it to us by grace and made it ours through Himself, and us in Him. Here and now is the life of being a disciple, of learning, of growing, and of living and dying.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[tturt]

We're not to worship what God made "And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven." (Deut 4:19)

But "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:" (Rom 1:20).

Since the beginning,, God shows that He exist. We can thank Him and praise and worship Him.

 

[aiki]

What do you pray about for extended periods of time?
When I pray it's usually no longer than for a few minutes and fairly simple, but I watched a documentary about Benedictine nuns praying for hours silently, does anyone else do that? What goes on in your head?
They talk about an intimate communion with God and being a bride of Christ, I have an intimate communion with my husband occasionally.. but what do the nuns mean by that?
I'm new to christianity and am totally open to asking God into my life, but I have never felt an intimate communion with God, what does that mean?

"Fellowship" is the word the Bible uses for "intimate communion" which encompasses more, I think, than the ascetic and esoteric practices of Benedictine nuns (is there actually such a thing?). Fellowship with God is not a place-dependent thing. It can - and does - happen at any place and time.

What does this intimate communion look like? Well, first of all, "intimate," does not mean "sexual" or "romantic." "Intimate" refers to the degree to which you know, and are known, by God, not physically but spiritually. Fellowship with God is accomplished through the Person of the Holy Spirit who:

1. Convicts believers of sin. (John 16:8)
2. Teaches believers God's truth. (John 14:26; John 16:13)
3. Comforts believers in times of trouble. (2 Corinthians 2:3-4)
4. Strengthens believers in moments of trial and temptation. (Romans 8:13; Ephesians 3:16)
5. Glorifies God within the mind and heart of the believer. (John 16:14)
6. Produces the "Fruit of the Spirit," the character of Christ, in the believer. (Galatians 5:22-23)
7. Disciplines the wayward believer. (Hebrews 12:5-11)

And so on.

This fellowship with God is contingent upon a person's trusting in Christ as their Saviour and yielding themselves to him as their Lord. (Romans 10:9-10) When a person trusts in Christ, putting their whole "weight," so to speak, on him as the atoning sacrifice for their sins (1 John 4:9-10), and believing that, through him, they have access to the family and kingdom of God (John 10:9; John 14:6; Acts 4:12), God's Spirit comes to dwell within that person, imparting to them new spiritual life. This is what Jesus called being "born-again by the Spirit" (John 3:5-6) and is the only means by which a person enters into fellowship with God.

 

[GreekOrthodox]

There are some short stories of early Christian monks called the Desert Fathers. One of them goes like this:

Abba Lot came to Abba Joseph and said: Father, according as I am able, I keep my little rule, and my little fast, my prayer, meditation and contemplative silence; and, according as I am able, I strive to cleanse my heart of thoughts: now what more should I do? The elder rose up in reply and stretched out his hands to heaven, and his fingers became like ten lamps of fire. He said: Why not become fire?

I've only known a handful of people that when I came into their presence, there was an awesome peace around them, Brother Christodoulos, a monk, and Father Paul, a Russian priest. The peace around them was palpable, this calming presence that simply emanated from them.

But as ViaCrusis says, this is a journey. Learn to crawl and walk before running.