abide in me
But if you remain in Me and My words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! (John 15:7, NLT)
Surprisingly, there are many promises Jesus gave to us about prayer that are conditional. If we do our part to fulfill what God is asking us to do, then Jesus promises that God will answer our prayers. We see this connected to the following promise, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." In prayer, the promise Jesus gives here is “Ask for anything you want, and it will be granted.” However, that promise is based on the condition that we are “abiding” in Jesus, or that we “remain” in Jesus.
Jesus promises that if we remain in Him and if His words remain in us, we can ask for whatever we want and it will be granted to us. Now, why would this be the case? Perhaps because it is “Jesus in us” whom God hears, or it is “Jesus in us” whom God is favoring when He answers this kind of prayer. Or perhaps it is because the very process of abiding in Jesus and having His words abide in us helps to sharpen our prayers and focus our prayers and center our prayers around God's good and perfect will for our lives.
“If you abide in me.” As we grow in God's grace, and in our understanding of God, we begin to understand Jesus’ words in new and fresh ways. At one point in our journey we might ponder over a promise of Jesus and wonder at its meaning. As we think about its mystery, we gain a fresh insight about our life with God. We may come back to that same promise years later, and find that it means something different to us, or that its previous meaning for us no longer applies. As we think on the promise in a fresh new way, the promise of Jesus takes on a new and richer meaning. This is what it means to have Jesus’ words remain in us. We come to His promises - not with superficial understanding and not with pride of how well we understand that promise because “we have studied it before.” We come to His promises with humility. We come to His words with reverent hearts. And as we dwell on His promises they take on fresh and deeper meaning. And then, those words infect our prayer life with the Spirit and the anointing of God.
Are you frustrated with unanswered prayer?
If so, are you abiding in Jesus?
Are you taking in the words of Jesus on a regular basis?
Are you reflecting deeply on His promises to you?
Are you allowing His words to remain in you and speak to your spirit and infect your spirit with His Spirit?
The process of abiding in Jesus and abiding in the words of Jesus will greatly enhance your life at prayer.
A vine is connected to the branch and that connection bears sweet tasting fruit. In the same way, as you abide in Jesus, He will begin to produce a sweet tasting fruit in your life. In so many ways, you will become the person you have always wanted to be. The person you have always known you could be is really based on a godly desire that Jesus has put within your heart. And yet, you can't get there without Jesus. Without Jesus you are a dead branch. But with Jesus you are alive and whole and your life is becoming all that you hoped it could be.
What is God saying to me today?
My Prayer List:
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Personal Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I ask today that You would teach me to abide in You. Teach me how to meditate on Your promises -- Your words. Teach me how to let Your words shape my life and how to let Your words remain in me. And from those promises, show me how to pray in the Spirit. Show me how to pray and ask and receive. As Your words remain in me, and as I abide in You, I ask that you would change me. Change me into the person that Jesus died for me to be. Amen.