(John 15:7,8 NIV) If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
This morning we continue our series entitled, “Re-Energizing Your Prayer Life.” All week I have been driving home the point that we are declared (made) righteous when we accept Jesus as Lord and that we have a right to pray. I hope you are getting to the point where this issue is settled in your heart. If you struggle with whether or not you have a right to pray, then you will never truly pray with any level of confidence; and we have to pray with confidence. We are commanded to pray in faith and faith is all about confidence. Dr. Munroe said, “I believe that our fear of being proud or presumptuous, along with our lack of acceptance of our worthy in Christ, have kept us in bondage and robbed us of the reality of His finished work on our behalf… who are we in Christ? We are the redeemed. Again, this is not just a philosophy or an opinion. This is the Father’s description of who we are in His Son. The Second Adam redeemed mankind.”
In John 15 we find the well known “I am the vine and you are the branches” passage. In this passage Jesus paints a picture of the Father being the vine and us (His children) being the branches that grow from the vine. In no unclear terms Jesus teaches that the branches are useless without the vine. But on the contrary, connected to the vine, to the true source of life, the branches can remain strong, vibrant, full of life, and they can produce much fruit. The issue of producing fruit is important when teaching on prayer. The Father wants us to be fruitful. God wants our lives to be productive, because we represent Him. Verse 8 tells us that when we produce much fruit our heavenly Father gets the glory. But guess what? The statement about producing much fruit (verse 8) comes directly after a statement about prayer. In verse 7 Jesus said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” Most of us read this verse and focus in on the latter portion that tells us that we can basically ask for whatever we want and the Father will give it to us. But the preceding verses put the emphasis on the vine, not the branches. The branches can only produce when they are in line with the vine. The beginning part of verse 7 tells us that we must “remain” – another translation says, “abide,” which means to literally “live in” – in the vine and in His Word. In other words, once we get to the point where we no longer question our identity (we know who we are in Christ and we know we are connected to the vine), and we are so full of God’s Word that our thoughts and desires are aligned with it, then yes, at that point we can literally ask for whatever we want, because what we want will be what the Father wants. We have already learned that when we ask for something that is in-line with the Father’s will, that He willingly grants us the desire of our heart, because our heart is bent towards Him!
So what does this mean to you today? A few quick thoughts:
1. When you ask in accordance with God’s will He freely gives you what you ask for.
2. When your mind is renewed to the will of God, you can ask whatever you will, because by that point your will is aligned with His will.
3. The Father wants you to ask and receive, because when your life bears much fruit it brings glory to His name!
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for Your Word. Your Word is teaching me why I should pray and how to pray in order to get results. I know who I am, because I know whose I am. I am a branch that is happily and thankfully connected to You as the vine. Apart from You I can do nothing. But connected to You I can do all things. I submit myself to the process of mind renewal through Your Word. I get into the Word daily and I declare by faith that I will get to the point where my will is completely in-line with Yours. Once I get to that point I can freely ask for whatever I want in prayer, because at that point what I want will also be what You want, and whenever I ask for something that You want me to have You freely give it to me. Thank You Father for helping me to produce much fruit in my life and the more fruit I produce the more glory I bring to Your name. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
