Ask And It Will Be Done
The branch that produces answered prayer
Jesus says “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” John 15:7
In a garden is vine. As a vine has branches, and those branches live and thrive and produce fruit - as long as they are connected to the vine. As a branch cannot live apart from being connected to the vine, neither can it produce the fruit of the vine if it gets cut off the vine.
Earlier in this chapter, Jesus uses the vine and branches to teach that He is the true vine, and those who follow Him are the branches. Verse 4 says we cannot bear fruit unless we abide in Him. In verse 5 we learn that we bear much fruit if we abide in the vine and He is us. And in verse 6 we see if we do not remain in the vine we are cast off and thrown in the fire. We can do nothing unless we abide.
To abide is to dwell in, or live with, be connected to, remain, and endure. We might think of it as a house or building, but it could also imply a relationship that is ongoing.
Abiding and Asking
Now we come to verse 7 where Jesus tells the disciples to abide and ask, that is to pray. He promises that we will ask and it will be done, but only for those who are abiding. in Him and those who have the Word of God abiding in them.
The promise comes with three conditions: (1)“If you abide in Me, and (2) My words abide in you, then…(3) we may ask.
You see, too much think we we need do the third, the asking only. But Our Lord ties the answering to the first two conditions. Only then it will be done for us.
Note as well, that even though we may have the abiding, the remaining in, the dwelling upon or in Him, we will not obtain without the asking. We can take it for granted that He knows our needs and are wants, certainly He does even before we ask. But it remain to us to do the asking, not the presuming.
As a branch remains in a vine, and so we remain in Jesus. Remember though, His words abide in us, which means our abiding in Jesus is having His words live in us.
So it is up to us to read, study, memorize, obey and pray His words to us. This diligent, conscious effort on our part is humble dependence upon His authority and our communing with Him in steadfast prayer.
Nothing we do, nor anything we pray will come to pass without this abiding, this communion. As the branch dries and withers and produces no fruit, neither will we unless we stay attached to our heavenly Vine. No prayers asked will be answered!
Says Spurgeon:
This faithful, abiding disciple should expect answered prayer as part of their relationship with Jesus. A failure to see prayer answered means something is not right in the disciple’s relationship. Perhaps something is not right in the abiding, and prayers are amiss and unanswered. Perhaps something is not right in the asking and there is no perception of what Jesus wants to do in and through His disciple.
What We Desire
When we are in this right relationship, we can ask what we desire. What then is our desire? To ask His words; to ask His will; to ask what is now in us - our hearts delight is Christ. Says Matthew Henry:
Two things are implied in this promise:-
First, we shall not ask any thing but what is proper to be done for us. The promises abiding in us lie ready to be turned into prayers; and the prayers so regulated cannot but speed.
Secondly, we shall have such an interest in God’s favor and Christ’s mediation that we shall have an answer of peace to all our prayers.
As a branch remains healthy as it remains in the vine and it bears fruit, so may we remain in the true vine and may our prayers produce much fruit to the glory of God.
Pray For The People Of God From The Word Of God
Here are three passages we are praying from this week (one passage per day):
Monday - John 14:26
Tuesday - John 15:5
Wednesday - John 16:13
Will you join me in praying these verses, and ask one person to join you?
Until Thursday, grace and peace
Photo by Amos Bar-Zeev on Unsplash