Key Scripture:
John 15:7. “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
Key Idea:
The Whole place of the branch in the vine is one of unceasing prayer. Without intermission it is ever calling: “O my vine, send the sap I need to bear Thy
fruit.” And its prayers are never unanswered: it asks what it needs, what it will, and it is done.
— Murray
Pray for revelation:
Abiding fully means praying much. Ask what ye will. O my Lord, why is it that our hearts are so little able to accept these words in their divine simplicity?
Oh, give me to see that we need nothing less than this promise to overcome the powers of the world and Satan! Teach us to pray in the faith of this Thy
promise.
— Murray
Key words:
Abide,
Words,
Pray,
Receive.
At last some actions that we can do. Abiding involves prayer, a way of communication. Abiding involves words, the way we communicate. Look at the parts of this verse.
Going backwards, we have the promise that anything we ask will be given. Whatever is desired will be given. Those are some pretty far reaching words.
Can anybody really get everything they ask for? Yes, but remember that God isn’t a wishing fairy, or some kind of genii to be our wishing slave. He is the farmer who controls the branch. Branches are at the mercy of the farmer.
God wants us to grow. He likes it when we grow, so start growing.
The first part of this verse contains some really big words too.
If our prayers are centered on things that involve our abiding in the vine, what ever is asked will be given. Simple. If you were to ask me for something I had, I could give it to you. If you ask for something that I don’t have, or is irelevant, I likely won’t be able to give it. The whatsoever that the verse is talking about is asking God for anything that relates to you and taking part in your place in his kingdom.
Abiding. If we are abiding, staying attached, and if the sap, the words, the Holy Spirit sent from Jesus, is flowing back into us, then we will understand what to pray about.
In his book, where these devotions are derived from, Andrew Murray talks of the Holy Spirit. Both the preceding chapters in the Gospel of John talk about the Holy Spirit. In our parrabel, the life giving sap is said to relate to the Holy Spirit and his job in this word picture.
Prayer. The Holy Spirit will guide you in what to pray for. Spend time quietly listening, meditating. Make a prayerful effort to just sit and listen.
Use your conscience, let the Holy Spirit inspire you. God wants to hear your concerns about the troubles you face. Tell him about it and leave the burden at his feet.
Pray for the small things and the big things. Pray for the close and the far. Those in your family, your close circle of friends, the people you work with. Pray for local governmental leaders and officials, move out to state and higher level leaders, and those others who serve under them.
As a prayer list grows, it may become to large to pray through in a short, devotional time. Just get as far as you can, bookmark where you left off, and start at that spot the next time you return to devotion and prayer time.
God answers prayer before we even know there is a need. Spend quality time, not necessarily lengthy time.
Prayer is like a conversation with God. Take time to stop and listen.