Abiding And Asking

John 15:7 (ESV)
⁷  If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.


One of the things I am doing more of in prayer these days is praying scripture. What more assurance can we have that we are praying correctly than if we are praying God's word and aligning our hearts and minds with those scriptures.

This morning i prayed John 15:7. Let's break it down. What does the word abide mean? It means to endure, remain, dwell, and continue. So what exactly are we to endure, remain, dwell, and continue in daily?  Two things. Abiding in Jesus. Abiding in His word.

Can you say you are currently abiding in Christ? Are you closer to Him now than ever before? Is your communion with Him both consistent and constant? Is He a part of your everyday? Not just compartmentalized to a devotion time and then forgotten? Is He your primary passion? Is He the delight of your heart? Do you long to remain hidden in Him? To continue relying on Him? To continue pursuing Him? To keep following where He leads? If you could answer "yes" to those questions then you are probably abiding in Him. Or to put it another way, your life is hidden in Him and it is Him living through you.

Are you abiding in God's word? Do you read it? Do you study it? Do you meditate on it? Do you memorize it? Does the scripture impact the way you live and relate to others? Do you believe your Bible is the divinely inspired word of God? Do you believe the promises contained in your Bible are true? Do you hunger for truth? Whether it be through your own personal reading and study and do you hunger for the meat of God's word to be preached and taught to you when in public worship? If you answered "yes" then most likely you are abiding in His word.

Two conditions followed by a great promise. Jesus tells us we can ask whatever we wish. What do you wish? Healing. Reconciliation. Salvation. Deliverance. Freedom. Provision. Direction. Comfort. Peace. Hope. Strength. Miracle. What pounds deep in your chest as you cry out to Jesus to help you? What weighs heavy on your heart? What impossible mountain do you see in front of you blocking your path?

If you can truthfully say you are abiding in Jesus and abiding in His word then go ahead and ask. This time ask more boldly and with greater faith. Why? How did Jesus end that verse. He said if we were abiding in Him and His word we could ask whatever we wished and it would be done. Done for you. Jesus made a promise. A huge promise that ought to encourage all of us to pray harder.

When I prayed this scripture this morning I could say to the best I know how I am abiding in Him. I am relying on Him. I desire Him. I long for those quiet moments when we can commune privately in our secret place. I hunger to know Him more than at any other time in my life.

I am in His word. I just recently finished reading through the whole Bible again. It is a habit. When I finished Revelation 22 I turned right back to Genesis 1 and started over. I have made praying scripture a much more bold emphasis. That is how I even came across this verse for today. I wanted to pray scripture. I wanted to pray the Bible. I don't know how to abide much more than that.

Then I took Jesus at His word. I only took my needs to Him. I did not bring a long list of selfish desires. Just legitimate needs. Big. Audacious. Bold. Impossible with men but possible with God. If you had heard those requests you would have been shocked. You would have shaken your head in doubt. No matter. I am standing on this Jesus promise.

One day very soon I will be able to show you the tangible proof of what I not only asked today but have been asking for months. I will not only be able to show it to you but you will be able to touch it tangibly. You will know God did it. You will glorify God with me. Both your faith and mine will be greatly encouraged. The answers to that prayer are readily available to Jesus. I am just waiting on the delivery date. God is always on time. More than the U.S. Postal Service. More than FedEX. More than UPS. Always right on time. Soon those answers will be delivered. When they are I will write all about it. Until then I stand feet and faith firmly planted on God's word. I am abiding and asking.