Ask What You Wish
-
John 15:7 says, "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done
Over the last few verses that we have looked at in the last few days, Jesus taught that unless we abide in Him we cannot bear fruit, however if we do abide in Him, we will bear fruit. We are simply the branches and are useless without the vine (Jesus). Jesus taught that if we don't abide in Him, we will be gathered up and burned. Just as a branch apart from the vine dies, we also will die spiritually without Christ.
Today Jesus lists a very important aspect of abiding in Him. When we abide in Him and His words abide in us, we ask what we wish and it will be done. There are many blessings that come from abiding in Christ, following Him, doing right and these blessings are only limited by our willingness to ask and faith that He will preform it. Faith in Jesus is more than just going to worship on Sunday. Faith in Jesus is a realization that He provides for us and that all we need to do is to abide in Him, be fruitful spiritually, and ask...and it will be done.
When we don't get what we ask for it can be for any number of reasons. Sometimes we ask, but in the back of our mind we "know" that He really won't grant it. Lack of faith will not render answered prayers. Sometimes we ask out of evil, selfish, or unrighteous motives and our requests are not granted. When our heart is not right, we are not abiding in Christ as we should and outside of Christ our requests are not granted. However, one of the most common reasons that we don't get what we want is because we don't ask.
-Abide in Christ (follow Him, live like Him, love like Him)
-Bear fruit (do good, help others, lead others to truth)
-Allow His words to abide in you (know, trust and follow His truth)
-Ask what you wish-- It will be done
