ASK WHATEVER YOU WISH?

 

JUNE 18, 2024

John 15:7-8

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”

Jesus makes us an almost unbelievable promise in John 15:7-8. Scripture says, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”  

Passages of Scripture like this one are vital for us to understand. So, today, let us seek to understand what Jesus was teaching to his followers, and how we should apply this "ask whatever you wish" to our lives.

In John 15: 7-8 Jesus is teaching us a "How to Pray." Jesus' model for prayer in these verses involves remaining in His presence, living by His words, and then presenting the desires of our hearts to God. Ths is a rather simple model for prayer , however, it calls for a certain level of discipline. You see in the Bible not only are we told that God knows us completely, we also discover that God wants us to know him completely, as completely as our humna understanding can. The key emphasis by Jesus in our verses today is that as we "remain in the Vine", we become more and more in tune with God's desires that our desires are transformed into God's desire.  The divine plan involves enriching us with the understanding of His 

will, enabling us to pray and live with complete dedication and the firm belief that our heavenly Father will fulfill the aspirations He has instilled in us.

Does this model of prayer line up with your life? 

Is your prayer life marked by abiding in him and his word first? 

Are you so saturated with his word that it is transforming your actions, beliefs, emotions, and prayers?

Scripture says in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” And Deuteronomy 4:29 says, “you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.” God longs to reveal to us how he feels about us, and his desire for abundant living, in all of life. Our creator wants each of us to experience and discover  what is best in life. When this transformation from my desires to God's beautiful intentions are embraced we are transformed and this impacts "the way" and "the what" that we pray for. Asking for "God's will to be done" takes on a very different meaning.

May our desires be one with God’s today as we spend time abiding in the true vine of Jesus. Amen.