“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” John 15:7
“When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart.” (John Bunyan) I like what Mr. Bunyan said. Think about it. Sometimes my mouth can’t say the words that my heart is wanting but God hears the heart. Then again, do we just get into rote in our praying where all the words are the same and mean nothing? Jesus reminds us that as He dwells in us and His Words abide in us, we can pray to Him and He will hear us. But do you see the key element for Christians here? His Word needs to be in us. We can’t pray without knowing His Word. Pray His Word back to Him.
Come, my soul, thy suit prepare,
Jesus loves to answer prayer;
He Himself has bid thee pray,
Therefore will not say thee nay.
The word abide means to “rest or dwell”. If we are abiding in the Vine and we are the branches, then we are resting in Him or dwelling with Him. When we abide in Christ all we are doing is keeping in close fellowship with Him. Reading His Word and praying is like having a two-way conversation with a friend.
Thou art coming to a king,
Large petitions with thee bring;
For His grace and power are such,
None can ever ask too much.
Prayer is so much more than asking. It’s about worshiping God and praising His name and being in total surrender to Him. However, asking is an important part of prayer. Some might say what right do we have to presume to ask anything of a Holy and Righteous God when we are merely weak humans?
If you know Christ as your Lord and Savior then you are God’s child and you stand before Him forgiven. You are royalty. Abide in Him and you can ask what you need.
Show me what I have to do,
Every hour my strength renew;
Let me live a life of faith,
Let me die Thy people’s death.
God loves to answer our prayers. He wants us to come to Him just like little children go to their earthly parents to ask for something. God wants to answer our prayers. Read that again! It has been said that prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness. But He wants to give us what He has promised us. This is why the Bible is so important. In it we learn what God wants to give us.
Thou art coming to a king,
Large petitions with thee bring;
For His grace and power are such,
None can ever ask too much.
The Bible is said to be our spiritual bankbook and our prayers are the checks we write, on which we draw from God’s infinite resources. Never worry about His response. He never has a delay. God’s clock needs no rewinding or resetting. You have heard, “God’s ways are not our ways”. Don’t forget that “God’s delays are not God’s denials.”
He has no delays so just wait on Him. As you is praying, start with abiding in Him. Worship Him for Who He is and pray back some Scripture to Him. You can then do the asking and waiting for the answering. If we worship Him first, the asking will be easier to leave in His hands and to wait on Him.
While I am a pilgrim here,
Let Thy love my spirit cheer;
As my guide, my guard, my friend,
Lead me to my journey’s end.
