If you abide in Me and Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it will be given to you. We all love this verse, don’t we?
However, sometimes we only see one part of it, you will ask what you desire and it will be given to you. Therefore, today, let’s take a look on what the word of God says about abiding in Christ, which is the rest of the scripture.
John 15:4-5 says; Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
The word ‘abide’ in this scripture means to remain, to continue in, to be present in and then one I love most…to remain as ONE.
When you pray, if you are not seeing the answers to your prayers, you must ask yourself, ‘am I abiding in Christ?’
How do you know if you are abiding in Christ? Well, let’s look;
John 15:10-11 says; If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love
1 John 2:6 says; He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked
2 John 1:9 says; Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.
So, we see from scriptures that if we are meditating in the word and doing what it says to do, then we are abiding in Christ. And remember, we must CONTINUE in Him. That means continually staying in the word of God and continually spending time with God.
Colossians 2:6 says; As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.
Walking in Jesus Christ means doing things the same way He did and does. Walking in love, only doing what the Father says to do…can you imagine that today? ONLY doing what the Father says to do, nothing, absolutely NOTHING apart from that. Now, that would free up some time indeed.
God does not want us to abide in Christ just to keep us in line. No, He has a great plan for us.
John 15:10-11 says; If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
The reason God compels us to abide in Christ, the reason God compels us to keep His word and remain in His love is for our benefit. That HIS joy may remain in us and that OUR joy may be full.
Abiding in Christ is much more for us than it is for Him. Beyond the joy that is promised to those who choose to abide, we also have this promise;
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. John 15:7
There is a way, a path, to see all our prayers answered as we pray them…that way is abiding in Christ. Today, ask yourself ‘are my prayers getting answered, if not, am I truly abiding in Christ today?’ If you find you are not, simply repent and ask God to show you how to abide in Christ from this day forth…it is, after all, His greatest desire for you too.
Prayer for today: Father, teach us to abide in Christ, daily and continually. This we ask in Jesus name. Amen.
