For
many, prayer is not a daily discipline and is not even something
they look forward to. Prayer seems to them a religious
duty -- something they know they should do but just don't seem
to be interested in. They see no practical benefit in
prayer and feel it detracts from time that could be used more
productively. For others, prayer is a regular discipline
but is not the high point of their day that it should be.
To them, prayer is more mechanical than dynamic. That is,
they apply biblical principles in prayer but fall short of
seeing in prayer an avenue to an increasing awareness of God's
presence and to a deeper intimacy with him.
I
believe the Lord wants us to avoid both of these pitfalls.
Prayer is not impractical; it has great relevance to our daily
lives and our fruitfulness in life. Prayer is not
mechanical; it is meant not just to secure the things for which
we pray but to experience a deepening intimacy with the
Lord. Prayer is meant to be both practical and dynamic.
This
teaching underscores the practical and dynamic aspects of prayer
by demonstrating how prayer arises out of a living relationship
with God through Christ. Jesus talked about that vital,
living relationship in John 15. Using the analogy of a
vine and its branches, He described the abiding relationship we
must have with Him if we are to be quickened by His life within
and live a life of fruitfulness. As we will see, Jesus
pointed out that abiding in Him and drawing our life from Him is
indispensable to a powerful prayer life.
Our
topic for this teaching is "The Posture of Prayer: A
Life of Abiding." Using John 15:1-17 as our text, we
will talk first about the life of abiding in Christ. Then,
we will see how these verses link our abiding relationship with
Christ to the fruitfulness of our prayer lives. We will
present our discussion under two headings:
-
The
Life of Abiding
-
The
Prayer of Abiding
The
Life of Abiding
All of
life is about growth and development. Growth by definition
requires time. There's no adolescence without childhood
and no adulthood without puberty. It's the same with life
in the kingdom. We cannot get ahead of God. He has a
divine order by which He is working in our lives.
God's
divine order for our lives requires that we learn the
fruitfulness of a life of abiding before we discover the power
released through the prayer of abiding. For that reason,
Jesus' discourse in John 15 gives first priority to the
importance of a life lived in communion with Him while adding a
couple of references to the power of prayer that is born out of
that communion.
In
our text, Jesus described the relationship He has with His
followers by comparing it with the relationship that a vine has
with its branches. With this analogy, Jesus got the
attention of His hearers right away. Several times in the
Old Testament, God used the imagery of a vine as representative
of the nation of Israel and as illustrative of the way He dealt
with His covenant people. (See Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah
2:21; Ezekiel 15; 19:10; Hosea 10:1; and Psalm
80:8.)
As we
personalize the teaching of Jesus, we will see how this analogy
of the vine and its branches depicts our relationship with God
and helps us understand His dealings in our lives as He teaches
us to abide in Christ. We will discuss the life of abiding
in Christ by addressing:
-
The
need for a life of abiding
-
The
means to a life of abiding
-
The
danger of not abiding
-
The
blessing of abiding
The
Need for a Life of Abiding
The
life of a Christian must be a life lived in vital connection
with Christ. It would be better to describe us not as
followers of Christ but as appendages of Him, i.e., parts of His
body vitally connected to Him and drawing our life and strength
from Him.
Jesus
found no better illustration of the believer's relationship to
Him that that of the branches' relationship to the vine.
To better understand this analogy, let's consider a facts from
the field of vintage.
Vines were, and still are, grown throughout Palestine. The
planting of vines required great care. Terraces had to be
cleared of all rocks and debris. Either trellises were
used to support the vines or forked wooden sticks were planted
in the soil about twelve feet apart to support the vine as it
spread across the ground. [Barclay 1975:173]
A vine
required a great deal of pruning. It grew very quickly and
had to be cut back drastically for the first three years so that
it's life and energy would be maintained for fruit-bearing in
the fourth year. Pruning was meant to prevent the vine
from bearing fruit until the fourth year so that it's grapes
would be of a higher grade. [Ibid., pp. 173-174]
Pruning
was also necessary to maximize the fruitfulness of the
branches. There are two kinds of branches that grow from
the vine: those that are fruit-bearing and those that are
useless wood. The gardener would cut off fruitless
branches so that they would not sap up the strength of the vine
and draw that strength away from the branches that would
effectively convert it into fruit. [Ibid., p. 174]
As for the fruitless branches, they amount to so much dead wood
that, if left alone, would harbor disease and decay.
[NIVBC; ref. John 15:2] Furthermore, even after this dead wood
is cut off from the vine, it is useless for any constructive
purpose. It is was only fuel for a bonfire.
[Barclay, p. 174]
This
background helps us better understand Jesus' emphasis upon our
need to abide in Him. There are three reasons we need to
practice a life of abiding in Christ:
1.
A life of abiding in Christ prevents fruitlessness.
Jesus said in verse 4, "Remain
in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit
by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you
bear fruit unless you remain in me." This
verse makes it clear that we cannot live the Christian life
through the power of self-determination. In fact, WE
cannot live the Christian life at all. It is when Christ
comes to live in us and to manifest His life through us that we are genuine followers of Jesus. As the
apostle Paul states, "I have been crucified with Christ and
I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." (See
Galatians 2:20a.)
A life
of abiding is necessary because we must remain vitally connected
to Christ if He is to live His life through us on a continual
basis. It is His life within us that manifests the fruit
of His nature. When we live outside of vital fellowship we
Christ, all our lives produce is the works of the
flesh -- character flaws that evidence our distance from God
apart from Christ. When we live the life of abiding in
Him, His Spirit in our hearts produces the fruit of
the Spirit. As Paul states, " . . . the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness
and self-control." (See Galatians 5:22.)
Another
aspect of Christian fruitfulness is effective ministry.
Our lives and ministries are to bring others to experience God's
presence and power in their lives so that they come to know Him
and learn to live in ongoing fellowship with Him. Just as
abiding in Christ is key to producing the fruit of the Spirit,
it is also key to the fruitfulness of an effective
ministry. Paul described His spiritual partnership with
Christ in ministry with these words: " . . . I labor,
struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in
me." (See Colossians 1:29.)
God
desires to minister powerfully to others through us.
Whether that is through manifesting Christian character, meeting
a practical need, offering an effective witness to the gospel,
or helping someone experience divine healing or deliverance
through prayer, our fruitfulness depends entirely upon our
abiding in Christ.
2.
A life of abiding in Christ assures pruning and cleansing.
It is the branches that are connected to the vine that are the
object of the gardener's careful work of inspection and
pruning. Jesus said, " . . . every branch that does
bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more
fruitful." (See verse 2b.) God inspects our
lives for the fruitfulness that proves we are vitally connected
to His Son. Where He finds fruitfulness, He gets busy
pruning.
Pruning
depicts God's work of sanctification in our lives.
That is, God is actively at work in us snipping away at every
thought, attitude, desire, and tendency that does not reflect
His nature. To change the analogy, He is as a father who
disciplines His children for their own good. The apostle
James says this about God's discipline of His children:
"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.
Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and
peace for those who have been trained by it." (See
James 3:17.) God's discipline in our lives is painful
pruning, but it is rewarding as it makes us more fruitful.
3.
A life of abiding in Christ maximizes fruitfulness. Jesus said, "If a man remains in me and I in him, he will
bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
(See verse 5b.) Life in Christ is a growing relationship
of increasing fruitfulness. We are to go from "faith
to faith" and from "glory to glory." (See
Romans 1:17 and 2 Corinthians 3:18.) In like manner, our
text emphasizes the need to go from bearing fruit to bearing
more fruit to bearing much fruit. (See verses 2 and 5.)
God is
a God of increase. He looks for greater returns upon His
investments. Everything He touches multiplies as the
loaves and fishes multiplied in the hands of Jesus and His
disciples. He desires to cause the attributes of His
nature to mature and expand in our lives. He wants to
demonstrate His grace and power through our ministries in ever
increasing greatness. In the chapter just prior to our
text, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has
faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even
greater things than these, because I am going to the
Father." (See John 14:12.) As branches abiding
in the vine who is Christ, God desires greater fruitfulness of
effective ministry from our lives that was evidenced in Jesus
own ministry. For that to happen, though, there is the
need for an ongoing life of abiding in Him.
The
Means to a Life of Abiding
We've
talked about the need to abide in Christ. It prevents us
from being fruitless and assures that we are the objects of
God's disciplinary work of pruning that will assure increased
fruitfulness and gratification in our lives. But how do we
abide in Christ? In our text, Jesus gave three
exhortations to His disciples that enlighten us as to how we can
abide in Christ.
1.
We abide in Christ through a life of love.
Jesus said, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved
you. Now remain in my love." (See verse
9.) To abide in Christ is to abide in love. Jesus'
whole reason for coming into the world was to demonstrate God's
redeeming love for fallen humanity. (See John
3:16.) Notice, though, that Jesus communicates here
an important insight about love. The love He received from
the Father was the love He gave to His disciples.
Likewise, the love we receive from our communion with Christ is
the love we are to share with each other. The point is
that we are not the manufacturers of the love that we are to
give. It is as we abide in Christ and are filled with His
love that we can share the same with others.
I
experienced this truth in a memorable way when I was a
teen-ager. A friend invited me to a mid-week service at
his church. At the invitation time, everyone present
gathered around the altar for prayer. During that prayer
time, I was kneeling at the altar when I experienced the
presence of God so tangibly that I was literally blown
down. It was like an invisible wind blew me forward and
slightly to the left. My chest fell upon the top of a
small amplifier, but it felt like a soft cushion. When I
got home that night, I felt such a strong presence of love for
everything I looked at -- the curtains, the kitchen counter, the
refrigerator (not what was in it!). Within a few moments,
my mother walked from her bedroom into the kitchen in obvious
pain and said, "Mark, please pray for me. My head is
killing me." Without saying a word, I walked over to
her and prayed silently as I did not want the sound of my voice
to cut through the spiritual atmosphere I was feeling. When I finished
praying, she grabbed her head and said in surprise, "It's
gone! The pain is gone!" I knew at once that
what God imparted to me at the altar that night was released
into my mother and brought instant healing from a painful
headache.
In this
instance, I was just a conduit through which God channeled his love in
the form of healing virtue to my mother. This illustrates
Jesus' point very well, though. It is only when we abide in
Him that we receive from Him the love that we are to give to
others -- love that will bear fruit through our lives and in the
lives of those to whom we minister.
2.
We abide in Christ through a life of obedience.
Love
for God is demonstrated through obedience to Him. Jesus
said, "If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love,
just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his
love." (See verse 10.)
Since
love does not originate with us but with God, we have to be
taught how to love. And, since love is proven through
obedience, we have to be taught how to obey. In this
connection, Jesus again puts Himself forward as our model.
How are we to be obedient to the Lord Jesus? In the same
way that He was obedient to His Father.
In
order to obey the Father, Jesus had to have ongoing communion
with Him. It was as the Father gave revelation of His will
to the Son that the Son was in the position to obey Him.
Jesus said that He went only at His Father's initiative, spoke
only what He heard from His Father, and did only what He saw His
Father do. (See John 8:42; 8:28; 14:10; 10:32.)
Because He was committed in love to His Father's plan, He
received revelation of the Father's will.
I was
reading a book recently about conversational prayer that
strongly emphasized hearing from God when we pray. The
writer pointed out that sometimes people respond to statements
about God speaking to His children when they prayer by saying
things like, "I wish God would speak to me." The
writer raised a good question in response: "Why
should He?" The point of the question is this:
Is your heart so committed to God in love that you would obey
Him if He told you what He wanted you to do? If love for
God doesn't compel you to obey Him, why should He speak to
you?
If we
love God, we will obey Him. If He knows we have a heart to
obey Him, He will speak to us and reveal His will. This
takes place through prayer.
3.
We abide in Christ through a life of prayer. A
regular prayer life is a means for maintaining communion with
God through Christ. It is this very communion we
experience with God that assures the fruitfulness of our prayer
lives. Jesus said, "If you remain in me and my words
remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given
you." (See verse 7.) The first part of this verse is
about the life of abiding; the second part gives a guarantee of
answered prayer. For when our commitment is to live in
fellowship with Christ, we will be motivated to ask for the
things that are pleasing to Him and that deepen our relationship
with Him.
The
invitation to abide in Christ has strong positive reinforcement
in the promise that those who so abide will experience a
lifestyle of continuous answered prayer. This positive
reinforcement is intended. Jesus invites us into the
abundant life, and God's purpose is to so mature us in Christ
that we will always ask for the things that He is pleased to
give. There is, however, another side to how God deals
with His children. If we are not inclined to embrace the
blessing of abiding in Christ and experiencing a fruitful prayer
life, then God in His mercy will warn us of the danger of losing
our vital connection with Christ, our vine.
The
Danger of Not Abiding
I do
not believe it is God's desire to use fear to motivate people to
love and worship Him. His invitation to us is a gracious
invitation to come and drink from His "river of
delights." (See Psalm 36:8.) It is an
invitation to "taste and see that the Lord is
good." (See Psalm 34:8a.) However, because we
were made for God's pleasure and He is the only one who can
satisfy our deepest longing, it is God's love for us that moves
Him to warn us of the dangers of drifting away from Him.
In our
text, Jesus talked about the dangers of not abiding in
Him. There are four such dangers that we will mention
briefly.
1.
There is the danger of a life cut off from Christ. Speaking of His Father as the gardener,
Jesus said, "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no
fruit . . . ." (See verse 2a.) Christ is the
only way to God. He said, "I am the way and the truth
and the life. No one comes to the Father except through
me." (See John 14:6.) To be cut off from
Christ, then, is to be cut off from God. It is to be a
restless wanderer and a vagabond like Cain who was driven from
paradise. It is to wander through life as in a barren
wilderness like the generation of Israelites who were barred
from the Promise Land. A life cut off from Christ is a
life of futility and emptiness.
2.
There is the danger of a life of fruitlessness. Jesus'
warns us with these words: "No branch can bear fruit
by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you
bear fruit unless you remain in me." (See verse
4.) A basic need in life that everyone has is to discover
God's plan for their life and fulfill the purpose for their
existence. When one feels the despair of seeing life slip
through his fingers without discovering and fulfilling his
purpose for being, we say he is having an existential crisis --
the crisis of a meaningless existence. When we become
disconnected from Christ, we lose sight of the purpose for
which He came into the world, i.e. to redeem fallen
humanity. To do so is to lose sight of our purpose, i.e.
to co-labor with Christ in the task of bringing fallen humanity
to receive God's gracious gift of forgiveness and acceptance
with Him through Christ. Without abiding in Christ, we
cannot effectively bring others to Him. We inevitably live
in the existential crisis of a fruitless existence.
3.
There is the danger of a life of rejection and withering.
Jesus said, "If anyone does not
remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and
withers . . . ." (See verse 6a.) The last thing
God wants to do is reject His people. He loves us with an
everlasting love and gave His Son to die for our eternal
redemption. However, if we choose not to receive God's
gift of life through Christ and abide in Him, we have chosen against
God's will to be rejected by God. We inherit a
life severed, withered, discarded, rejected.
It has
been my discovery that evangelicals talk a lot about rejection
-- and with good cause. We live in a society where more
marriages end in divorce than stay intact. Men and women
seeking their own fulfillment at the expense of their mates go
through life rejecting and being rejected. Children
feeling unloved and devalued rebel against authority and seek
their identity through gangs, drugs, illicit sex, and even the
occult. Popular psychology dresses the wound by
encouraging people to bolster their self-esteem by learning to
be their own person and avoid all "co-dependent
relationships." Such a mentality would cause one to
see the sense of a need to abide in Christ as being a sign of
weakness. In reality, the opposite is true. It is
neither parents, peers, nor rugged individualism that puts one
in touch with himself. Jesus alone is the way to God, and
God alone is capable of loving us back to life. That's why
He warns us in love of the danger of not abiding in
Christ.
4.
There is the danger of a life consigned to the judgment of
fire. Jesus said of those
branches that are thrown away and withered that "such
branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and
burned." (See verse 6b.) This is the strongest
warning of all. To live life apart from Christ, and
therefore apart from God, is to choose eternal separation from
God. Not only does this lead to being a restless wanderer
through this life. It leads to eternal condemnation.
The Bible speaks of a literal, eternal hell which is described
as "the lake of fire" -- the destiny of anyone whose
name is not recorded in the book of life. (See Revelation
20:14.) Jesus said that those who refuse to cut off the
source of sin in their lives will be cut off from God and will
"go into hell, where the fire never goes out."
(See Mark 9:46-48.)
There
is vigorous debate in many Christian circles over whether
one can lose his salvation or if his salvation is eternally
secure. I've read much on both perspectives and prefer not
to take sides. I do believe, however, that our present
discussion makes it clear that it is Christians who are warned
of the dangers of not abiding in Christ. Jesus addressed
this whole teaching to His disciples. He was speaking to
them when he said " . . . you are the branches."
We do well to take to heart His warning.
The
Blessing of Abiding
The
dire warnings Jesus gave in this teaching regarding the dangers
of not abiding in Him are intended to create in us a reverential
fear of God. However, God does not desire to use negative
motivation as a means of bringing us to do His will. On
the contrary, life in Christ is meant to be a life of
blessing. Jesus said, "I have come that they may have
life, and have it to the full." (See John
10:10.)
The
benefits of abiding in Christ are exciting. They provide
strong positive motivation to live a life of connectedness with
him. There are four that our text suggests which we will
comment upon here.
1.
There is the blessing of joy. The
one who abides in Christ is promised the joy of increasing
fruitfulness in union with Christ. Jesus said in verse
11: "I have told you this so that my joy may be in
you and that your joy may be complete." What is the
basis for the Christian's joy? It is that we have been
united with Christ in death, burial, resurrection, ascension,
and exaltation. This is why Paul could write, "God
raised us up with Christ and seated us with
him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus . . ." (see
Ephesians 2:6) and that we ". . . reign in life through the
one man, Jesus Christ." (See Romans 5:16.) This is
why Jesus could say, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears
my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will
not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to
life." (See John 5:24.) We have joy through our
union with Christ because His victory over sin, death, and the
judgment of God is our victory. Because we are united
through faith with God's beloved Son, nothing can separate us
from the Father's love.
2.
There is the blessing of friendship with Christ.
After
exhorting His disciples to love one another with the same
sacrificial love that He demonstrated toward them, Jesus said to
them, "You are my friends if you do what I
command." (See verse 14.) Friendship with Jesus
is not an ethereal concept. It is meant to be a daily
reality in our lives. He lives in us by His Spirit, and He
desires to have communion with us -- to walk with us, talk with
us, and abide with us. He beckons us to open our hearts to
Him and accept His offer of friendship. It was Christians
whom Jesus addressed through John the Revelator with these
words: "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If
anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat
with him, and he with me." (See Revelation
3:20.) The price tag for such friendship with Jesus is
that we love one another as He has loved us. It is a life
of abiding in Christ.
3.
There is the blessing of partnership with God.
Partnership
implies sharing life together around a common vision and
purpose. It signifies joint ownership in a common
venture. In our text, Jesus said to His disciples, "I
no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his
master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for
everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to
you." (See verse 15.) The difference between a
servant and a friend in this passage is like the difference
between an employee and a partner in the company. A
servant or an employee work to discharge a duty. A friend
or partner offer a labor of love motivated by a commitment to
the one with whom they work and a sense of ownership in the
cause. Because we are one with Christ, we are given the
blessing of being in partnership with God in His work of
redemption in the earth. We have been redeemed and given
eternal life. We now offer a labor of love in sharing the
good news of the gospel with others because we have taken
ownership of the task of fulfilling the Great Commission.
4.
There is the blessing of answered prayer. Jesus
has shown us the "secret" of answered prayer. It
is not simply a matter of learning biblical principles about
prayer and applying them in our prayer lives. That would
be a mechanical approach to prayer. Rather, answered
prayer is born of knowing Christ, loving God, and taking
ownership in the fulfillment of the Great Commission. The
secret is, in a word, abiding in Christ. Jesus said in
verse 7, "If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." As
if to further explain, Jesus said in verse 16, "You did not
choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear
fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you
whatever you ask in my name." When our heart is
committed to God and to His purposes, our requests in prayer
will never run counter to His desires for us or for those for
whom we pray. God will be pleased to answer our prayers, and we will discover a life of continuous answered prayer.
The
Prayer of Abiding
This
teaching puts prayer in a whole new perspective. We could
say that in John 15 Jesus teaches us about the life that
prays. If our life is a prayer, what is that prayer
saying? Jesus' answer is simply this: If our lives
reflect an abiding relationship with Him, then our prayers will
reflect the same. A life of abiding produces prayers of
abiding.
What
does the life that prays look like. Jesus provides us with
six snapshots. We will list them here with a brief comment
on each.
SNAPSHOT
ONE: The prayer of a worshipper.
Jesus said, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved
you. Now remain in my love." (See verse 9.) To
remain in the love of Jesus is to worship Him -- and the Father
through Him. Our prayer lives should reflect love for
God. Our prayers offer worship to Him.
SNAPSHOT
TWO: The prayer of an obedient servant. Jesus said, "If you obey my commands, you will remain in my
love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in
his love." (See verse 10.) To love God is to
obey Him. Prayer is about inviting God to work in us to
will according to His desires and to do according to His
purposes. (See Philippians 2:13.) Prayer may often be a
means of ascertaining God's will as He will speak to us in our
times of prayer. Prayer should always be a means of
submitting ourselves to God to fulfill His will. Our
prayers offer obedience to Him.
SNAPSHOT
THREE: The prayer of a fruitful branch.
Jesus said, "If a man remains in me and I in him, he will
bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
(See verse 5.) Every believer desires to bear the fruit of
godly character and of a productive ministry. No one sets
out in the Christian life expecting a life of spiritual
barrenness and futility. But, Scripture is clear that the
Christian life must be a walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh
-- a life empowered by grace and not dictated by law. We
receive the fullness of the Spirit and the empowerment of grace
by requesting it of God through prayer. In turn, our
prayer lives will reflect hearts that are filled with the Spirit
and empowered by grace. Our prayers will reflect the
gratitude of lives that are fruitful and fulfilled.
SNAPSHOT
FOUR: The prayer of a God-fearer. Jesus said, "If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a
branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked
up, thrown into the fire and burned." (See verse 6.)
It is a fearful thing not to abide in Christ. It is to
literally throw away one's life. And wood that does not
bear fruit is useful only as firewood. The fearful
prospect of a life withered and burned, fruitless and discarded,
should move us to consistency in our prayer lives. While
it should not be the predominant motivation for prayer, the fear
of God should move us to stay close to Him through a consistent
prayer life.
SNAPSHOT
FIVE: The prayer of a friend of God.
Jesus
said, "I
no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his
master's business. Instead, I have called you
friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have
made known to you." (See verse 15.) We
don't come to God as slaves in His employ but as friends in
partnership with Him. Prayer becomes the opportunity to
express our gratitude to God for His redeeming grace in our
lives and to take ownership with Him in the work of
redemption. Prayer is offered in the spirit of
partnership and friendship with God.
SNAPSHOT
SIX: The prayer of a joyful believer.
As
we saw earlier, the one who abides in Christ is promised the joy
of increasing fruitfulness in union with Him. After
exhorting His disciples to love one another as He had loved
them, Jesus said, "I have told you this so that my joy may
be in you and that your joy may be complete." (See
verse 11.) When we receive the gift of God's love through
Christ by which He has redeemed us, and when we take ownership
of the Great Commission as an expression of our love for God and
for others, our prayers are answered and our joy is made
full. Jesus said elsewhere, "Ask and you will receive, and
your joy will be complete."
(See John 16:24.) The prayer of abiding is the prayer of a
joyful believer.
Conclusion
God
desires that our prayer lives be dynamic and exciting. He
wants us to know the joy of continuous answered prayer rather
than experiencing prayer as a spiritual discipline that we
commit to out of a sense of obligation.
For
prayer to be dynamic and exciting, it must be an integral part
of our lives and not just an activity that we perform. It
is appropriate that we speak of a "prayer life."
What God desires for us is a life that prays.
Jesus
taught about a life that prays by teaching us about the life of
abiding in Him that produces effective prayers born out of that
abiding relationship. Using the analogy of a vine and its
branches -- the vine being Jesus and the branches His faithful
followers -- Jesus helps us see how a life of abiding naturally
leads to prayers of abiding.
Jesus
had several things to say about the life of abiding. He
spoke of our need to abide in Him. Such
abiding prevents a fruitless life, assures the cutting away of
"dead wood" in our lives, and leads us to ever
increasing fruitfulness in Christian character and effective
ministry. Jesus spoke of the means by which
we abide in Him. We abide in Him through a life of worship
born out of love for Him, a life of obedience reflecting in
keeping His commands, and a life of prayer by which we draw near
to Him. Jesus spoke of the danger of not
abiding in Him. When we choose to neglect our relationship
with God through Christ and go our own way, we experience a life
cut off from Christ, fruitless, rejected, and consigned to the
judgment of fire. Finally, Jesus spoke of the blessing
of abiding in Him. We experience the joy of increased
fruitfulness, friendship with Christ, partnership with God in
His work of redemption, and a life of continuous answered
prayer.
From
these lessons about the life of abiding, we can list several
descriptive terms that serve as snapshots depicting the prayer
of abiding. The prayer of abiding is the prayer of a
worshipper of God, an obedient servant, a fruitful branch, a
God-fearer, a friend of God, and a joyful believer. These
snapshots of the prayer of abiding are each pictures of what God
wants our prayer lives to look like.
As
we choose a life of abiding in Christ, we will experience the
joy of a rewarding prayer life in partnership with God.
Our prayers will become the means by which God fulfills His
redemptive work in the earth. For us, this means the
gratification of being divinely informed and directed in prayer
and the joy of experiencing continual answered prayer.
