Continuing our study of the concept of abiding as presented in John 15, Jesus says in verses 7 and 8
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” (NASB)
As a result of abiding in Jesus, Jesus says that we can expect something truly amazing: that we can ask Him for ANYTHING, and it will be done for us. What a challenge these verses are! What if they are true?! Many people ignore these verses, because they conclude that they cannot possibly mean what they say. Others get frustrated by these verses, because when they try to put them into practice, they don’t get what they ask for.
Having been a Christian a while now, I can say that there are many things that I have asked for, and yet they have not been done for me. I do not think I am alone in this experience. In fact, I will be so bold to assert that this is the universal experience. Listen carefully: I am not saying that God does not answer our prayers, I am just saying that experientially, God does not give us everything we ask for. I can also report, as many can, that God has given me some of the things I have asked for.
Why doesn’t God give us everything we ask for, if this passage seems to say He will? Is the Bible untrue? Can we not believe what Jesus says? No, the Bible is true, and we can believe what is written. The words spoken by Jesus are reliable. Perhaps the issue is that we have failed to abide in Jesus? Yes, this is at least part of the answer. Many of us do not have a very deep and life-giving relationship with Jesus, so the precondition of Jesus’ amazing promise of giving us whatever we ask for — abiding in Christ — is not met in many cases.
Verse 7 has an additional condition, beyond us abiding in Jesus. It adds that Jesus’ words abide in us. What does this mean? I think that Jesus is suggesting that the things He taught (as recorded in the Bible) and teaches (as imparted by the Holy Spirit) are meant to become so much a part of us that they bring genuine change of heart, mind, and soul. His words are meant to transform us. This reminds us of Romans 12:2, which says that as we are transformed by the renewing of our minds, we will become more aware of God’s perfect will. As we become clearer on what God’s will is, we are able to ask for things that line up with His will, and which He is more able to answer in the affirmative.
The Bible says more than what Jesus says here about asking and receiving. In the context of the larger collection of verses that speak about asking God for things, perhaps the most surprising finding is that all these verses are in significant agreement that God will give us what we ask for! However, and it is a big however, in order to receive what we ask for, our asking must be in line with certain conditions.
First, these verses suggest that we ask out of our intimacy and friendship with Jesus (John 15:7-8, John 16:23-27). This, in part, means that we have His goals and plans on our hearts when we ask, so that we ask according to His will (1 John 5:14-15). We can understand His will from the Bible and from listening to Him speak to us, imparting His heart on people and issues.
Part of the proof of our friendship and genuine love for him is our obedience to Him (John 14:15; 15:14), and our habitual obedience is also part of the basis for expecting Him to say “yes” (1 John 3:21-23). The flip side of that is if we are habitually disobedient, we should not expect that he will give us what we ask for.
Second, we must be bearing good fruit (John 15:14-17). This is a seldom-noted requirement, but it is one spoken by Jesus, and just a few verses after our current passage. When God says “yes” to our request that is in line with His will, we will bear more fruit.
Third, the answer to our prayer should bring glory to God (John 14:11-14). What we ask for should not be strictly for our own pleasures, because those are requests that God does not necessarily agree to (James 4:2-3).
Fourth, we must ask in faith and we must not doubt (Matt 21:18-22, Mark 11:20-24, Matt 21:19-22, James 1:5-7). Oftentimes our faith must be demonstrated by being persistent in asking (Matt 7:7-11, Luke 11:9-13, Luke 18:1-8).
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If we do not meet all of these preconditions, it does not mean that God will not give us what we ask for in prayer, just that we may have to accept the answer of “no”.
For those of us who are learning to abide in Jesus, and who are trying to sense His heart so we can align our will with His, we ought to boldly practice asking God for the things we need to do His will. If we do this and do not give up, we should progressively witness more answered prayer, including some truly miraculous occurrences (John 14:12).
Jesus concludes this section in John 15 on abiding, by saying in verses 9 to 11
9“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” (NASB)
Verse 9 says that the same type of love the Father has for the Son, Jesus has for us. And since Jesus is a perfect representation of the Father (Hebrews 1:3; 2 Corinthians 4:4), and He and the Father are one (John 10:30; 17:21), that means that the Father loves us like He loves Jesus.
Verse 10 is easily and commonly misunderstood. It seems almost to suggest that it is only when we are obedient that God loves us. This kind of understanding puts us on a spiritual yoyo, with God’s love for us rising and falling based on our performance. The problem with this understanding of verse 10 is it contradicts other things that we know about God’s character, including his faithfulness, patience, and constancy in love. Furthermore, what kind of parent would take this approach toward his or her children? Not a very good one! Yet we know that even the best human parent falls fall short of how good a parent God is (Luke 11:11-13).
When we recall that the word “abide” means to “live in”, “dwell in”, “stay”, or “remain”, we can come to a more correct understanding of verse 10. The one who seeks to obey God’s commandments is the one who has God on his or heart and mind. That person seeks to please God, honor God, and love God. That person actively chooses to draw near to and dwell in God’s presence — that is, in God’s love. The person who chooses not to obey consciously or unconsciously decides that there is something or someone that is of higher priority. By our own choices, we move away from God and toward an alternative. Recall that Jesus said that you cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24), because you will hate one and serve the other. This is a spiritual law (stronger that a spiritual principle, because a law is a statement of reality that occurs 100 percent of the time, and a principle is a general tendency which may have exceptions).
Because we choose to move away, we are no longer dwelling in God’s presence or love. That has nothing to do with God’s feelings toward us. His love for us remains constant. This verse is a simple statement about how the choices we make reflect our hearts, and how the state of our hearts reflect where we abide and dwell. That is also why when we realize we have made a bad choice, we can repent (change our minds about — and turn away from — the bad choice) and return to choosing to draw near to God. It also explains why God can so easily receive us back.
Jesus concludes in verse 11 by telling us the purpose of all He shared with us about abiding: so that we can be totally filled with His joy! A lot of times we grudgingly think the whole purpose of following Jesus is so that He will be happy. But here Jesus says, “No, the purpose in following me is so that you will be happy — in fact, better than happiness, complete joy!”
There is great joy in His presence, and we can constantly have His presence by choosing to draw near to Him and to abide in Him. This is our choice — and we cannot be denied by anyone or anything — though living out the choice requires practice, since we so easily deceive ourselves and turn away from God to serve lesser things. Nevertheless, abiding in Jesus is the way that God intended for us to live, in the midst of His love, and filled with His joy!