Prayer Requires Abiding

1986

Number 4 is again related, and that’s abiding in Christ. In John 15: 5-8, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he’s like a branch that’s thrown away and withers. Such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given to you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, and by bearing much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

Notice the condition here. He said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, then you can ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” So abiding in Christ is a prerequisite, obviously, for answered prayer. Abiding in Christ means living in Him. If you abide in a house that doesn’t mean you are there once a year. It’s not a vacation resort. It’s not something that you pop in and out of like a rented room. But to abide in Christ means to live wholly in Him, to renounce your plans and your ambitions and your appetites and to live full-time in Jesus—to have your life “hidden in Christ,” as Paul said. That’s what abiding in Jesus is.

He said, “You abide in me and let my words abide in you.” Again, a very practical point: neglect of the Word of God will result in shallow, empty, meaningless, and absolutely fruitless prayer. Not, “abide in His Word,”—it doesn’t say, “abide in His Word.” It says, “let His Word abide in you.” There’s a big difference between those two. You can be a great Bible student and yet not let the Word dwell in you richly, not let it be something that controls your life and your activities and your thought patterns.

Another aspect of the Word of God as playing a part in answered prayer is that, “without faith it’s impossible to please God,” and without faith it’s impossible for God to hear our prayer. “Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word,” or more accurately a Word of Christ, of God. Faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ. If you really want to have faith, you’ve got to write His promises on your heart and to grow in faith from the Word of God. So, number 4 prerequisite for answered prayer is abiding in Christ and letting His Words grow and abide in us.