Imagine someone hands you a credit card and says, “You and your wife could use some time away. Use this Visa card and go wherever you want. Book a flight to Florida, the beach, or a five-star resort. Go anywhere you’d like, as long as you have quality time together.” Would you do it? I typically find such offers suspicious, maybe even dangerous.
We might have the same skeptical heart when we hear the offer of Jesus in John 15:7: “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” Does He really mean this? Absolutely.
The context of our Lord’s words is the metaphor of the vine and the branches. The point of the promise in context is to acquire fruitfulness. It is God’s will that we bear fruit as Christians, but only through our relationship with Him: “Without me ye can do nothing.” We often use this text to emphasize our weakness. But that is not Jesus’ intent here.
Without Christ we can do nothing—but what if we are in close fellowship with Him, indeed abiding in Him? When we have hearts that are willing to be filled and controlled by His eternal words, when our hearts are full of His desires to see fulfilled from Him, then this promise becomes real for us. In fact, Christ fully intends us to do greater works than He did during His ministry. Jesus clearly meant what He said.
Reasons the promise is lost on us
So, why is it that we often feel this promise to be almost unbelievable? One obvious explanation may be that we give up praying too quickly. But I would like to suggest three other reasons why our Lord’s promise here loses its intended effect on the average Christian.
- God’s Word does not dwell in us. Many of us simply don’t know God well enough through His Word to confidently know what to ask for according to His will.
- We do not understand gospel grace as we should. Grace is the basis for our ability to claim this promise. We do not deserve this promise, but Christ, with undeserved favor, graces us with it anyway.
- We forget the Godward direction of the promise. The purpose of the promise is to glorify Christ, not ourselves. If we understood this, we would not dare to try to use the promise like a credit card just to gratify our flesh (James 4:3). In the opening illustration, the offer was for me to use the card to spend needed time with my wife, not to go out and purchase a Lamborghini! My wife doesn’t even like exotic cars. Jesus makes us an incredible offer in this promise, but the purpose is to bring Him glory, not to indulge our flesh.
The promise:
"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you."
Applying the promise
How we do we apply this promise then? Walk with Christ. Are His Words precious to you? Do you want Him to be glorified in your life, even if He answers your prayer differently than you expected? If you know His Word, then you will know how to pray confidently, for you will know what His will is. You will not wonder if it is appropriate to “charge the card” for a particular purchase or not, because you know how the Benefactor thinks.
Take your Lord at His word and pray His words/wishes back to Him in your particular situation. If you are praying for a lost family member, for instance, you know God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9). Pray with confidence then for his or her salvation.
In missions ministry we have the privilege of being confronted regularly with impossible tasks. Planting a church in a town where it appears no one wants it or has time for it—a tiny church-plant with a desperate need for faithful believers—it seems impossible. We need this promise of the Lord.
Recently, I saw God answer a specific prayer. It had been a long time since I had shared the Gospel with someone. Last week I began to take Christ at His word about opportunities to speak for Him. “Ask what you will.” I know the Lord desires that we reach others for Him. Within a week’s time, I had two opportunities to share Christ. One of those even has the potential for a regular meeting to read the Bible together! Jesus answered my prayer beyond what I had asked for.
Jesus really meant for us to take His promise literally. His Word is as good—no—better than it sounds. He has handed you the credit card of His promise. “Ask what you will, and it will be done unto you.“
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