Ask and Receive part 2 for paper

I opened my last column saying – You, as I have on numerous occasions, been in a position where you were praying very earnestly about something. A very sick child, someone who is close whose life is hanging in the balance. Jesus knew his disciples and us would be in these positions many times in our lives. In John 14, 15 and 16 Jesus teaches his disciples and us some powerful lessons about having our prayers answered. In each chapter Jesus tells his disciples they can ask for anything and they will receive it, but there are conditions. I would like to explore these statements of Jesus and the conditions. In my last column we looked at chapter 16 and praying in the name of Jesus. In this column I will look at chapters 14 and 15. Again  The highlighting is mine.

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.” John 14: 12

So, in addition to praying in the name of Jesus, faith is the next condition. I think this is pretty obvious, but let’s look at a couple of verses that support this. One day Jesus cursed a fig tree because it did not have any fruit on it and it rapidly withered . His disciples expressed amazement. Jesus replied “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”  Matthew 21: 21, 22

And again the same concept “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”  James 1: 5, 6

So no problem eh. Just believe! “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” However there is a problem. Faith is a gift from God, not something we can conjure up from within ourselves. We can however cooperate with God in the maturing of our faith by reading and studying scripture. “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”  Romans 10: 17   So if we want to work on the second condition we can pray for more faith as James suggested about wisdom, but more importantly we can read and study our bibles, and a deeper faith will result.

Now let’s look at chapter 15. It may seem there are 2 conditions here, but they are intimately intertwined. “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” ….”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.” John 15: 7 & 16  

So we are to remain in Jesus and we are to go and bear fruit, then the Father will give us whatever we ask. Well how are “remain in me” and “go and bear fruit related? “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. “John 15: 5

We bear much fruit by remaining in Jesus. Well then what does remaining in Jesus mean? To better understand look at one of the verses following what Jesus said when he promised the Holy Spirit. “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”  John 14: 20.

“you are in me, and I am in you”. Jesus is in us through the Holy Spirit, but at the same time we are in Jesus. It is a relationship that goes both ways. It is this relationship that Jesus is speaking of when he says “remain in me and I will remain in you. Well how can we lose this relationship that we received in our baptism? “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”    John 15: 1 – 4

I said bearing fruit and remaining in Jesus are intimately intertwined. If you study this section you will see that they really are both the same concept. If you remain in Jesus you bear much fruit. If you do not bear fruit the Father will cut you off of the vine, i.e. you will not remain in Jesus. So the key is bearing fruit. Well the fruit is the fruit of the Spirit. How does the fruit of the Spirit grow in us? It grows naturally as our minds are transformed through sanctification. And that sanctifying transformation occurs as we cooperate with God by making use of the means of grace, his holy word, confession and absolution and Holy Communion. So, like so much else in our Christian walk, if we desire what we are praying for we should be cooperating with God in our sanctification, because when we do we will bear fruit, and when we bear fruit we will remain in Jesus. When we remain in Jesus we can “ask whatever we wish, and it will be given to us”. Complicated and simple at the same time.

So, looking for what you are asking for in prayer? Take up the authority you have and pray in the name of Jesus, pray with his authority and he has all authority in heaven and earth. Increase your faith through reading and studying God’s word, the bible. And cooperate with God in your sanctification by making use of the means of grace and you will bear fruit and remain in Jesus.

This is by no means a formula for success. We cannot say just do this and this and this and you will get whatever you pray for. Scripture indicates there are other conditions, like asking according to God’s will, husbands treating their wives with respect so their prayers are not hindered and forgiving others as we have been forgiven to mention just some. But this is all we can examine in just 2 columns. And keep in mind that increasing our faith and sanctification are life-long processes. But knowing and doing these things will contribute to receiving what we ask for in prayer.

Blessings,