THE ABIDING WORD

If you abide in Me, and MY WORDS ABIDE in you, ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you – John 15:7

The pathway to the Fullness of the Word and the Fullness of Fruitfulness is the ABIDING WORD: “If you abide in Me, and MY WORDS ABIDE in you, ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (Jh.15:7). The Lord Jesus commands that you abide in Him and have His Words abide in you as guarantee of answered prayer. Beyond receiving answers to prayers however, God’s ultimate desire is that you bear maximum fruit for His Glory: “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (v.8). Let’s meditate on how the abiding Word undergirds answered prayer and maximized fruitfulness.

First, the Word abiding in you functions to guide your prayers: “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His Will, He hears us” (1Jh.5:14). The Word of God is the Will of God. His Word abiding in you ensures that your will aligns with His Will. It is the abiding of the Word of Christ in your life that directs you to what God’s Will is in prayer. And when you pray according to God’s will, the answer comes. Walking in God’s Word is walking in His Will. The extent to which His Word abides in you is the extent to which you can discern His Will: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom.12:2). The Word, rather than the world should condition and mold our minds and lives, in line with the perfect Will of God.

The second explanation is that the Word abiding in you functions to build your faith: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the WORD of GOD” (Rom.10:17). Faith in turn, then lays hold on answers to prayer: The Lord Jesus buttressed this truth: “whatever things you ask when you pray, BELIVE that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mk11:24b). Faith is essential for answered prayer, and the abiding Word sustains faith; therefore when the Words of Christ abide in you, you will have answers to your prayers.

The third reason is that the abiding Word functions to transform you spiritually and morally, ensuring that you walk in the Way of Love where God answers prayers, rather than in the path of selfishness where He’ll never dwell. To intentionally cherish sin or walk in iniquity cuts one off from answered prayer: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the LORD will not hear” (Psa.66:18). The corollary in the New Testament says: “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (Jam.4:3). The abiding Word helps you to not walk in sin or ask amiss. The Psalmist said: “Your WORD I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psa.119:11). The Abiding Word is the sanctifying Word: “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your WORD is truth” (Jh.17:17). The sanctifying, transforming power of the Word establishes you in love and holiness, and enhances answered prayer.

Beloved, make it your aim and habit to pray from the Fullness of God’s Word. Effective prayer is the overflow of the Fullness of the Word of God abiding in us. The Fullness of the Word will then lead to the Fullness of Joy: “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your JOY may be FULL” (v.11).