“If you abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7)
“Whatever you wish.” What enticing words to our flesh. The fallen, fleshy mind starts thinking of all the self-serving, self-pleasing, self-gratifying possibilities. Then, like a bucket of cold water poured over our heads the Holy Spirit directs us back to the beginning of the verse - “If.” “If you abide in Me,” Jesus says, as a condition to being able to “ask whatever you wish.” “If you abide in Me.” But wait, there is more; if “My words abide in you.” Abide means to stay, remain, or continue. The divine beauty of this verse, this statement from the Lord, is that “If” we are living in faith, trusting Christ, loving Christ, subjecting ourselves to Him, including our wants and desires, then ‘whatever we wish’ will be in line with what God desires. His desires become our desires when we truly abide in Him and His words abide in us. Notice it then says that this ‘shared’ desire (of us and God) will be “done for you”, not ‘given’ to you.
If we want to see God working through us (by means of us) then we must abide in Him in faith, and trust in His promises, while at the same time we are working hard to renew our minds with His powerful word (scripture). Again, this does not mean, as some have proclaimed, that we get whatever we want, but rather that through discipline, self-control, prayer, meditation, and effort (reading and believing His word) our minds become more conformed to the mind of Christ. Then we can know that “it will be done for you”. What will be done? Newly-formed godly desires like; serving God by serving others; loving God by loving others; becoming stronger in faith and bolder in evangelism; mentoring others; becoming a prayer warrior; supporting missions, and on and on.
Brothers and sisters, strive hard to abide in Christ, in word and deed and prayer and thought and love, and “it will be done for you.”
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