If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
John 15:7 KJV
Jesus speaks yet again to his disciples, not to the crowd. He always had a crowd follow him at all times, and he had messages for them at intervals, but when it came to the kingdom life, he only had words for surrendered vessels. These words are not for people who have not yet sorted out their priorities and allegiance; these words are for people who know who they are, who they belong to, and who they are called to serve. Can I say of a truth that I know myself, the one who calls me to hinself as well as the reason for my existence? For God, it is never too late to know him, until it is too late.
That first and most important condition for a person to have a personal and lasting experience of God is to seek out God and know him well. There is no replacement for a personal encounter of God. For every person in the bible that we read about today, and whose life made an impact, there is a story of a personal walk with God and an encounter with his Word. How would I know God if I do not know his word? How would I know his word if I do not search it out and seek to understand and apply it to my life? Do I read it out of a sense of duty, or because I have found out that it is the source of life, guidance and direction?
The choice word in today's extract is abide. It is not this temporary arrangement that can be upended at any time, but from available definitions, it is 'to remain stable or fixed in a state' or 'to continue in a place'. There is a sense of long term planning for anyone seeking to abide in a place. You learn the ways and culture of the place you seek to abide in, and you accept the rules and regulations of that new place. That is the sense of abiding that God would have me hold on to.
As always, I have a choice in this matter. I am not a robot, with no power over the consequences of my actions, but a person with the breath of God in him, so capable of making my own decisions and living with the consequences. The choice of where to abide is mine to make, but God has provided all that I need to make the right choice. If I will have answers to prayers, the secret is in abiding in the Word of God. How would I know how to pray the right way if I do not know God's mind as revealed in his Word? How would I be able to align myself with what God is doing presently and where he is at work if I know nothing about his will, as revealed in his Word?
If I will ask for anything from this God, I have to first find him. I have to do the things he loves and pursue after the things that give him joy. Even for earthly fathers, we do love children who are able to read our hearts and know and do what we love. If a mortal man can act this way, imagine the joy in the heart of God when he sees me pursue him in the same way. If I can seek for, find and pursue after him with all my heart, God is bound to listen to me and grant me my heart's desires. When I have found God, I won't be pursuing the things that make me happy but the things that make God happy. That is why it will be easy for God to grant me all that I ask him, because my heart is now so tuned to him that all it asks aligns with God's will. That is the secret to a life of answered prayers. That is the secret to access into all that God is and has to offer. May God grant me grace to find him while he is near, so that I can get all that he is and wants for me. My life will be better for it, and eternity will be secured due to the reason that I knew God. His time of favour is here.
No comments:
Post a Comment