Two Keys That Guarantee Answered Prayer

According to Jesus’ own words, whatever we ask for will be done for us. So, why don’t I see that happening in my life? Studying the familiar verse in the Gospel of John helped me understand the Two Keys that guarantee answered prayer.

“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 NASB)

When Christians feel discouraged, we often refer to this passage, lamenting the absence of the Lord’s response. As I studied the verse, dissecting out each phrase, I discovered these two keys that guarantee answered prayer.

 If you abide in Me

For the past fifteen years, I have abided in the city of Kankan, Guinea in West Africa. Every three or four months, I cross the border into Mali to purchase provisions. Though I must spend a few nights in their capital, Bamako, I can’t say that I abide in Mali. My West African abode is five hours drive south in Kankan.

I realized that weekly church attendance and Mid-Week Prayer meetings had a similar correlation. Visiting the church regularly added to my spiritual provisions, but I did not make my spiritual abode in the church services.

How can I abide in Jesus? How can I make my spiritual home in Him? I discovered it’s done the same way as when I move from one physical home to another—planning and perseverance.

I needed the following:

• A decision to move. Only in the world of fiction will Scotty beam me and my possessions over to a new location before I choose to go. Sometimes folks labor over the decision and possible choices for months or even years.

In the same way, the Holy Spirit isn’t going to drag me kicking and screaming into abiding in          Jesus.    Choosing to make a change in my spiritual abode can be even more complicated but it’s an eternal decision that’s mine, alone, to make.

• Comfortable surroundings. In the case of my physical abode, this may involve moving the old furnishings to the new location. It often includes selecting new pieces to add to the old.

The same goes for my spiritual home. As I mature, I make changes that will nourish my spirit. I surrendered my life to the Lord at age twenty. At that time, I loved reading the paraphrased version, The Living Bible. It read like an exciting history to me.

As I matured, I sought a deeper level of understanding of the Scriptures. To continually abide in Jesus, I made changes in my spiritual house that gave me the opportunity to grasp another layer of God’s multi-faceted teachings.

• Sense of well being. I first moved from my childhood home at age eleven. The new house had a lot more creature comforts for the three young girls in our family, but it took awhile to feel like home to me.

In the same way, when I chose to make my abode in Jesus, I wanted to hang out with Him a whole lot more than an hour a week. I had praise music on my stereo every waking moment. I read my Bible and prayed every day, not just at the weekly Bible Study. Though as wobbly as a toddler learning to walk, I obeyed God as carefully as I could. I didn’t want to do anything to disappoint Jesus.

As the years passed, life took a bigger chunk out of my waking hours. I knew that continuing to abide in Jesus involved making a conscious effort to practice the disciplines of Bible reading and prayer.

Forty-six years later, seeking guidance from Jesus is an automatic response to every trial and triumph in my daily life. Abiding in Jesus provides an extraordinary sense of well-being.

And My words abide in you

God’s Word abiding in me has two parts:

• Knowing what God commands and

• Obeying what God has said through His Word.

Knowing

Quite simply, unless I learn what’s written in the Bible, God’s Word cannot abide in me. Reading the Bible via various access technologies serves me well. Recent advances in cell phones allow me to listen to sermons through podcasts on my iPhone. I’m determined to keep learning God’s Word.

But knowing God’s Word and what He’s expecting of me isn’t enough.

Obeying

If God’s Word abides in me, I not only know what God has commanded, but I must obey.

I can’t make excuses or plead that everybody’s doing it, as I used to when my mother wondered why in the world I wanted to do such and such.

My Word abides in you means making a choice to obey the truth contained within the pages of the Bible.

God’s timing

How I’d love to have a time-limit tacked on to the end of this portion of the verse. Something like “…ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you,” within the next twenty-four hours.

I find waiting for an answer to my prayer the most difficult part of praying. If I know what I’ve asked is entirely within the will of God, then I want that response to present immediately.

My frustration reveals my immaturity. Jesus never fretted over Father God’s timing. If I am abiding in Him, I should relax, confident that God’s never late.

Summary

Therefore, if I want God to answer my every prayer as prayed, I must:

• Abide in Him, not just pay Him a visit now and then;

• Let His Words abide in me, obeying God’s Word in every circumstance; and

• Stop fretting over God’s timing.I’m not perfect and have seen God answer my feeble prayers in the midst of distress, but as I studied this verse in John, I realized I’d been misusing it. These two keys that guarantee answered prayer are now helping me evaluate my prayer life.

If you have any tips you’d like to pass along, I’m always interested in hearing what others are learning on their prayer journey.