What John 15:7 Reveals About Prayer:

Part 1

By Associate Pastor for Prayer Ben Dickerson

"If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.  This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."  (John 15:7)

We must be in RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD -- "If you remain (abide) in me..."

The promises of God are not for everyone, but for His Son: The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed.  The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ (Galatians 3:16).

God's promises are also for those who, through Christ, are the children of God.  We are heirs with Christ of the promises made to Him through Abraham: "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12).  "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:29).

However, even as His children, sin in our lives can disrupt our relationship and cut us off from the blessings of the Father:  "If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened" (Psalm 66:18).  "Then they will cry out to the LORD, but he will not answer them.  At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done" (Micah 3:4).

In order to turn to God in prayer and claim His promises, we must first ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us any area in our life which is out of sync with His will for us, and to repent of that, asking and receiving forgiveness and cleansing in that area of our life:  "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9).

Does that mean we have to be living a perfect life before we can expect God to answer our prayers?  Of course not!  It means we have to be honest with God about the sin in our life, acknowledge our need for the forgiveness He offers us in His Son, Jesus, and cooperate with the work of His Holy Spirit toward making a change in that area of our life.

That's the first step in praying prayers that God can answer.