Prayer and the Great “If . . . Then” Promise of Jesus: Introduction

About 1 month ago the Lord put this verse in my mind and on my heart:

“If you remain in Me and my words (rhema) remain in you, (then) ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you (John 15: 7).

As I prayed over and studied the verse, Jesus was telling me something important about my life with Him, and the power of prayer God expects me to use to release and advance His Kingdom. Plus, this verse contained an amazing promise, one that was almost too good to be true.

This verse is about prayer and the conditions that Jesus has established for our prayers to be answered.

As I thought about the verse, I realized it could be described with the words, “If . . . Then”. The “If” and the “then” parts of the verse were connected; both needed to be understood as a whole. Even though the word “Then” is not in the verse, it is implied.

“If you remain in me, and my words remain in you” then “ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you”.

The promise of answered prayer depends upon meeting the 2 conditions: If I remain in Jesus and if His words remain in me.

Originally, I thought I could write everything I needed to say in one post. As I wrote I saw I needed 2 posts. But then even 2 were not enough. So now I am going to publish my ideas about this verse in 6 posts (I know. Crazy. When my wife read “6 posts" she burst out laughing). These are, in order:

Prayer and the Great “If . . . Then” Promise of Jesus – Part 1: Overview

Prayer and the Great “If . . . Then” Promise of Jesus – Part 2: “Remain in Me”

Prayer and the Great “If . . . Then” Promise of Jesus – Part 3: Daily Remaining in Christ

Prayer and the Great “If . . . Then” Promise of Jesus – Part 4: “If My Words Remain in You”

Prayer and the Great “If . . . Then” Promise of Jesus – Part 5: The Dynamics of Prayer

Prayer and the Great “If . . . Then” Promise of Jesus – Part 6: The Promise and the Elephant in the Room

Each post is relatively short (at least for me).

I will publish one post every few days. They are all written, although I want to do a bit more work on Part 6.

I believe understanding John 15: 7, receiving it in faith, and courageously applying it in our lives is the key to seeing more answered prayers, as well as signs, wonders, and miracles in our daily prayer life. This promise is for us, certainly, but not to amaze our friends and relatives. Jesus explains the purpose of this promise:

“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples (John 15: 8).

The purposes of the promise are to give God glory, release fruit into the world, thereby advancing the Kingdom of God; and showing the world what a follower or disciple of Jesus looks like. As the early Church did this, Christianity exploded around the world. The promise was not just for them; it is for us today.

Stay tuned.

John