“If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered;
and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
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 15:6-7

What is it that shows if Christ’s life is abiding in us? Verse 7 gives us the answer: “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” This verse is not just describing a person that is connected to Jesus, but has taken in what came forth from Jesus (His words) and has it remaining within him in a state of vitality… Jesus’ words are ALIVE inside of him. And when one is connected to Christ and possesses the living and active word of Christ in his heart, that person stands ready to experience an astounding promise: “ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” What a statement! Could it really be true? …whatever I ask, it would be done? Too many people find this promise unbelievable because they fail to consider its conditions: “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you…” Unless one is abiding in Christ, and has His word living and active within himself, that person cannot expect whatever prayer he prays to be answered.

But there’s something else we should notice from this verse. Beyond the point of getting prayers answered, notice what is being said here: “If… ask… and it shall be done unto you.” Something happens as a result of the request here; something gets done. But who is doing the doing? When we think about our lives bearing fruit for God, it’s easy to think of performing great things for Him (aka where we are doing the doing). Granted, if and when God calls you to do specific things for Him, by all means, follow His guidance and do them. But in the context of John 15:7, the result of abiding in Christ (or the fruit that is produced) is not us doing some great thing for God. It is God doing something in response to our request. God is doing the doing. Our role is being locked into Him, maintaining a fresh circulation of His living word, and asking of Him. God’s role is possessing us, filling us, and working through us! We simply become an open and operational conduit for God to act; then God does the work.

Friends, this is how we know that the life of Christ is actively abiding in us… when our heart sees and longs for God’s desire, our mouths request that desire, and the work of the Holy Spirit accomplishes that desire in response to our request. When we take the time to internalize and process the words of Christ, giving them the time they need to cleans our heart and construct His truth, it transforms us into vessels where God’s heart and desire can abide. And when this happens, we can request God’s will with power, and His Holy Spirit will act. Thus, the evidence of Christ’s indwelling life is not a list of accomplishments I did for Him, but an evident move of His Spirit as a result of being one with Him and asking of Him.

-Brandon K