It Will Be Granted

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! John 15:5-7

WE PRAY AND PRAY for our kids and wait for God to answer. And then we read these words of Jesus, and it seems both too good to be true and somehow out of our reach. What is Jesus really saying?

Jesus connects two things: his words and our prayers. He’s saying that if we will listen to his words in such a way that they become a part of who we are, he will listen to our prayers. When we think God is holding out on us, it may be that we’re asking for what is simply not best for us. Our prayers may be too small for his massive blessing to fit inside. Only biblical desires are big enough for God to satisfy. Jesus is promising that as the words of the Bible take root in us in such a way that they begin to shape our wants, and therefore shape our prayers, our petitions become grantable.

We live in a world in which so many voices want our attention —hundreds of channels on TV, the Internet, e-mail, and cell phones. But Christ calls us to tune ourselves to hear his voice, to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16, ESV). Jesus is seeking to save us from superficiality in our prayers for our children. As the words of Scripture become a part of our thoughts and emotions, we discover that our voice becomes one with his in prayer. Our desires are purified and magnified into his will. Instead of trying so hard to get God to go along with our ideas, we discover that we are being saved from our boring pettiness and small expectations.

Lord, I don’t want my prayers for ________ to be limited by my own earthbound desires. I want to pray prayers for ________ that are shaped by your desires for ________ as revealed in your Word. I long for the miracle of experiencing the voice of your Word taking precedence over my own inner voice.