Jesus says “He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” John 15:5. Very simple; without Jesus we can do nothing. Since faith is more than a dusty sheaf of creeds or a gilded Bible on the coffee table, we wish to live out a faith that works. Here we are again to pray: “Lord, teach me to abide in You. And Dear Father, please abide in me.” So what does it mean to “Abide”?
Do not only derive “abide in Jesus” times in the busyness and activity of life. Take “abide” seriously. Create opportunities for spiritual refreshment, quiet seeking of the Lord's will, and supplication and intercession in a quiet place somewhere. Come regularly before the Lord with His Word spread out in front of you. Don't count on the “One Minute Bible” to get your “Abide in Me.” Ask others to pray for you. Thank God for spiritual blessings, for material blessings, for trials and testings, for all He has done, for who He is, and for all He is going to do!
An analogy came to me recently in a time of prayer, showing how it might look like to grow in a relationship with the Father. Of course, analogies fall short of reality, but perhaps this will be helpful. Suppose knowing God Almighty is somewhat like entering relationship rooms, the first room of which I enter upon confession of my sins and trust/belief in the lordship of Jesus Christ the Savior. Of course, I am called to go further than that, so our Lord invites me into another room, this one more intimate, more personal, more holy—which hardly seems possible because how can God be more holy, intimate, and personal than I have already experienced? Yet in that next room I am overwhelmed anew by the majesty of the Creator, and somehow that room is comprised of mirrors that show me my self in ways that I never saw before. The mirrors show my sin and pride, and I am invited into another room to know God on a more holy, more intimate, more personal level than before. The joy and reality is almost more than I can bear, but I must enter in, because along with those mirror-aided glimpses of my sin and pride, I can hear the voice of the Father inviting me into closer communion with Him, calling me to read His word, telling me to love His family on earth, as I will love His family in heaven. The deeper I enter into those relationship rooms with the Lord Jesus, the more I love Him and receive His love, and desire to abide in Him so I can be “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” Ephesians 2:10.
Dear Jesus, teach us to abide in you.
Do not only derive “abide in Jesus” times in the busyness and activity of life. Take “abide” seriously. Create opportunities for spiritual refreshment, quiet seeking of the Lord's will, and supplication and intercession in a quiet place somewhere. Come regularly before the Lord with His Word spread out in front of you. Don't count on the “One Minute Bible” to get your “Abide in Me.” Ask others to pray for you. Thank God for spiritual blessings, for material blessings, for trials and testings, for all He has done, for who He is, and for all He is going to do!
An analogy came to me recently in a time of prayer, showing how it might look like to grow in a relationship with the Father. Of course, analogies fall short of reality, but perhaps this will be helpful. Suppose knowing God Almighty is somewhat like entering relationship rooms, the first room of which I enter upon confession of my sins and trust/belief in the lordship of Jesus Christ the Savior. Of course, I am called to go further than that, so our Lord invites me into another room, this one more intimate, more personal, more holy—which hardly seems possible because how can God be more holy, intimate, and personal than I have already experienced? Yet in that next room I am overwhelmed anew by the majesty of the Creator, and somehow that room is comprised of mirrors that show me my self in ways that I never saw before. The mirrors show my sin and pride, and I am invited into another room to know God on a more holy, more intimate, more personal level than before. The joy and reality is almost more than I can bear, but I must enter in, because along with those mirror-aided glimpses of my sin and pride, I can hear the voice of the Father inviting me into closer communion with Him, calling me to read His word, telling me to love His family on earth, as I will love His family in heaven. The deeper I enter into those relationship rooms with the Lord Jesus, the more I love Him and receive His love, and desire to abide in Him so I can be “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.” Ephesians 2:10.
Dear Jesus, teach us to abide in you.
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