John 15:7-17, 1 John 2:4-6, Matthew 26:42

John 15^:7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. ⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. ¹⁷ This is my command: Love each other.

1 John 2 ^:4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. ⁵ But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: ⁶ Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.

Matthew 26 ^:42 He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. 

So this week in church  we reflected more on John 15 and its abundance of awesomeness.  1 John and Matthew were looked at for support in the message.  We focused mainly on trust in the vine.  

We are called to stay in the vine...to move with Jesus.  To me, this idea of moving with Him is super.  Again, finding our identity in Him because who we are is defined by who Jesus is.

Verse 7 tells us to "ask" or pray and it will be done for us.  However, what we need to remember is abiding in Him presupposes that we want what He wants.  Abiding in Jesus is the only way to bring life to prayer.  We are dependent on Him. Therefore, we should pray for His will.  

It is important to trust Him, to trust that His plan is better than ours.  He knows what we want more than we do.  We can never move past where He is because He is the life.  This scripture is awesome because is explains that abiding is not just about obedience, but instead begins with asking, with prayer.  

When we ask and don't get, our disappointment is more about ourselves than about Him.  This is selfishness.  The most disappointing things to look at are ourselves and other people. We must look to Him for His greatness in all situations.  We must trust Him more than we trust ourselves. Do our lives reflect that?