Love, Prayer And Joy‽

The whole chapter of John 15 was enlightening (the gospel of John is one of my favorite books!) but these verses helped remove some of my ignorance when it comes to the Almighty.

7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

My view of prayer is very simplistic; prayer is nothing more than asking God for blessings, assistance and/or advice.

Being inherently selfish my prayers frequently reflect selfish desires & requests which explains why many of them are answered with a NO!

However if Christ’s words abide within me, my inherent selfish nature will diminish, resulting in prayers that reflect God’s perfect will (resulting in more “Yeses”) instead of my selfish desires.

8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Being a disciple of Christ means that I am profitable unto the Almighty.

After all God did not save me from…

• Eternal damnation
• Self destructive behaviors
• Willful contamination by a culture that I love

…just to fatten my head & belly with blessing from on high.

God invested his goodness within me for a reason & expects a decent return on his investment.

So I need to examine myself & ask, “Am I being fruitful (productive) for the Devine‽”

9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

Obeying Christ’s commands is how I prove my love towards Jesus (which seems to be the theme of the previous chapter).

11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. (John 15:7–11)

Having God’s joy in a depressing world is the key towards happiness in life (which from personal experience is all that you need to have a great day!).