Building A Prayer Life Series
February 3
Abiding and Prayer
John 15:7: If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
The word abide means lasting, standing, durable, permanent, constant and to remain in. Jesus calls us to remain in Him. How do we do this practically, we may wonder. Here are a few things that can help us to abide in Christ. In Christ, we enter into a spiritual union with God that changes our legal status to have a right legal standing with God because of Christ’s sacrifice and our sins being washed off through His Holy Blood and not the blood of bulls, goats, lambs, pigeons and chickens. We enter into a relationship with God, reinforced by communion, conversation and fellowship with Him. Our faith is about union and communion with Jesus. Our fellowship is like a candle with a flame which burns in our hearts giving us warmth and a glow. David had deep fellowship with God: He prayed “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water” – Psalm 63:1. We should desire rich abiding fellowship with Jesus. To “abide” is an active verb, enacted upon by faith. Our act activates the fruit of the blessing of abiding in the Vine.
We can abide by:
Surrender: Unless we surrender ourselves to Christ and the Holy Spirit, it is more than probable that we will slip back into our preservative pathways. We need to get on the Highway with Christ, so each day as soon as you are awake, surrender your time, your day to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to enable you to abide in the Vine.
Commune: Start by talking to Him and then listen back, most often deep into your heart to hear what He is saying to you. Communion is fellowship. In time, we will tune up easier to hear His voice.
Walk by faith: In abiding with Christ, we take steps of faith. Often, we cannot understand things, but our focus should be Christ and in trusting Him, we will get peace, one step at a time leads us to a deeper spiritual walk with Him. This is abiding in the Vine.
Positive actions to abide: We need to plan to spend our days abiding in Him. We start by communion, then reading the Bible, advisable to read a chapter a day of any book as led. It is not advisable to read only a verse. As you read an entire chapter of the Bible or even do a meditative study of a book of the Bible at a time, the Sword of the Spirit starts to carve out truth into your soul to strengthen you. Do personal studies for yourself, do not only rely on WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, etc., for morning Bible verses. You need the Bread of Life nourishes you in a more personal table with Him. Stay in connection with other believers, attend a local fellowship/church, pray for others, as for yourself, resist the devil actively, stay away from the red zones of sin, and actively walk in the Highway of Holiness.
These are practical actions to abide in Christ. This will bring us in a more wonderful walk with the Holy Spirit and close to Christ. When we do this, we are walking in the Spirit and He pours His thoughts into us. When we pray, we pray in His will and all our prayers are answered. Seek to abide in the Vine and when you pray, your prayers will bring down the winds of Heaven to bless you and others.
Rita
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