A Blank Check

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. John 15:7

I remember this verse being taught in a bible study one time where the preacher referred to it as a 'blank check'.  He was talking about receiving the blessings of the Lord.  I found it odd, even then, that he only discussed part B of the verse. But once again I am drawn to the if...then statements I talked about once before.  According to the way I was taught you cannot just skip to the end without doing the beginning.  Now there are many shortcuts in life to many things, but my experience has taught me that shortcuts are sometimes costly.  So let's talk a little while about the A part of the verse and then we will move on to part B.

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you....what is this saying?  How do we remain connected to our Heavenly Father? It is through His Word that was left to guide and teach us.  If we are not being led by His Word then we are not following the correct path.  So the more time we spend in His Word the closer we are to Him.  The more He becomes part of us.  The more we start to look like Him.  That should be our desire.  I thought about all the reasons I don't spend time in God's Word.  My children.  My husband.  Family responsibilities.  School.  Even church.  Not to mention the computer.  I cannot tell you how many times I have sat down to write and instead I check my email or my Facebook account, not to mention many other things.  I have gotten better but I could do more.  I have my favorite shows on television...The Closer, Hawthorne, Law and Order.  I have to watch them but what if during the hour they were on I actually read my Bible instead.  The point I am trying to make is that there is always time to read the Bible and study His Word.  The question is do we make the time?  Part A of this verse clearly tells us that His Word should abide in us.  That means it should be hidden in our hearts.  It doesn't help to have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who calls scriptures to our remembrance when we need them, if we don't take the time to read and store it up.  You can't expect the blessings of God if you only want to do part of what He says.

Furthermore, how can you know what His will is for your life if you don't read His Word.  We maintain communion with God through prayer.  So if we are abiding in His Word then when we pray we will not be tempted to pray amiss.  We will pray what is in line with His Word.  Have you ever had those moments when you don't know what to pray?  I have.  And it was during those times I begin to pray the scriptures.  I knew that I couldn't go wrong.  Verses like...'create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me'.....or 'I am dwelling in the secret place of the Most High. I am abiding under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in Him will I trust.'   This is so not about God just giving us a blank check.  In fact, I am glad that He didn't give me everything I have asked for.  I know some of the things that I have asked for were not in accordance with His will.  I prefer to let Him have the final say in what happens in my life. 

Now here is where the challenge comes in. If you are anything like me there have been times I was angry with the Lord for not giving me what I asked for.  I know that I was not abiding in Word.  I was barely even communicating with Him.  Now that I am a little bit better in abiding in His Word there are still times that I am not praying His Word, therefore, not His will.  So once again my prayers went unanswered.  I take that back.  They didn't always go unanswered.  Sometimes it was a flat out NO!  The challenge is...are you ready to step up to the plate and start abiding in His Word?  That means putting His Word above some of the other things in your daily schedule.  Then and only then will you be able to do part B of the verse above.  The decision is yours. 

Dear Lord,

I must confess that so many things come ahead of reading Your Word on my list of priorities. None of which compare to the necessity of knowing Your Word.   I have to do better.  I want to do better. Please help me.  I am sorry that I have become angry and blamed you for not answering my prayer.  Thank you for bringing this to my attention.  I now realize the importance of abiding in You.  Thank you Lord.  In Jesus' Name Amen.