Day 24: Engaging Prayer

Remain In Him - by Fred Hammer

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful… Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing…  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:1-8

Spring is here! For those who have flowers in your yard or home it’s exciting to see the new buds blooming and the beauty of creation. We have several rose bushes in our backyard, and I know that Spring has arrived because the ugly wooden branches that were covered with thorns are now producing beautiful flowers glowing with color and fragrance. For those with a green thumb, and I am not one of you, there will come a time when we will have to start cutting off these new, vibrant and beautiful branches in order for new buds and more beauty to be revealed. Sometimes it’s because the branch isn’t producing a flower and is actually taking away from other growth. But the end result of this trimming brings more flowers and more beauty.

Just like these roses, we too need to be pruned. Thankfully, as followers of Christ, God continues to “prune” us so that we can continue to bear fruit. We are beautiful roses that belongs to Jesus, our vine, and now it is up to us to produce the beauty we were designed for. When we accept the love of Jesus and choose to follow him we have the promise that he will hear our prayers. So when you pray, be confident in your AMEN, because we are his true disciples.

“Finally, mark this, that you must always make the amen strong, never doubting that God is surely listening to you with all grace and saying “Yes” to your prayer.” Martin Luther, A Simple Way to Pray, for a Good Friend.