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

Occasionally when it is cold outside it is nice to wear a scarf.  When that time of year arrives, most of us just go to the store, browse through our options and pick one out that we like then pay for it.  But, pretend for a moment that you needed to make yourself a scarf.  You could buy a ball of yarn and some knitting needles.  But have you ever tried to use a ball of yarn as a scarf?  I don’t think it is very effective, it has to be worked into a scarf by the knitting needles.

Most of us would like to have our prayers answered like is promised in the above text.  But, while we believe ourselves to be practicing Christians, as stated in the first part of the text, Abide in me, we tend to skip over the second part of the text, My words abide in you, and go straight to the third part of the text, Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 

It’s like the ball of yarn and knitting needles, until the threads of yarn are knit together into a scarf it is just a ball of yarn, incapable of keeping your neck warm while out in the cold.

Gods promises are true.  But we need to let Him work His words into our lives, then His will becomes ours and our prayers will be answered according to His will.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  John 5:14