Do you want to part the Red Sea?

In John 15:7, Jesus says,
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.


Which at first glance says to me that if I am a Christian and have God's Spirit living within me and if I spend time with God, pray, and read my Bible regularly, then I should be able to ask whatever I want and get it, right?
Then why do we not see that happening in our daily lives?  How many times have you prayed for something or someone and never received what you asked for?  Dozens? Hundreds?   Me too!   And I've heard hundreds of answers from preachers and pastors as to why.

Well, you're not asking for the right thing or
You're asking for something that only satisfies your own selfish lusts  or
God sometimes says no.

But the verse doesn't say that. It says that if you meet the conditions, you can ask for whatever you want and you'll get it. It doesn't say you'll maybe get it, or only if it's something that doesn't spring from selfishness. Humm.

So what gives?

Recently, I found the answer. It's in the difference between the Greek meaning for Words or Word. There are 2 Greek words for Word
Logos - the Written word of God--the Holy Scriptures
Rhema - the Spoken Word of God

The word in John 15:7 for "My words abide in you"  is Rhema. Therefore, it doesn't mean someone who reads their Bible everyday or memorizes Scripture.  Rhema is a specific and direct word that comes from God straight to you to address a certain situation. There's a number of ways God can speak to you directly, which we've discussed recently. In your spirit, through a friend or a sermon, through a verse in the Bible that just pops out at you while you're reading, etc... 

As an example, you're heart is burdened for a lost family member who you've nearly given up on, and you're reading your Bible one morning. A verse just grabs you and you stop and read it again. Mabye it's the verse in Acts where the centurion asks Peter how he can be saved, and Peter tells him to repent and receive the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household.  And your heart starts beating faster. That's God speaking to you, encouraging you that this person is part of your household and will be saved. Don't give up. Keep praying and use that scripture in your prayers.

Or let's say you're just going about your day, minding your own business and out of the blue a friend of yours pops into your mind, and your heart grows heavy. You feel uneasy and burdened. That's God asking you to pray for that person. 

These are the prayers that God is speaking about in this verse.  It's when God gives you a specific word for a specific prayer, and if you are obedient, He promises to answer it. It's the same type of prayer Moses prayed when he stretched out his rod over the Red Sea and the waters parted! Do you think he came up with that idea on his own? That's probably the last thing he was thinking to do, right? No, God gave Moses a specific Word. And no matter how crazy it must have sounded to Moses, he was obedient.  And God answered his prayer.

Now, I'm not saying God doesn't answer our other prayers. Of course He does. But His answer can sometimes be No for certain things we ask Him.
But there's an awesome guarantee for these specific Rhema prayers.  I don't know about you, but this makes me want to really Hear from God on a daily basis and pray whatever He asks me to pray. I believe He's seeking obedient servants with ears to hear His Voice. Will you be one of them?