If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

This is an extraordinarily great promise! Jesus says: You will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. Of course, this has its limitations, as we cannot ask for things that are bad or harmful. Next, there are also two conditions: we should abide in Christ, and His words should abide in us. If we fulfil these conditions, being truly united to Christ by faith and surrendering to God’s will according to His word, we will surely ask for things which are in accord with God’s will. This is the will of God – our salvation, that is, our ultimate good. It is God’s promise that He will hear our prayer from this perspective. We should know that many times when we ask for something, even a hard trial, i.e. a certain evil, may work out for our eternal good. If we remain faithful to Christ in the face of this suffering, this trial will eventually bring us even more blessing and good than we specifically asked for. Therefore, it is important that when we ask God for a certain thing, we should be in a position of agreement with our ultimate good and the good of those we carry in our heart.

Jesus made several promises about answering our prayers. The main condition for us is to renounce our will, accept the will of God for a particular situation, and ask for its fulfilment. If, for example, we pray for the conversion of a member of our family, we know that it may last many years until this prayer is answered. But however long it may last, if we persevere in the faith, God will surely answer our prayers – though it may not be until the hour of death of the person concerned. And our praying for so long without answer was a test of our faith, through which we could gain many graces not only for others but also for ourselves. An example is St Monica, who prayed many years for the conversion of her son Augustine.

Download: Reflection on Jn 15:7