How to get answered prayers from God: the fruit of healing

In John 15:1-2, Jesus speaks, “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit…”

 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (verse 4).

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (verse 5).

The New Testament is originally written in Greek. If we translate the original word vinedresser, ἀμπελουργός, it is to also mean vine-keeper or gardener, someone who prunes. So God is the vine-keeper, Jesus the vine, and we are the branches. “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).

The job of a pruner is to remove dead, broken, diseased or weak branches. So does God remove the ugly, unproductive, and broken parts of our heart. Additionally, a pruner removes branches that grow toward the center or interfere with other branches. In the same way, God keeps order by removing areas of our character that cause disorder and chaos.

When we feel overwhelmed and life is chaotic, let God prune the areas that are causing your anxiety. Or maybe you’re a high functioning busy body and can’t discern the chaos in your life because you’ve never been still, physically nor mentally. 

The best time to prune a fruit tree is during the dormant season, from December to February. So if you invite God to prune your life, or remove people and things that do not serve you or your purpose, don’t be surprised if your life flips upside down and things are quiet. But “do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need for endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:...now the just shall live by faith” Hebrews 10:35-38. So it is IF and ONLY AFTER we are obedient in the season of removal, season of stillness, the dormant season, that we receive the promise. They keyword here is AFTER.

Jesus continues teaching, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (verse 6).

So it is the continual pursuit of God, the continual submission to God, the continual humility to let God keep your mind, keep your heart and keep your soul in order. The moment we become self-serving, or lose the willingness to let God lead our lives, we no longer benefit from the God given fruit in our lives.

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (verse 7).

So it is the bolded keywords, IF, and only when we abide in Jesus, AND His teachings that God will give us the desires of our heart. There is a protocol that God wants us to follow in order to receive answers to our prayers. God is the ultimate discerner of hearts, He sees and hears all our thoughts that we don’t speak. 

Abide, μένω in Greek, translates to remain or wait. So IF we REMAIN in our faith, and WAIT on the Lord, we are abiding in Jesus. But this must be done in conjunction with the second part of His protocol. It does not say, if you abide in Me, OR My words…, it says, “if you abide in Me, AND My words abide in you.” Therefore, these two actions must be true, not one or the other, in order for us to receive the desires of our heart.

Because if we truly seek God, seek His communion, seek a relationship with Him, then there needs communication. Communication isn’t a one way street where we offload all our worries, anxieties and tears to Him. That’s selfish in any relationship. Why would God honor selfishness? We not only have to be still enough to hear from God–in Psalms 46:10, the scriptures say, “be still, and know that I am God”–but also read or listen to His word, which is the scriptures! If we want to know what God says about our anxieties and worries, open the Bible and let God speak to your healing, speak life into you, and speak His loving kindness. 

And so, “by this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so that you will be My disciples” (verse 8).

We often are concerned about our own healing or even our own desires: to become financially free, to get married, or whatever the desires are in your heart. However, by abiding in God’s word, and truly seeking God's way, not only builds our own character through endurance and perseverance, but also shows God that He is able to trust us in our faithfulness and reliance on Him, the vine-keeper. 

In Revelations 22:2, God’s word speaks about “the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

And so, when God prunes us, the branches, it produces new leaves, it produces us healing. It’s important to note that leaves are produced before the fruit; and healthy and abundant leaves are a sign of a healed branch. Remember the pruner removes disease and weakness.

And so, the signs of a relationship with God is abundant healing. Through the leadership of God, we are healed and are able to produce fruit. And through the renewed heart from Jesus Christ, our desires are commendable to God and are promised to us by His word. “God is not a man, that He should lie… has He said, and will He not do?” Numbers 23:19.

Closing prayer, the promise of God

Let us remain in fellowship with the Lord and continue in the longsuffering of the wait for the promise of God in our lives. For His word offers life, His word offers light, His word promises abundance when we submit to his protocols. I pray that Your word, Lord, which is the scriptures, abide in all those who read this devotional. I pray you, whenever you may read this, are touched by the Holy Spirit and have the discernment of the Spirit to submit to the specific commands that God has for your life.

In Jesus name,

Amen.