In prayer, we shouldn’t just make our requests known to God, but we should enjoy the privilege of having fellowship with God. Fellowship is companionship and friendly association. It is a mutual sharing of experience, activity, and interest. So, in prayer we should be in fellowship with the Lord, 1 Jn 1:3, 2 Cor 13:14.
Fellowship of Prayer with Jesus in His Presence
In Jn 15:7, the Lord said, “If ye abide in me”. When you’re saved, you are in Christ. But to bear fruit we must be connected to the vine and must abide in the Lord. R.A. Torrey said that in order to fully abide in Christ we should “renounce all life independent of Christ”. In prayer there should be a conscious and continuous fellowship with Jesus. Ps 16:11 says, “in thy presence is fullness of joy”.
Do you know what Jesus is doing right now? He is interceding for the lost and for us, Heb 7:25; Rom 8:34. So, when you pray for others you are sharing prayer time with the Lord. We shouldn’t just pray quickly and then get up and leave before having any fellowship with the Lord. He’s already involved in prayer and we should take time with him in the very things he’s doing.
Do you know what the Holy Spirit is doing right now? He is interceding for us with groanings which cannot be uttered, Rom 6:26. Have you ever waited long enough in prayer for the Holy Spirit to be able to intercede through you with these unutterable groanings?
Do you know what God is doing right now? He is hearing our prayers, that is, if we are praying. Micah wrote, “Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me”, Mic 7:7. Imagine taking the time to actually have a conversation alone with God. That’s the true fellowship of prayer.
E.M. Bounds said, “Prayer is the contact of a living soul with God”. “God taught Paul to pray by the revelation of himself, which is the first call to prayer, and the first lesson on praying”. We need to take more time in prayer. We must do more than send up our requests and run off before the Lord has time to fellowship with us.
Fellowship of Prayer with Jesus in His Words
In our text, the Lord said, “and my words abide in you”. We need to study His words, absorb them, obey them, let them shape and mold us, and meditate on them until the words live in our hearts. Eventually, our thoughts, responses and words will come forth from the well spring of God’s words in our hearts. How little time we spend in prayer because of the paucity of time spent in our Bibles.
We need to saturate our minds and hearts with his words. When we do, our time in prayer will be spent in greater fellowship with the Lord because our thoughts will be on him and what matters to him.
Fellowship with Jesus in His Answers to Prayer
In our text, the Lord said, “ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you”. After abiding in fellowship with the Lord in prayer and having his words abide continuously in you as you pray, you can see why this prayer promise is true. You will be so in love with the Lord and so consumed with thoughts about him that your prayers are going to be like his. You will be in communion with God and he will be in communion with you. You will be doing what God asked of you, so it will be a delight for him to do what you ask of him. And your thanksgiving will redound to his glory.
Conclusion
When you abide in him, you’ll know who to ask and he’ll know who’s asking. When his words abide in you, you’ll know what to ask and he’ll know what you’re asking. And you’ll know how to ask and he’ll know how to answer.