Jesus has just given the disciples a tremendous promise about prayer but He follows that immediately with what it means to be His follower. The preconditions for Jesus to do whatever his disciples ask of Him are faith in Him, love for Him, and obedience to Him.

Jesus gave a similar challenge to Peter when He reinstated him in (John 21:16). If we really love Jesus, we will do what He says.

John 21:16  Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

Although this sounds like a command in the KJV, it is not. Jesus is saying that love for Him will result in obedience to Him. If we really love Him, we will want to do what pleases Him. In fact, if we are obeying God’s laws out of a sense of obligation, or to earn His favor, or for any other reason than love for Him, it is not real obedience at all. Jesus is not giving us another law here, but an assurance. If we love Him, we will want to do what He says. The intent of the heart that loves is to please and care for the object of that love (1 Cor 13:4-8a). This principle doesn’t just apply to us, but to Him as well. If we love Him we will do what He says, and since He loves us He will also do whatever we ask (John 14:14).

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.

John 14:14  You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

There is a natural flow in our relationship with Christ. We don’t have to force anything anymore. The Law used to be written on tablets of stone but it is now written on our hearts. The flow goes like this: first we have faith (Heb 11:6), which results in our getting to know Him (Jer 29:13), followed by our inevitable love for Him because it is impossible to truly know Jesus and not to love Him, and this love results in our obedience (1 John 2:5). True obedience always comes about in this exact order. We don’t have to try to obey; we will want to obey just because we love Him and want to please Him. There is no real power in knowledge; if there were then we could have kept the Law out of our own strength. True power is a result of love.

Hebrews 11:6  And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Jeremiah 29:13  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

1 John 2:5  But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him:

Just as obedience is the fruit of love, disobedience is the result of a lack of love (1 John 5:3). We can judge ourselves and tell how much we love Christ by our degree of obedience to Him.

1 John 5:3  This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,