Earlier this week I was eating grapes straight from the bag. They were still attached to the vine, perfectly in tact, and beautiful to stare at before deciding to take a bite. As I pulled a grape off one by one, I legit stared for a few seconds. The fruit was beautiful, full, and alive, but only because it was still connected to its source.

Almost instantly, the Holy Spirit brought Scripture to my heart, John 15:1, ‘Jesus, the True Vine’.

In that passage, 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. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”

In that moment I realized something so simple yet so profound, fruit cannot survive disconnected from the vine. It may appear whole for a moment after being removed, but the life source is gone. The second separation occurs, it starts to wither.

The same happens with us.

Jesus does not simply call us to believe in Him, He calls us to ABIDE in Him. To remain. To stay. To dwell continuously in relationship with Him. Abiding is not a quick emotional experience. It is not just church on Sundays. It’s a steady, daily posture of connection and relationship.

But what does that connection produce?

To understand fruit, we must look to Galatians 5:22, where Paul defines the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are not just personality traits, this is a posture. These permanent attributes are evidence. They are proof that divine life is flowing through a surrendered branch.

Fruit is not manufactured, it’s PRODUCED. with everything produced, it takes time, attention and care.

Manufacturing relies on effort, pressure, and performance. Production in the Kingdom flows from connection. The branch does not have to overwork to push fruit outward. It simply remains attached, and life does what life was designed to do. It’s that simple.

This is why Jesus’ promise “Ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” is a condition. The condition is, ‘If you abide in Me’.

This verse has often been misunderstood, and taken extremely out of context. That’s why it’s important to read the word in spiritual wisdom. This verse (or anytime Jesus mentions ‘giving us what we ask’) is not a spiritual blank check for fleshly desires. Jesus is not promising to fulfill every impulse, every material craving, or every ambition that originates from ego. Before He speaks of receiving, He speaks of remaining.

Abiding implies obedience. It implies alignment. It implies that His Word has permission to correct us, shape us, and refine us and our motives. It does not mean we never stumble. It does not mean we never struggle or backslide. It means we consistently return. We consistently yield. We consistently stay.

What’s so amazing and something I’ve learned over the years, is that when we remain in Him, something our desires begin to change. Conviction happens, we transform.

The longer a branch is connected to the vine, the more it carries the nature of the vine. Likewise, the longer we abide in Christ, the more our prayers begin to reflect His heart. God does not simply grant what our flesh demands. He responds to what His Spirit within us is asking.

Paul writes earlier in Galatians 5:16, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Walking implies daily choices, repeated decisions, small moments of surrender that lead to transformation. To walk in the Spirit means the Holy Spirit leads, not our flesh. It means our emotions do not govern us. It means our reactions are filtered through righteousness rather than ego.

The Spirit within us knows us more deeply than we know ourselves. He searches the hidden places of our hearts. He understands needs we cannot articulate and wounds we have not fully named. When we pray, He intercedes. This is why I encourage people to speak in the spirit. Or ‘In tongues’. It’s the language of the Holy Spirit, and his truest form of communication to God. (1 Corinthians 14)

‘For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks Mysteries’. 

In 1 Corinthians 14, Paul speaks of praying in the Spirit ,speaking mysteries unto God. There are dimensions of our lives that exist beyond natural awareness, and the Spirit communicates within that unseen realm perfectly.

Even when we do not know what to ask for, He does.

This is why connection matters. A disconnected branch cannot carry the life or the voice of the vine. It cannot bear fruit, and it cannot sustain itself. The health of the branch determines the evidence it produces. What keeps us spiritually healthy is not striving harder, performing better, or maintaining religious routine. It is intimacy. It is returning to Jesus daily. It is allowing His Word to confront and comfort us. It is worship when no one is watching. It is repentance when conviction comes. It is humility when pride tries to rise.

Simply put..

Connection produces fruit.
Fruit proves connection.

The branch does not glorify itself for bearing grapes, the vine receives the glory. In the same way, when love flows through you, when patience steadies you, when self-control restrains you, when peace anchors you, the Father is glorified. It is His life flowing through you.

I don’t look at trees the same way. Branches stretching outward now remind me of dependence and design. Creation is constantly preaching if we are willing to listen. When you step outside and see branches covered in leaves or fruit, remember this, they are not striving, they are abiding.

Apart from the Vine, we wither.
In Him, we flourish.

Remain in Him. Walk in the Spirit. Let your desires be shaped by His presence. And allow your life to become living evidence that you are still connected to the True Vine.

PRAYER-

Heavenly Father,

Before asking for anything, I thank you for everything. Thank you for the eyes to see, and ears to hear. Thank you for blessing me another day and keeping me in my right mind. Today I ask you, to make me sensitive to the Holy Spirit. To see, to hear and to operate in and through the Holy Spirit. Help me to not get in my own way. Show me the works of the flesh to work on, and reveal to me every obstacle standing in the way of letting the Holy Spirit lead completely. Holy Spirit, help me to abide in and honor Jesus, and let my life be evidence that I am connected to you. Help me bear fruit. In Jesus’ name,

Amen.