Two Minute Devotions

When Jesus tells us to “abide in Him” (John 15:4), He is not speaking about occasional inspiration or the rare spiritual high. He is calling us into a daily, even hourly rhythm of dependence, a life rooted in Him like a branch to a vine. Abiding is not passive. It is an intentional turning of the heart, again and again, toward Christ as our true source of strength.

Daniel gives us a vivid picture of this. In Babylon, surrounded by pressures to compromise, Daniel “got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God” (Daniel 6:10). This was not ritual for ritual’s sake. It was Daniel’s way of saying, “I cannot face this world apart from the Lord.” In a foreign land, cut off from the temple and the comforts of home, his lifeline was communion with God.

And here is the challenge for us: in a culture that pushes us toward busyness, distraction, and self-reliance, abiding feels inefficient. But Jesus tells us it is the only way to bear fruit. “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Just as Daniel stopped three times a day, we are invited to structure our lives with moments that reorient us to Christ: prayer in the morning, reflection at midday, gratitude at night. These practices do not earn us God’s favor. They place us where His grace can continually reshape us.

The gospel reminds us that Jesus abided perfectly in the Father’s will, even to the cross. When we falter, we rest in His faithfulness, not our own. To abide is to remember that Christ already holds us fast, and in that assurance, we keep returning to Him in prayer, in Scripture, and in quiet trust.