John 15:5 - “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

Suppose you are totally paralyzed and can do nothing for yourself but talk. And suppose a strong and reliable friend promised to live with you and do whatever you needed done. How could you glorify your friend if a stranger came to see you?

Would you glorify his generosity and strength by trying to get out of bed and carry him? No! You would say, “Friend, please come lift me up, and would you put a pillow behind me so I can look at my guest? And would you please put my glasses on for me?”

And so your visitor would learn from your requests that you are helpless and that your friend is strong and kind. You glorify your friend by needing him and asking him for help and counting on him.

“Apart from me you can do nothing;” we really are paralyzed. Without Christ, we are capable of no good. But God intends for us to do something good — namely, bear fruit. So as our strong and reliable friend promises to do for us what we can’t do for ourselves.

How then do we glorify him? Jesus gives the answer inJohn 15:7: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” We yield our lives completely to the Holy Spirit, trusting Jesus/his words. We let the Holy Spirit have all of our minds, hearts, bodies, and strengths. We get rid of pretending like we can do “good” on our own. And we pray! We ask God for his fullness and continual empowering through his Spirit; we ask him to do for us through Christ what we can’t do for ourselves — bear fruit. Let Jesus be revealed as Lord and Savior more and more clearly and purely in our lives!
(Taken with edits from John Piper’s devotional at desiringgod.org.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5gcX3sIoUs

-AP