John Calvin Commentary John 15:7

"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you." — John 15:7 (ASV)

If you abide in me. Believers often feel that they are starved and are very far from that rich abundance which is necessary for yielding abundant fruit. For this reason, it is expressly added that for whatever those who are in Christ may need, a remedy is provided for their poverty as soon as they ask it from God. This is a very useful admonition, for the Lord often allows us to hunger in order to train us to earnestness in prayer. But if we flee to him, we will never lack what we ask for, but out of his inexhaustible abundance, he will supply us with everything that we need (1 Corinthians 1:5).

If my words abide in you. He means that we take root in him by faith; for as soon as we have departed from the doctrine of the Gospel, we seek Christ separately from himself. When he promises that he will grant whatever we wish, he does not give us permission to form wishes according to our own whim. God would do what was poorly suited to promote our welfare if he were so indulgent and so ready to yield to us; for we know well that people often indulge in foolish and extravagant desires. But here he limits the wishes of his people to the rule of praying correctly, and that rule subjects to God's good pleasure all our affections. This is confirmed by their context; for he means that his people will or desire not riches, or honors, or anything of that nature which the flesh foolishly desires, but the vital sap of the Holy Spirit, which enables them to bear fruit.