John 15:1-4 (NKJV) "I am the true vine and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me
that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes that
it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
Abide in Me and I in you. As the branches cannot bear fruit itself unless it abides in the
vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me.

To abide means to keep and to continue. Devotion is what keeps us abiding, so that it
is the commitment of abiding. We commit ourselves to Jesus, but if we are not devoted, we will
not continue to abide, and our lack of devotion breaks our commitment to Jesus. Recently, I
attended a Bible study. The leader talked about a vine that had climbed on her house.
The vine had climbed on all the way up to a two-story window, meaning that the vine had lived
through many cold frosts. She had cut it down, yet it had climbed back up to her window. In
the same way we should be devoted, so that we may continue in abiding. Though cold trials may
come into our lives, if we are devoted, we will continue to abide in Christ. When we are cut
down in those trials, devotion helps us to climb towards God. Devotion also causes us to pray,
and through prayer we are given hope. This book is designed to assist you in becoming devoted
in abiding and then to climb towards hopeful prayer.