“I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you." Psalm 16:02.
In John 15:5, Jesus also said the same, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” So without Christ, we are like a person who is paralyzed lying on a bed, always looking for others. As Paul says in Romans 7:18, “Nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.” Our flesh does not have, or I would say is not capable to bring glory to God’s name without Christ in our lives.
Today’s verse also tells us that “Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit.” So as our strong and reliable friend — “I have called you friends” (John 15:15) — He promises to do for us what we can’t do for ourselves. So how is God glorified by prayer? Prayer is the open admission that without Christ we can do nothing. Fasting is turning away from ourselves to God in the confidence that he will provide the help we need.