Do You Really Want More Faith?
by David J. Stewart
How often do we as believers pray and ask God for more faith? Actually, I believe it is very common for Christians to ask God to increase their faith. I know I have asked God for more faith quite often throughout my Christian life. Most believers are well familiar with Hebrews 11:6..."But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
Faith pleases God! It would make sense then that we should pray for a stronger faith if we want to please God. I do believe that most believers desire a stronger faith. However, very few believers understand how faith works. I have been saved for 23 years now and it took me a long time to learn the things I am about to share with you. It is all very simple, yet profound. These truths were in the Bible all the time, I just didn't see them until hardships came into my life. It's been said that you can't see a rainbow when your directly facing the sun. To see a rainbow, you have to be facing at an angle to the sun. Likewise, sometimes the rainbows in our life don't become visible until God steps back out of the way for a while. Such is the case with faith. The book of Esther is a great example--"God" is NOT mentioned even one time. Even though God is not mentioned once in Esther, we see God working behind the scenes throughout the book. Never forget--When you can't see the HAND of God, trust the HEART of God! I thank the Holy Spirit for teaching me this wonderful truth.
I've often said that God intended for life to be simple, and I still believe that. You may ask, "Life, simple?" Yes, simple. I realize that life can become very complicated at times; but if we'll learn to have simple faith in God, we can have that perfect peace that "passeth ALL understanding" (which the Bible promises to us in Philippians 4:6-7). Let me now share with you some truths to burn your heart:
You don't need much faith to be saved or to get your prayers answered. The Bible speaks of having "child-like faith" to be saved and "faith as a grain of mustard-seed" to move mountains (and these are very true). To be saved, we do not need a quantity of faith--we simply need faith. Any amount of faith can save a person as long as it is genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Optimism is not faith. Good works is not faith. Church membership is not faith. Baptism is NOT faith. Faith is when we confess our sins to Jesus Christ and ask Him to forgive us, believing that He paid the price for our sins. Faith is us trusting Jesus 100% to save us.
Let me startle you here. Did you know that you can have 99% doubt in Jesus Christ and still have 100% faith. I haven't gone bananas here, I'm going somewhere with this. Let's say there's a chair, an unsteady looking chair. You need to change a light bulb and this chair is the only thing nearby to stand upon. You are in a hurry and decide to use the chair anyway, even though it appears to look unsteady. You stand upon the chair and change the light bulb to finish the job. The chair held up. Now let me explain. Even though you had strong doubts in the chair, you still applied 100% faith because you acted upon your belief. If a person says, "I believe, I believe," but never actually stands upon the chair--that is NOT faith, it is mere optimism. Faith is the act of actually standing upon the chair. Don't miss this! No matter how much doubt I may have in that chair's ability to hold me up, it is nothing less than 100% faith if I stand upon the chair. Did you get that? As long as you act upon your belief, it doesn't matter how much doubt you may have. As a matter of fact, you can't have faith without some degree of doubt. What a wonderful truth! All the faith a person needs to be saved is "just enough" faith to obey God's Word.
Faith is dynamic, not passive. Hebrews 11 says "by faith, Noah built an ark." The Bible doesn't say, "By faith, Noah thought about building an ark." Faith is what moves us to serve God (action). Either we have faith, or we don't. Simply admitting that Jesus is the Savior is not sufficient to save us, we MUST personally believe upon Him to forgive our sins and save us. Also, the Bible never says "he that believeth MUCH shall be saved." No it doesn't. The Bible says "He that believeth." If a man is 99% doubtful, he can still have 100% faith in Jesus Christ if he'll simply "call upon the name of the Lord" as Romans 10:13 tells us. This is a simple, yet profound truth. How much faith do I need to be saved? Just enough! Just enough faith to call upon Jesus Christ to forgive and save me from sin and hell. Likewise, God only requires faith as a small mustard seed to work mighty miracles. The black Mustard plant in Israel grows to be over 10-feet high. It is amazing that such a small seed can grow into such a large plant. Our prayers will do the same thing. Praying is in itself, faith.
It takes faith to pray, but it takes a stronger faith to keep praying. The reason why so many believers quit praying is because they lose faith (i.e.., they don't believe God is going to answer their prayer). I recently received an answer to prayer. It's taken over a year of praying, but God is beginning to answer my prayer. I pray that the Lord will continue working in this matter. I have learned not to put God on trial every time I pray. If God answers, amen; If God doesn't answer, God knows best.
Unshakable faith comes from having your faith shaken. Once we are saved, the trial of our faith begins. Jesus said to His own disciples, "Oh ye of little faith." The disciples had no idea of the hardships and persecutions which were to follow. It would be those very hardships and persecutions which would strengthen their faith. It was this strengthened faith that enabled Peter to preach mightily at Pentecost. It was this faith that prepared John for the island of Patmos, where he wrote the book of Revelation. It was this faith that allowed Peter and Silas to sing praises in prison while their feet were bound in shackles. If our faith is to grow, it must go through hardships and trials. There is NO other way. The Bible called John the Baptist the greatest man born amongst women (because he prepared the people for the Lord's coming). However, we find John in prison shortly thereafter, doubting whether Jesus was the Christ at all. John's faith was being tested, he was having a rough time. John told his disciples to go ask Jesus if He was the Messiah, or "do we look for another?"
"Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?"
(Matthew 11:2-3)
John was discouraged. Could not this Messiah, Who could perform all these miracles, deliver His faithful servant from prison? Yes, Jesus could have, but He didn't. Let every Christian take heed to this message--things don't always get better in this life. John was discouraged and in doubt...he sought help from the Lord...he was beheaded at the sword of Herod. Things went from bad to worse, and then from worse to worst. Ever been there? These foolish health, wealth and prosperity preachers that tell you your not right with God if bad things happen to you--They're liars!!! King David said he never saw the righteous begging for bread. Well, there's a man King David never saw, his name was Lazarus, and he was a beggar (Luke 16). Sometimes we do have to beg for bread as believers, sometimes we do get fed to hungry lions, sometimes we do have to file for bankruptcy. Remember: Life is what happens to you while your making big plans!
Life is not fair friend, but God certainly is fair! God is just and faithful! Your faith will be put to the test, learn to cherish those moments as the Apostle Paul did.
"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong"
(2nd Corinthians 12:9-10)
Amazingly, Paul was happy to be going through hard times. Paul says, "bring it on devil, do your worst, it's just more opportunity for me to show my faith in God and earn rewards more in heaven." We must mature as believers to the place in our Christian life where we appreciate the problems in our life. We may not like them, but we can learn to see the silver linings of the storm clouds in our life if we'll walk with God. Problems are a blessing. Now I know this may sound strange, but it is Bible. The Apostle Paul realized that his own weaknesses were being used by God to strengthen his faith. You CANNOT please God without faith (Hebrews 11:6). God wants our faith to mature; therefore, our faith must be tried (James 1:3-4). Listen friend, God doesn't need your talents. God doesn't need your brain. God doesn't need your money. God doesn't need your social status. God doesn't need your wit and charm. God needs nothing from any of us.
"For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence."
(1st Corinthians 1:26-29)
You see friend, God doesn't like big-shots. I don't know about you, but I have never liked big-shots myself. Truthfully, we're all little-shots, deserving of hell-fire. So be rest assured, the problems will come; but when they do, hopefully you'll be spiritually-minded, counting them a blessing for Christ's sake. Your problems really are a stepping-stone, a perfect opportunity for you to make God happy by continuing your faith in Him. Faith pleases God. It takes much more faith to continue living for God when the sky is falling in your life. The trials and tribulations in your life will "perfect" your faith if you'll not give up. You just hang in there friend, joy comes in the morning, but first you have to go through the night of torment and crying.
Problems in your life are worth more than lots of money. You read that right--bad things happening to you are far more valuable than wealth! I don't like it any more than you do, but it's Bible. Forget the lottery, you need problems!
"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:"
(1st Peter 1:7)
Only an idiot wants problems, but problems are a part of life. We must deal with them. Unfortunately, some people needlessly kill themselves (as a friend I once knew). Some people turn to liquor (as my own father). Your level of faith determines how you respond to life's difficulties. For a believer to turn to the liquor bottle is a lack of faith in God. For a believer to contemplate suicide is a lack of faith in God. John the Baptist's faith faltered while in prison, he missed a perfect opportunity to be strong in the Lord. What a contrast to when Paul was imprisoned, where he wrote the book of Philippians. We all falter sometimes. Surely, John the Baptist was a man of faith, he just didn't understand why things were happening the way they were--I know I've been there many times. John's faith temporarily faltered. I'm not talking about John's salvation, I'm simply talking about his Christian walk with God. John never lost his salvation, not at all; He simple lost the joy of salvation. We all get discouraged sometimes. However, a mature believer has learned to view his or her problems as golden opportunities to show their faith in God. So stop complaining!!!
Interestingly, degrees of faith are NOT taught in the Bible--Either you had faith or you didn't. God only requires the smallest amount of faith. Therefore, the Bible does not teach different levels of faith. All the faith you need for God to move mountains is the smallest amount.
Let me say, "a faith MUST be tested." Whether you like it or not, your faith WILL be tested. The test is not the problems in your life. The test is your faith itself. Unsaved people have problems just like saved people do, but they have no faith in the Lord. They're not being tested because there is nothing to test, they are unbelievers.
"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:"
(1st Peter 1:7)
Having made these 3 points, now I ask you once more--Do you really want more faith? Well, do you? If you do, that is good and commendable; but remember, a greater faith comes from having a heavier burden. No pain, no gain. Though the Bible does NOT teach degrees of faith, it does in fact require a greater degree of faith on our part to continue serving the Lord when burdens arise. By saying that the Bible does not teach degrees of faith, I simply mean that God only requires the smallest faith to move mountains. Jesus met a Roman soldier with "great faith." The truth is that even the simplest faith would have been adequate, but it pleased Jesus greatly that this man had so much faith in Him (Luke 7:9). He told His own disciples that they were of "little faith" (Matthew 8:26). "Little faith" actually meant "no faith."
"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."
Unshakable faith comes from having your faith shaken!!! If you ask God for more faith, you are actually asking God for more troubles and problems to come your way because that is how God increases your faith. To ask God for more faith without anticipating the trial of your faith is silly. Many people want success without sacrifice. Faith, just as anything else, has it's price.
Faith is not something that just happens, it is a gift from God.
"For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith."
(Romans 12:3)
Faith is given to us by God! We all have faith in something! Some people have faith in themselves (humanism and atheism). Some people have faith in the church and good deeds (Catholicism). Some people have faith in religion (Buddhists and Muslims). And some people have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Christians). Where you put your faith is up to you, but I'd highly recommend that you put 100% of your faith upon the Lord Jesus Christ to save you.
