Even a surface reading of the Bible shows us that faith is important in prayer. Jesus marveled at the great faith of the Roman centurion who came to Him (Matthew 8:10), and rebuked His disciples when they showed lack of faith (Matthew 17:17).
In Mark 5:25-34 a woman who had suffered with a “hemorrhage” for twelve years, touched Jesus and received her healing. Jesus said, “Your faith has made you well.” When the Syrophoenician woman asked for the Lord to heal her daughter, Jesus said, “O woman, your faith is great, be it done to you as you wish.” (Matthew 15:28).
Okay, we could go on with examples of faith’s importance all day long, so we know that we need faith. But the question is, “How do we get it?”
Many years ago, one of my daughters prayed with a friend to receive Jesus. She came home from school really excited. In leading Joe to the Lord, she had asked him if he believed in his heart that Jesus was raised from the dead. He squinted his eyes tightly, held his breath, and tensed every muscle in his body as he gasped, “Yes.” We are like that, aren’t we? We try to make ourselves believe more, but we can’t believe just because we want to. We either do or we don’t.
So is there anything we can do to believe more? Yes there is! If we follow God’s plan for building our faith, we will succeed at increasing our believing.
So what is God’s plan? For the next few posts, we will take a look at God’s plan for increasing our faith – according to His Word.
So let’s get started.
We speak of God’s Word as being supernatural. What do we mean by that? Webster’s Dictionary says that supernatural means “an order of existence beyond the visible, observable universe.” or “something appearing to transcend the laws of nature.” When God intervenes in our lives, we are experiencing the “supernatural.” God and His Word operate on a level which is higher than man’s ability.
When we say that God’s Word is supernatural, we refer to several things. First of all it was supernaturally given to men by God, and now He supernaturally reveals it to us. But there is more. God’s Word is literally food for our spirit man (our innermost being, the hidden man of the heart). When we feed our human spirits with the nourishment of God’s Word, we grow in understanding and in faith.
That’s where our faith comes from. Romans 10:17 says “Now faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ.” Jesus said, “The Words I have spoken to you are Spirit and they are life.” (John 6:63). He also said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Luke 4:4).
If we approach God’s Word the way He wants us to, we will grow in our faith. What we can’t do in the natural, God’s Word will do for us – if we do it His way!
A couple of days ago, I suggested that you read Psalm 119. Today, I would like for you to read it again. In the light of what we have discussed today, let God shine a greater light on that special word.
As you pray today, ask God to open up your eyes to the significance of His Word. The next few days will take us into deeper understanding of how our faith derives from the Word. It’s an exciting mission that will change your life!
See you soon!
