Faith and Prayers

How to Develop Strong Faith

How strong is your faith? Do you have faith that says you can make $600 monthly payments on a new car or do you have faith to receive the car? God can supply the whole car. Are you able to receive the whole car?

Let’s say you are saddled with a $50,000. Do you have just enough faith to pay $400 monthly payments or do you have strong enough faith to pay the loan in full? God is able and God will provide according to your faith. If you go the payment route, God will be there but if you go the $50,000 payment, God is able to provide.

A Little Faith or a Lot of Faith?

How do we develop faith and just as importantly, how do we develop strong faith? I am talking about herculean faith.

God speaks to us through His word. What does the word of God say about developing faith? God told James to write to the Roman Christians and to us. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). The word of God is the source of faith. Study a little of the word and get a little faith. Study all of the word and receive a lot of faith. You determine how much faith you want.

Our father or our Father?

But you say; “Elvin, I don’t have $50,000 to pay the loan off.” I know that. But who does have $50,000? Your Father! Your heavenly Father! 

Remember growing up and needing a pair of shoes for school. You did not have $50 for a pair of shoes. So, you asked your father to buy you a pair of shoes.

Let’s see what the word says.

“9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him” (Matthew 7: 9-11)!       

Source of Good Gifts

We are to place our faith on the source of gifts. The source of all good and perfect gifts comes from the Lord.

17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights [the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens], in whom there is no variation [no rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [for He is perfect and never changes] (James 1:17).

Do Not Be Deceived

It is easy to be deceived. When life does not go our way or the way we think it should go, the tendency is to blame God. It is easy to veer off the path of God into sin and when the consequences of sin come, we just blame God. Our faith is shaken in God. Not because God is not faithful but because we have taken the path of unrighteousness. This is when we should look in the mirror and see the cause of the pain. God does not wavier; man does. However, like all of humanity, we look to blame someone or something for our ills.

We can let the disappoints in life strengthen our faith or we can let disappoints destroy our faith in God. We can see them as an opportunity to grow spiritually and be stronger or we can see them, as “all is lost” and throw up our hands in failure.

It is an attitude. We can take the attitude that God is not trustworthy, and that He does not care about us. Cast out this type of thinking. Instead of thinking about all the things we are missing in our lives, think about all the good things in our lives. In addition, who provided all these good things!

The weak in faith will give up and look elsewhere for the good thing they think they are missing. “If God won’t provide them,” they think, “we’ll have to get them for ourselves.” We let the ego take control and attempt to do it ourselves.

Yes, the world’s way is tempting. It looks like fun and excitement. Everyone will tell you how wonderful it is when he or she is masking his or her misery. They are looking for company for their misery.

Testing of Your Faith

have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind (James 1:2-8).

Read More. . . Part 2: Faith and Prayers