I heard another friend today in a brief morning devotion talking about having faith, and I sat in my seat and wondered once again, “How exactly does that happen.” I guess my problem is that I take Ephesians 2:8 literally when it says that we are saved by grace through faith, and that (the faith) is not of ourselves, but it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. This basically takes away the ability from mankind to conjure up or muster up his faith in God, although this is almost how we take a challenge to be strong in faith. We think about what we have to do to have faith. But if the faith is of God, then what can we do?
As I sat thinking about my part in faith, the verses came to mind in James 1, “If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God which giveth to all men liberally.” This is the key to faith – wisdom, and the key to faith is found in asking. The only thing that I can do to increase my faith is to ask for God to increase my faith. “Ask and ye shall receive,” says Christ. We must cry out with the nobleman to Jesus, “Lord, I believe; help Thou my unbelief.”
Someone may argue, “But Jesus said that if we ask believing, then we shall receive whatsoever we ask of Him. The element of faith is already present. This is the simple faith not that will move mountains, but the faith that “I know the One who can move a mountain, and I will ask Him to do so.” At times, this faith is inherent in Christ’s people, but it is called little faith by Christ on a number of occasions. But if the little faith causes us to call out to God for great faith, then God may see fit to grant us a special gift of faith that we might persevere through a hard time, do some great work for the Lord, or revive to finish our race strong.
Without faith it is impossible to please God – Then how do I have faith?! Ask. Call upon the Lord today, and beg Him to grant you faith that would bring glory and honor to Him.
Having faith is essential in our walk with God, and yet, at times, it is so hard to truly believe that God will work in our circumstances. Usually we grow in our faith a little bit at a time. As we learn to trust in the Lord and completely depend on Him, He grants us the gift of faith and the joy of knowing that He is able to do all things. Really enjoyed your post, thank you for the encouragement : )