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Faith
Faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the existence of things not seen: (Heb. 1:1 1st part). In other words, faith
declares that what cannot be seen, felt, touched, heard or tasted does exist.
Faith is the connection between the finite and infinite. It is the nexus between
the shadow (our world) and the substance (the spiritual realm) 2 Cor. 4:18.
The exercise of faith by the creatures that He has made
glorifies God because it demonstrates to the world not only that He exists, but
that everything he says about Himself is true and everything that He says about
us is true. It validates His word and establishes His place in history. It sets
at naught the evolutionary theory of man's origins, brings into sharp focus the
spiritual anomaly called sin whose baleful work foreseen touched the infinite
love of the Godhead and brought about the plan of salvation and created the role
of Michael (Jesus) as the savior of the world.
No wonder that principalities and power from time immemorial
have struggled mightily to snuff out and to stamp out the faith of God's people.
Faith in God has toppled kingdoms and empires and today, as we look to the end of
time, the battle is as fierce as it ever was because those who love God are locked
in a death struggle with those who do not love Him. The outcome of this struggle
has already been established. VICTORY! was declared from the cross.
This article is © J. Edwards 2007
Faith - Pt. II
In Paul's epistle to the Romans (Ch. 12
ver. 3) we read that God has given to every man a measure of faith. In other
words, in every man, to a greater or lesser extent, is the ability to believe
and make spiritual contact with God. If this is not so, it would be impossible
for anyone to be saved seeing that salvation depends upon repentance and
acceptance of God's remedy for sin- the merits of Christ's sacrifice upon the
cross.
This measure of faith, whether passed down to us through
Christian parents or through some spiritual contact, must be exercised. This can
only be done through prayer and the study of the Word, the Bible. It is
literally taking God at His Word and acting upon it.
Faith grows through two main decisions
which the believer makes. One, to believe God's promises in spite of what may
appear to be evidence to the contrary. For example, if a person is unemployed
and needs a job, his responsibility is to pray in faith and ask God for
employment. Having done so, he should get up and go about seeking employment
with the confident expectation that he will receive it. He may not receive a
position at the first try, but he is not supposed to be discouraged and give up,
but keep trying, because God is in the process of molding him to His likeness by
strengthening his faith as he keeps trying. You see, it is important for him to
learn to talk to God and to develop that essential dialogue that has become the
hallmark of all dedicated followers of Christ. Through this process, he will
begin to understand and appreciate the way the Lord works, accept the
Spirit's direction in his life, and shortly he will receive the answer to his
prayer.
It is one of the tricks of the Deceiver, the Devil, to get
people to believe that God does not hear and answer prayer; that He is
remote, uncaring, and unconcerned with man's problems, or that He simply does
not exist. But God hears every sincere prayer. God hears the individual
the first time he prays and the answer to the prayer or the solution to
the problem is already prepared. The Bible says that God knows our needs
before we bring them to Him, but if He always gave and supplied before we asked,
why would we need faith? This would make Hebrews 11:6 null and void. God does
not contradict Himself.
The other decision through which faith grows is the
practice of expressing gratitude to God- simply saying thanks. It is the
personal experience of this writer that the continual expression of gratitude
brings me into contact with the divine form faster than any other means. When we
sincerely thank Him for all His goodness and blessings to us, God is glorified.
When we continually thank Him, we begin to practice His presence; then it
becomes easier to bring our wants and needs to Him and to "listen" to
Him. When we develop a time and place to meet Him and "talk" with Him,
faith will grow by leaps and bounds. The psalmist David understood the
importance of thanksgiving and praise. The Psalms 103-107 are especially
illustrative of this point.
Jesus said: "If you abide in Me and My words abide in
you, you may ask what you will and it shall be done unto you." (John 15:7)
In 1 John 5:14 He further declares: "This is the confidence that we have in
Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." God
wants us to have confidence in Him and to know that He is a loving Father who
cares for His children. Faith in God will take us from the place where we
can say, "I know what God will do", and not just, "I know
what He can do".
This article is © J. Edwards 2007
Faith and Prayer Pt. I
Most people in Christian countries have
either been taught to pray, learned to pray on their own, or heard that prayer
is the process of communicating with God. But how does one pray effectively? How
do you know that your prayer is reaching the ears of the Divine?
The Bible says that God hears the prayers of His children:
1John 5:14, Psalms 9:1-2, Isaiah 58:9. Yet some people find prayer a fruitless
and frustrating exercise. If God is kind-hearted and forgiving, why do some
people feel that their prayers only reach the ceiling of their room.
Hebrews 11:6 reminds us that who ever would come to God (and
faith is one of the simplest ways to come to God), he/she must first believe that He
(God) exists and that He will both hear and respond to anyone who diligently
seeks Him. In other words, the individual must search for God honestly and in
sincerity. The prophet Jeremiah assures us that we will find God when we search
for Him with all our hearts. The apostle James warns us that we cannot approach
God with doubts in our minds either of His existence, His power, or His love,
else we would receive nothing from the Lord; therefore we must ask in faith.
James 1:6-8.
Faith, then, is the most essential element in any contact or
relationship between the individual and God. Let us examine a few key elements
that must exist in the heart and mind of the individual for his prayer to be
effectual. First of all, effectual prayers are based upon the word of God. The
supplicant must understand that he is addressing the God of the universe who is
both omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. It is therefore of the utmost
importance that he/she prays according to God's will. On the other hand,
the supplicant must recognize that he/she is a sinner and does not know how to
pray effectively or even what to pray for. Again, the apostle James says that at
times we do not receive the things we pray for because our motives were not in
harmony with the will of God. James 4:3 Therefore, it behooves us to humble
ourselves before God when we pray because there is nothing about us that God
does not know. Therefore, we cannot pretend or dissemble. We must "come
clean" before Him.
Next, the supplicant must ask forgiveness for his sin; there
should be genuine repentance and a strong determination to repudiate the sin or
sins that so easily entraps him/her. Psalms 59:2 tells us that sin gets in the
way and breaks the communication between the individual and God.
Next, there must be an understanding of the role of the Holy
Spirit in this encounter. He is the go-between. He will take our feeble expressions
and breathe divine grace upon them and present them to God in language which would
be acceptable to God. At the same time, if the heart of the believer is open and
willing, the Holy Spirit will impress God's truth upon it and thus a
transforming process begins. It can truly be said that every encounter with the
Divine changes the individual.
Finally, the individual must believe that his/her prayer has
been heard and answered. Faith must now be exercised. The individual must arise
confident in the knowledge that God has heard and answered, and his/her task is
to await the fulfillment of the prayer. The fulfillment however maybe quite
different from what the supplicant had in mind.
More in Part II.
This article is © J. Edwards 2007