HH, Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div [wpedon id=”36898″]
KEY SEVEN: HAVE FAITH IN GOD
The more you drink in of the Bible, the more deeply you will realize the importance of faith.
“Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
So you cannot please God without real faith. And, generally speaking, the Bible makes it clear that God will not hear and answer your prayers unless you come to Him in faith:
“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.” (James 1:6–7).
Like the other keys we have examined, building faith is accomplished by truly surrendering to let Jesus Christ live His life in you through the Holy Spirit!
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17).
So all of us need to constantly read the Bible, and drink in the examples of faith and obedience set by the great men and women of God. In this way, we “feed” on Jesus Christ (John 6:57). We come to think like He thinks, wants what He wants. And, through the Holy Spirit, He increasingly lives within us as we grow spiritually. Thus united with Christ, we can have total confidence that God the Father will hear our prayers. And this absolute, unwavering confidence in God is what faith is!
Note carefully this vital teaching of Jesus Christ with respect to prayer and faith:
“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” (Mark 11:22–24).
By continually drinking in of the Bible and praying for faith, you will find that your faith will increase more and more. Understand that living faith is produced by God’s Holy Spirit within us (Galatians 5:22–23). And Jesus said:
“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13).
God wants to give you these things if you humbly ask for them. So pray to Him continually to give you the faith you need. Learn to believe in the promises of God. Learn to believe that God is real—that He has perfect wisdom, perfect love and perfect power. Realize that He will keep all His promises! Learn to imitate Abraham, the father of the faithful (Romans 4:16), for he “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.” (Romans 4:20–21). This is real faith. This is the attitude you must have to receive genuine answers to your prayers.
