The Bible in Matthew 17:14-21 says
14 And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. 16 So I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
17 Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” 18 And Jesus prebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”
20 So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21 However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Do not expect to receive anything from God if you lack faith in Him; the fulfillment of all His promises for your life is based on the level of your faith in Him. God does not like people sitting on the fence, either you are with Him or against Him. The Bible says, “Without faith, it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is God, and a re-warder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6)
Most people do not have an idea what of faith is. We talk about it, claim it, write about it, but seldom walk in it. The sad thing is that we think we are living by faith. What is faith? , faith means “to trust, to have confidence in”
The Bible defined faith as the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)
It is in human nature to doubt, and doubt has been the bases of our little faith or total lack of faith. What happened to Peter the disciple in Matthew 14:25-31 illustrated the effect of doubt on our relationship with God.
25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the disciples saw Him kwalking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.
27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, 3“Be of good lcheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”
28 And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
29 So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw 5that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of mlittle faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
Peter doesn’t begin to sink until he starts looking around at the wind and the waves. Taking our eyes off Jesus, and focusing on the difficult circumstances will cause us to get under our problems, and allow doubt to creep into our heart.
How do we build up our faith?
Reading the Bible: Why on earth would you ever trust a God you do not know? To know God is to know His word. An excellent way to build your faith in God is reading the bible; learning all about the wonderful promises he has in-store for your life.
Hearing the word of God: Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”. Some might disagree with that. Paul, an apostle asked this question to the churches of Galatia, Galatians 3:2 “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” The question supports the fact that hearing the word of God affects our faith. There is no how you will constantly expose yourself to the word of God with an open heart that your spirit and that of God will not become one.
Pray: Prayer is a two-way conversation with God. It is not a ritual reserved only for the clergy. Prayer is for everyone. In prayer all you have to do is open your heart and share it with God. He truly cares about every aspect of your life.
Fasting: The purpose of fasting should be to take your eyes off the things of this world to focus completely on God. Fasting is a way to demonstrate to God, and to ourselves, that we are serious about our relationship with Him. Fasting helps us gain a new perspective and a renewed reliance upon God.
Forsake the not the assembly: Fellowshipping with fellow Christian will strength your faith, when I newly received Jesus Christ it was the testimony and word of knowledge I heard in church that helped me build my faith in God.
Resolve: Jesus said “Whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is not always convenient or easy. Distractions will always come, despite the constant overloads of life; you have to make-up your mind to follow Jesus Christ no matter the cost.
Endurance: The bible tells us that the winners of life’s race are men and women who keep going against all odds. The journey of life is filled with twist and turns, it is Unfortunate, most people are swept away by the storms of this life. Therefore, I urge you today to not give-up or give-in to life’s setbacks. No matter what you are facing make it a point to stay in the race.
Consistency: The human condition is inconsistent. Consistency means to exhibit regularity in your thoughts, actions and behaviors even when you do not feel like it. For example, it is important to read your bible, pray, trust God, and govern yourself according to the word of God even when you do not feel like it.
Patience: We as God’s children often throw temper tantrums when we do not get our way, not realizing that God never comes late, He knows the best time to give you what asked for. Remember God is a loving father not a magician.
Obedience: Each day we live represents a new opportunity for us to be better than the day before. In order to seize the endless possibilities available for us in God, we must learn to obey the word of God wholeheartedly. When we obey God we activate our faith and open a door for God’s power to manifest in our lives. God wants to bless us but, the prerequisite is always obedience.
Remember all you need, is for your faith to be small as a mustard seed and you can move mountains
