Faith

It seems that the topic of faith continues to come up in things I read, conversation that I have with people, and things that I've been thinking about recently. What pleases God most is our faith in Him, faith in who He says He is, faith in His Word. Where does this faith come from? Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). How does hearing God's word bring about faith? Let's say Jesus came to earth but never reveals anything about what's going to happen (his death, resurrection, etc), then when those things did happen, people can just attribute it to anything they wanted. I find it interesting that in John 11:41-43 when Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, Jesus prayed, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent me." Jesus didn't need to ask for things aloud, but He did in order that those who heard may believe! And in John 14:29, Jesus says to His disciples, "And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe." What this shows me is that He will reveal to us things that will happen, that we may believe when we hear His Word, and when the things come to pass, our faith is increased (Phil has given this the term 'building a track record with God').

It is so important to be able to hear the voice of the Lord, otherwise how will we build up our faith? If we aren't believing God for something that He's revealed to us, then when it happens, it could be attributed to chance, luck, some 'force' in the universe, karma, good deeds, or we wouldn't even attribute it to anything. Hearing the voice of God is also crucial to knowing what to pray for! Jesus says in John 15:7 (if you haven't noticed, I've been reading John, haha), "If you abide in Me, and my Words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you." It's a conditional promise, IF we abide in Him, AND IF His Words abide in us. When that relationship between us and God is there, our desire is aligned with His desire, so that whatever we ask for is also aligned with His will. Jesus says in John 16:13, "When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth ... He will tell you things to come." So in essence, when we hear the Holy Spirit, certain expectations and desires are placed in our hearts, and we pray according to those expectations and desires, which are already aligned with God's will, and so OF COURSE THEY WILL BE FULFILLED! Isn't that awesome??!! Of course, the 'hard' part is hearing correctly and knowing that we're hearing correctly.

When I was first saved, I remember praying for things and only half believing that those prayers would be answered, due to the unlikely circumstances that I saw with my physical eyes. But you know what? God still honored the tiny amount of faith that I had, and I received the thing that I am most thankful for three years later. Now, there are still plenty of times when I ask for certain things, and I'm not sure if they are just of my own desires or if they are aligned with God's desires, but I guess it's a work in progress, and will continue to be one. It's interesting that when God answers my prayers, I am SO excited and almost surprised. I was talking to my sister yesterday and we were talking about how a lot of times we ask for things, and then months or years pass by and we forgot that we had even asked for it, and then one day, we realize that He answered our prayers, and in many instances, in a way that we never expected! I really think sometimes God is laughing at how silly and childish we are. It's like He's thinking, 'I'm not only going to answer your prayer, but I am going to do it in a way that you never even thought of!' I think He has a great sense of humor. And He must know all the silly scenarios that I've thought of in my limited mind of how things might happen, haha.

So is there a point to this blog entry? I'm not quite sure. I guess it's an encouragement to myself and hopefully to others who read this, that God loves us unconditionally and He keeps His Word. It's important to know His voice and when we hear the Holy Spirit, to expect and pray and believe in peace, joy and patience.