The Divine Gift of Faith

Faith is a gift of God. We don’t conjure faith up. Ephesians  2:8-9 states, “By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Faith is supernaturally given to us when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. 

Now, faith is a powerful gift from God. Jesus tells us in Matthew 17:20-21 that a very small amount of faith can move mountains. And, in Mark 11:24, faith is directly tied to answered prayers: “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours.” 

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve struggled in the past with unanswered prayers. I’ve always chalked up unanswered prayers up to one of two things or both: 

1. I don’t have enough faith (James 1:6)

2. I’m asking for the wrong reasons, as James tells us in (James 4:3)

Both of these reasons for unanswered prayers are true, but they don’t have to be. In other words, there’s something you can actually do about it. 

So, it turns out that answered prayers have conditions. I’m about to reveal something that could increase your faith exponentially and rock your world, because you will begin to see your prayers answered. 

My wife and I are walking through the most difficult storm we’ve ever walked through together. She is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The good news is that God is also in the midst of the storm with us, teaching me and guiding me. One morning a few weeks ago I was feeling terribly desperate and alone. I didn’t know what to do or where to go. My wife’s decline was rearing its ugly head, and I was feeling overwhelmed! At 8:00 every morning, the verse of the day from my Bible app pops up and says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you” from Psalm 32:8.

This was a pretty miraculous morning for me, and I don’t have room in this article to share everything. But here are some truths God walked me through that morning. I’ve listed the verses with the questions I asked God as we walked:

Lord, where do I go from here? John 15:7 says, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

How do I abide in you? It is written in John 15:10  that, “If you keep my Commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my father’s commandments and abide in his love.”  1 John 3:24 states, “Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God and God in him.” 

What are your commandments? “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” Jesus goes on to say, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, and so that whatever you ask in my name, the Father will give you” (John 15:12, 16).

Jesus is saying that as long as you’re showing fruit, God is gonna answer your prayers. Jesus also said that in order to bear fruit you have to stay connected to him. And in order to stay connected to him you have to obey his commands. 

Again, in verse 17, Jesus reminds them of his command to love one another. 

So, I didn’t really need to ask him what His commandments were because—at this point—I could tell where God was taking me. I quickly turned to Matthew 22. A lawyer had just asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was. Jesus answered:

Love the Lord your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.

Without these two commandments taking top priority in your life, everything you do in the name of Jesus will be nothing more than a clanging cymbal (1 Corinthians 13:1). Everything—everything!—hangs on these two commandments. Love is what took Jesus to the cross, and love is what defeated Satan. Love never fails! 

Loving God and loving your neighbor are so intertwined that you can’t have one without the other. Look at what 1 John 3:17 tells us: “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” So, loving your neighbor is actually evidence that you love God! 

You’re probably thinking, “what does this have to do with faith?” Please stay with me, it’s coming! 

I was getting excited because I knew God was about to reveal a truth to me that would get me through this storm and come out of it much stronger and wiser! 

As I pondered the verses God had walked me through, my level of anxiety started to subside. My level of confidence in what I was hoping for (what to do and where to go for counsel in this terrible storm we’re in) began to rise! By the end of that morning, I couldn’t wait to share what God had revealed to me. 

This sums it up:

Keith, as you love your neighbor on a daily basis, as you serve others as I did when I washed the disciples’ feet, you will begin to bear fruit. You will begin to hear my instructions and understand my teaching. Your prayers will be answered, and—as a result—your faith in who I am and what I can do will greatly increase!

Since that morning, God has been teaching me how to love my neighbor and putting opportunities to do so in front of me. It’s incredible how this works. Our neighbors are whoever God puts in front of us as we go through life every day. It’s people in our circles of influence. I’ve never realized how powerful loving people can be and how simply loving your brother and sister can increase your faith! 

Go love somebody today! And remember this: faith in our Creator is a lifestyle, not an event!