What is Faith in God?
For every person on this earth, there is an opinion regarding most things, and Faith is no exception. There are many opinions regarding the truth about what “Faith in God” is, but is there only one opinion that really matters? Can we have faith in God without knowing what His opinion is?
Let’s look at how we can know, without any doubt that we have faith in God and faith that really makes all the difference.
The key to what faith in God is
How can we find what “faith in God”, really is? We can do this by staying focussed on God’s opinion only, and not being distracted by other viewpoints.
Your bible is God speaking to you. God says, “Faith Comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” Romans 10v17, so any faith that you receive that’s true faith will come from God’s documented opinion on the subject.
This is your starting point in understanding what Faith in God is, so wear out your bible, other sources are irrelevant in comparison.
So What exactly is Faith?
Hebrews 11 v1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of the things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality”. Faith perceives as fact what is not revealed to the senses. Faith is tangible but is not visible.
God spoke into the darkness and said, “Light be” and the Spirit of God took the substance of Gods tangible faith and the physical visible world was formed.
God intends for us to use this faith, and make that which is presently not visible and make it visible to the natural eye.
Gods opinion is the key because God’s words are filled with His creative power, they are alive and powerful, Hebrews 4v12 says, “For the word that God speaks is alive and full of power; it is sharper than any two-edged sword”.
God’s word spoken in faith, releases spiritual power to produce a faith that can be seen and touched.
Without this kind of faith we can’t please God, Hebrews 11v6 says, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”
Is our faith enough to receive from God? You simply have to believe that God really exists and that He will reward you as you seek after Him.
If we choose to believe what God says about a subject, then we can know that we have “Faith in God”. If we doubt or want to believe something different then we can also know that this is not “Faith in God”.
Theological Hang-ups
How do we stop ourselves from getting hung up with theological ideas that might not be helpful?
Look at Luke 11v2: “And He said to them, When you pray, say: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven“.
Ask the question, is this issue in heaven? Is there any sickness in heaven? Are there any financial problems in heaven? Ask if the problem or need is in heaven. If it’s not in heaven then you don’t need to suffer it here on earth.
If you desire faith in God then we should avoid theological ideas that are not confirmed in the bible. Faith wants to know what God thinks about a subject and acts only once this is known.
Faith in God knows the Bible is our only source, Jeremiah 1v12 says, “I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it”, God only watches His word, and will only act according to His word, nothing else, so we can trust Gods promises and ignore other theological ideas.
Receive by Faith in God.
To receive anything from God you must have faith and to have faith you must first know that something is His will, if you don’t know that it’s God’s will for you to be healed for example then you can’t pray in faith, because Faith Comes by hearing God’s word (Romans 10v17).
We must believe it, confess it and receive it. When you made Jesus the Lord of your life, you believed, confessed and received the greatest miracle of a reborn spirit, all other miracles you receive will come this way too.
Start by believing what God says and let this truth change your heart and mind. We can’t know what to believe without spending time in the word, we can only confess with our mouths this word. For our prayers to be answered, we must believe in our hearts and say with our mouths before we can receive.
Continue to receive Faith from the bible “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10v17). Take your faith and draw on the power of God.
Some people say that sometimes it’s God’s will and someone it’s not God’s will. Is this faith? But the will of God is already determined, we know, “Faith comes from hearing the word of God”, and shows us what is or what is not faith. The Bible is His will, if you don’t know His will, you can’t have Faith, and so you can’t receive His promises.
Prisoners of war have been found still locked up many years after the war had ended, no one had told them that they were free, so they didn’t know until somebody came and told them. God tells us in John 8v32: “And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free”.
Or you can say, “the truth that you know will set you free”, because God says in Hosea 4v6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”, so only when you know God’s truth can know you are free.
God’s word never asks you to beg for God’s blessings, but to simply receive. To beg God, is not faith, simply receive by believing what God has already promised? Great Faith knows what God has said and knows it’s His will and believes.
Don’t allow yourself to consider or think about a bad report, think about what God says instead. Great Faith is whatever God says about your situation. Consider the good report of what God has said, believe what God says, and you have faith in God.
Your faith in God will enable you to receive, reach out in faith, believe, confess and receive today.
Speak Faith
How can we know we have Faith? How can we know we truly trust and believe what God has documented and said in the bible?
One way we can know is by listening to the words that come out of our mouths, do our words agree with God’s opinion or do our words reveal doubt or unbelief?
John 15v7 says, “If you live in me and my words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you” … Wow!
Jesus spoke to the fruitless fig tree and said, “May no one ever eat your fruit again!” (Mark 11v14) and what He said happened: The fig tree withered and died.
When the disciples asked Jesus about what happened to the fig tree, He told them they should do the same, that anyone who will speak believing his words, will have whatever they say.
Real faith is a speaking faith that creates, in Mark 11v23 it says you can speak to the mountain and tell it to move. “Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, be lifted up and thrown into the sea and does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him”.
God’s power is released when you speak His word in faith, as we see in Proverbs 18v21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it”.
When you ask God for something, and you know what you are asking for is His documented will, then you can take it, and believe that you have it, the moment you ask.
Then you can thank Him. If you’ve received then be thankful, there’s no need to beg and plead for God to give you what you asked because He has said, “You have what you asked for” so take it by saying, “thank you.
Great faith needs developing, and it needs action. To have Faith in God you have to be totally committed to God’s word. Heaven and earth will pass away but the word of God will never pass away (Matthew 24:35).
Feelings that mislead.
One day you feel like you are on the mountaintop, the next day you feel like you are in the valley. Taking notice of your feelings can lead to many mistakes.
If I base my faith on how I feel or even what I see or experience then how can I be sure this is real Faith in God? We have to be able to confirm what we see or feel with what we know is God’s opinion.
We must look to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, Hebrews 12v2 says: “Looking away to Jesus, who is the leader and the source of our faith and is also its finisher. He for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God”.
The way that you look to Jesus is by looking into the word. The word and Jesus are one, look at what the word says accept it just as if Jesus was standing there in the flesh speaking it directly to you because that’s exactly what He is doing, that’s great advice, isn’t it?
Jesus said, blessed are those that believe but have not seen, John 20v29, “Blessed and happy and to be envied are those who have never seen me and yet have believed and adhered to and trusted and relied on me”. So if you’ve never seen or experienced physically what the bible is promising you will happen, yet you believe anyway, God says, “you are blessed” and you can know that you have faith in God.
If Jesus himself walked up to you put his hand on your head and prayed for you, would you then have Faith in God.
What would Jesus say? What would his words be? We can know what Jesus would say because it’s documented in the Bible. Jesus would say, the same words that He has already said, he would say, ” it’s done, believe and receive, right now”.
Believing is acting and vice versa if you don’t believe you won’t act on what you are believing.
It doesn’t matter what you think about a subject once you find out what the Bible thinks. Faith in God says, “This is the truth”, and becomes what you think.
When God has already revealed in His documented word, what He thinks about any issue, simply believe and you can know you have, Faith in God.
Conclusion
Do you commit to keeping your focus on what God says about your situation and believe it? Now speak it, “I choose to believe the word of God, I have faith in God”.
You’ll notice yourself beginning to expect your breakthrough to happen, your dream is now becoming hope, not the same as a “wish”, which is the world’s counterfeit of hope, but an intense expectation that what you’ve believed for is happening, right now.
Your faith is now seeing what is already done in the spirit world and is transferring to the natural world, where you will see it with your natural eyes.
Start right where you are, you might think what you have is small but when mixed with faith in God, that’s big.
When you take God’s powerful creative words into your heart, mix them with faith and speak them with authority, God and you, His covenant partner work together to bring His will into the earth, as it is in heaven.
Roy Clayton.
