As I was reading my Bible this morning, I was again reminded of the importance Jesus placed on faith. Our personal salvation begins with the grace given to us through the faith given to us (Romans 12:3). And without faith, it is impossible to please God. Through faith, we gain access to God (Hebrews 11:6).
“When faith ceases to pray, it ceases to live.”
– A.C. Dixon
Jesus Cares About Our Faith
Through faith, our prayers do the impossible because God comes into the need through faith (Mark 6:5). Nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37). To understand just how much importance Jesus places on faith, He said, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24) The prayer of faith aligns us with the inescapable will of God, and by God’s will, mountains are moved. (Matthew 21:21). This doesn’t mean faith changes God’s will, but it does mean that God wants us to use the faith He has given us; faith gives us the ear of God (Matthew 7:7).
So important is faith that Jesus said to Peter, “but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail…” (Luke 22:32). At a time that would test the Apostle Peter perhaps more than any other time, the concern of Jesus for Peter was that Peter’s “faith may not fail.” It was Peter’s faith that needed guarding. And when Jesus spoke of His return to Earth after His ascension, Christ’s first concern was, “I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:8)”
The Purpose of Faith
The purpose of the faith of a believer is to enable us to enter into the work God is doing.
By faith, the Spirit of Truth leads us into the unknown. We enter by the name of a Man we’ve not seen, whose greatness we cannot comprehend, to do a work that is not ours, by abilities we don’t possess, so our Father may glorify His One and Only Son.
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