"So Jesus answered and said unto them, 'Have faith in God."
Mark 11:22
Billy Graham wrote, "Faith must have an object. We don't simply have faith, we have faith in something or someone. Faith in 'faith' is meaningless." Jesus taught His disciples to have faith in God. A woman was discussing her prayer life with her pastor. She said, "I'm afraid that my faith is not enough to have a strong prayer life." The pastor responded, "It's not how much faith that we have. It's who we have our faith in that counts. A little faith in a great God is more than enough." Jesus taught that if we have faith "as a grain of mustard seed," that we can remove mountains. That's another way of saying, that a small faith in a great God can do all things.
It takes faith to please God (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is both a gift of God and a manifestation of the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 12:9; 13:13). God not only requires faith, but He also provides faith. He gives the measure of faith to each person as needed (Romans 12:3). We receive that faith through the Spirit of God, according to the word of God (Romans 10:17). When we quench or resist the Holy Spirit, our faith grows weaker. When we yield and obey the Holy Spirit, according to the word of God, our faith grows stronger.
Do you want a stronger faith? It is available as a gift from God. It is focused upon God through Christ. As we confess our sins that have hindered the Holy Spirit working in us, God is more than able to give us the faith to do His will. Then, we have faith from God to have faith in God. Therefore, we give Him all the glory. Having faith in God is not about trying harder, it's about trusting God to work in us far exceedingly more than we could ask or think, according to the power which works in us (Ephesians 3:20).
Prayer: Father, work in us through the Holy Spirit, that we may have faith to please You, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
