Practical Ways to develop your faith in Christ
Have you ever read a Bible story and said, “How can a human achieve so much?” I have felt that way time and time again. The expression of faith by Abraham in His willingness to sacrifice Isaac leaves me drooling with admiration.
I find encouragement from the request of the father of a possessed lad. Jesus had told him clearly that faith was a prerequisite to miracles (Mark 9:23) and he earnestly desired that his son be healed. Just like me, he looked to himself and saw a lack. On his own, he couldn’t muster up enough faith to bring the desired results. He responded, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” (vs 24).
If you’re feeling the same way at the moment I have good news for you. We don’t have to be stagnant in our Christian experience we can grow in our faith and relationship with Christ.
The Role of God’s Word
Roman’s 10:17 says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. We need to immerse ourselves in the scripture and hear God’s word for ourselves. As we read or listen to the principles and stories of faith in scripture by beholding we steadily become changed.
The time spent in entertainment, pursuing a livelihood, or fulfilling our personal duties to our families should not choke us at the expense of quality time with God. It is impossible to grow faith if our ears are not inclined to hear God’s words.
We are not to read the Bible the same way we read fictional books. We are to personalize the lessons in scripture and see them as God speaking to us directly. Thus, we get to understand and appreciate what God expects from us, how He expects us to respond in various situations, and how we can consistently please Him.
As humans, we are prone to forget and for that reason scripture memorization is key. By putting Bible verses in our hearts we provide for the mind a database of scripture to refer to when challenged, tempted, or in need.
Put Your Faith into Practice
According to the words of James, faith, if it does not have works), by itself is destitute of power. (James 2:17). We build our faith by putting it into practice in our actions. As we read and learn lessons from the Bible we are to apply it to real circumstances we face. We must not shy away from tough situations like leadership roles or jobs that try our patience. These are opportunities to gym our “faith muscles” and put the word of God to pass.
There may be moments of failure and moments of success but remember that the righteous man falls seven times but rises back to his feet (Proverbs 24:16).
God promises to give us daily the strength we need and we must not fail to ask for it. Like the father of the possessed child, we must plunge fully into the divine presence of God daily and ask for a deeper experience, a solid faith in Christ.