I am of the opinion that you can never talk about or study faith too much. As followers of Christ, our faith and belief in Him and His saving work is the foundation on which we base our lives. We have quite literally staked our eternal existence on the fact that Jesus Christ was and is the son of God and that if we believe with our hearts and confess with our mouths this truth that we shall be saved. This is the first step in our faith journey but it can not and must not be our last.
Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me. Psalm 66:20 (KJV)
It was God’s mercy that authored His salvation plan and the same mercy that is still available to us today. Just as the Psalmist said, because God is merciful He listens to our prayers and does not turn His face away from us when we call on Him. And that is the key component in the fueling of our faith.
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 (NASB)
John 15:5 is one of my favorite verses because it so plainly states how we can be successful and fruitful followers of Christ. Out of our faith comes our good works and our faith is sustained by abiding (staying) in Jesus. And we abide in Jesus through our prayers and time spent one on one with the Holy Spirit in meditation and adoration.
Our day should start in prayer and prayer should be our first response to trouble, to joy, to sorrow, to worry, to doubt, to danger and to most anything that comes our way. Proper prayer focuses our eyes and hearts on God who is able and who is strong to save. It is God who delivers us and God who provides the strength that we need to overcome. And most importantly, it is communion with the Spirit that provides the critical component in stoking the fires of our faith as we stay grounded and rooted in Him.
Prayer as a response must be practiced. It is not a natural human response. Unless we are taught and encouraged to pray without ceasing, we will wither on the vine and our faith will be weak and small. Even after salvation we will more likely resemble the lost and unsaved than the saints of God if we neglect time spent in prayer and study of God’s Word.
Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NASB)
Do you have a desire to grow your faith in God? Do you want to know Him better and be a larger and stronger force for good in your home? The place to start and the place to stay is in prayer and fellowship with the God who can provide all that we lack and so much more than we could ever ask or imagine.
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21 (NASB)