Finding Faith In God and Keeping It 

by Angie Lewis

I want to gain more faith and trust in God.
How can I do that? 
Sometimes it is hard to stay  faithful to the Lord, especially when we hear and see so many dreadful events happening around the world. But it is at these times when we really need to seek out What God wants for us! Our minds should always stay on Him if we want to remain faithful and trusting in Him. We do this by constantly reminding ourselves that God is our source! He is the source for everything under the sun. When we submit to this fact, staying faithful isn't as hard as it seems.  

Where do we find faith? 
Faith is found in places where one can not look with the eyes. Faith is a feeling we generate through our knowledge of God and His son Jesus Christ. Faith is derived through complete trust and confidence in God that He knows what is best for us. We bring faith into our lives by using the power of it through our convictions and beliefs. This is where our faith becomes an action. We act on our faith everyday. When we allow Christ to direct our lives for us instead of doing things our own way, we are acting on our Faith. When we put our trust in Him as our Lord and Savior we are being faithful. Faith becomes more apparent in our lives when we are constant with our prayer and daily living and through obeying His words and listening to the Holy Spirit within us. 


I pray all the time, but nothing ever happens!
Though God hears our prayers, they may not get answered the way we think they should. We expect immediate results and when we do not see those results, we are less faithful. Pretty soon we stop praying and thinking about God for our needs. We don't think God hears us or doesn't care. But God cares a lot about our personal well being; that is why He sent His son to us in Spirit. 
Having full trust in God is knowing that He knows what is best for us. That is why prayers do not get answered the way we want. God answers our prayers in the way He wants, because that is what is best for us.  Maybe we are doing something that God disagrees with and so through our prayers, God answers in a way that we'll get us to see our erring ways. God steps in when we pray and He hears our cries and sorrow. If we have faith enough in Him that He will take care of us, then He will answer our prayers. Do not expect an outcome right away and do not expect the outcome to be to your every satisfaction either. We have to realize that God's ways are for a purpose and we cannot interfere with His plans for us. 

We can stay faithful in His purpose for us  through the understanding of how God works through the Christian's life. All we need to know is that God is our source and He knows what is best for our lives. Therefore what we must do is always seek His will for our lives when praying. We cannot pray selfishly for things we want. If we love God with all our heart, mind and soul, Then we already have everything we need. We should learn to pray for others who are hurting and need help in understanding the wisdom of their creator. 

Sometimes I just don't feel very faithful. What is wrong with me? 
If some of you are lacking in faith it is because you have stopped pursuing God's word.  Staying faithful is an ongoing matter. Submitting to the will of God is a lifestyle and a new way of living. It is following Jesus Christ and becoming a new person in Him. It is learning to live for Jesus Christ instead of for ourselves.  If we break this divine pattern of living that God has given us and step out on self directed wisdom and knowledge, we will err, and lose sight of what is real and what is the truth. We don't have faith because we have forgotten about God.
     Participating in Church services on Sunday is not enough to keep the faith. We must humble ourselves to Him at all times, and in all things, and let Him decide what is best for us in all things. Trusting in Him to do this for you brings you more faith. 

We need to study the Bible daily, and we should never stop praying for what God wants for us in our lives. Too many times we pray out of selfishness and ask of God those things which WE WANT. This is why prayers are not answered. We wonder what all this faith stuff is about since our prayers are not being met. But God does not work like this. His plan for us is no our plan for us. 
     And so understand, it is only when we already have faith in Him is when we stop praying selfishly, and ask God what He wants. It's a new way of life, instead of living for ourselves, we live for God.
     Faith is a tool that God gives us because He wants us to use it for our salvation. He has gifted us with the ability to put our complete trust and faith in Him.

When we do not utilize the gift of faith we are imprisoned within our sins, and choked by our selfish desires that we know is wrong. God knows that we are prisoners to weakness, and that is why He has provided a way for us to escape this way of life. It is only through our faith in Jesus Christ that we begin to live not for ourselves, but for God. Without Jesus everyone would be lusting after their selfish desires and holding hands with Satan. But by placing our faith in Jesus we come out of the bondage of sin and begin living God's desire for us. 

Two words can best describe faith, sure and certain. Having faith has two parts. The first part is believing in God's character. God is who He says He is! The second part is believing in His promise for us. He will do what He says!  When we believe that God will fulfill His promise for us without even seeing those promises materialize yet, we surely have true faith.