Do you believe?

September 17, 2008 · Filed Under faith/believe 

There is one area in my journey with God that has really changed how I pray and how I respond to God. Faith.

In the New Testament, the Greek word often translated as “faith” is pistis. Interestingly, the Greek word often translated as “believe” is pisteuo. The Greek words are the same, except one is a noun (pistis) and one is a verb (pisteuo), but it’s the same word.

In my journey, I have found faith/belief to be essential to the Christian walk. And conversely, I have found that our greatest enemy is not the devil, but our unbelief. He is defeated. His power and authority has been stripped away at the Cross. But, we must believe in order to reclaim our authority.

Ask yourself a simple question, “What do you really believe?” When you pray for peace, or strength, or victory over some bondage or fear, do you believe? I mean really believe?

We say we believe, but in all honesty, I’m not sure we do. We probably just hope. Read these scriptures and see how faith/belief empowers our prayers:

    Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I assure you that you can say to this mountain, ‘May God lift you up and throw you into the sea,’ and your command will be obeyed. All that’s required is that you really believe and do not doubt in your heart. Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it” (Mark 11:22-24).

    “It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

We’ve got to believe. When we pray, beg and plead with God about something, and then don’t believe he will answer, we’re like a wave tossed about by the sea:

    “But when you ask [God], be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:6, 7).

Look at your prayer life. When you pray, do you “really believe and not doubt in your heart”? Or, do you struggle with unbelief? Do you have thoughts like, “God won’t answer my prayers. I’m too much of a sinner. It hasn’t worked in the past. Why pray?”

Do you realize that unbelief limits the power of God to work in our lives? Check out one of the most amazing scriptures regarding faith:

    “Because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any mighty miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief” (Mark 6:5, 6b).

Did you catch that? “He couldn’t do any mighty miracles.” It’s not that he wouldn’t. He couldn’t. He was limited. His hands were tied. His power was limited. Why? They didn’t believe. And Jesus “was amazed at their unbelief.”

Over the next few weeks, I hope to share more in this area, including some of my experiences (and failures) regarding faith.

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