Pray For Faith

Pray for Faith

God has allotted to each a measure of faith. Romans 12:3, NASB

THE BIBLE EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE of faith time and again. God repeatedly told his servants to have faith and commended them when they stepped out boldly and trusted what he said. Jesus taught his followers often about faith, chastising them when they didn’t believe and urging them to believe more strongly. Salvation, answers to prayer, and Kingdom victories come through faith. It is a running theme—the dominant running theme, in terms of what God expects from us—throughout the pages of his Word.

Knowing that, shouldn’t we do everything we can to muster up more faith? If our prayers depend on it, then we want to strengthen it. But as much as we are encouraged simply to have faith, and as much as we long to be filled with it, we can’t just wish it into being. It has to grow. And before it grows, it has to be given. Faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8), a seed he plants within us, the substance of his Kingdom on earth. It’s the fundamental necessity of Kingdom life, and it has to originate with the King.

That’s why our first and biggest prayer each day should always be for stronger, deeper, greater faith. God has already given us the gift of faith, but this is no immutable, stagnant gift. It grows. Just as physical resistance exercises our muscles, the resistance of life exercises our faith. Our experiences and victories enlarge it. Over time, we take for granted things that were once a huge stretch for us. We become strong by believing more each day. And our prayers depend on that increase.

Many Christians spend long hours praying out of their fears and discouragements. Those prayers become significantly more powerful when filled with expectation and faith. If faith is the currency of God’s Kingdom, there’s hardly any point in praying without it. A vibrant, effective prayer life is saturated with faith, which comes not from our own psyche but from the God who grants it freely. Ask for that first in order to ask for everything else on your heart. The best way to increase the strength of your prayers is to ask for increasing confidence behind them.

Ask God to work faith in you, or you will remain forever without faith, no matter what you wish, say, or can do.