Confident Faith
By Heather Hanton
Confident Faith
How is your faith today? Do you have confident faith? Would you say you are filled up from worship this past Sunday? Or maybe you are struggling a little bit today because of various things that have happened recently or that you are facing today or this week.
What does the Bible say about faith?
Hebrews 11:6 – And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
Romans 10:17 – So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ
Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
2 Cor. 5:7 – For we live by believing and not by seeing.
Proverbs 3:5 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart
James 1:5-6 – If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.
Do you remember the book series Chicken Soup for the Soul? I had one of the books and I’ll admit, for the time, I liked it. It was filled with little inspirational stories and even nuggets of truth.
One story that I read has never left me to this day. It was about a little community who was facing a terrible season of drought. They were a farming community who relied heavily on their agriculture to sustain them financially and for their own tables. But for this season, it hadn’t rained in weeks. So the pastor of the town asked that everyone meet in one of the grain fields to pray for rain. He also asked that everyone bring their symbols of faith. So on that day, the entire town gathered in the grain field with their Bibles, their crosses, their prayer beads, their shawls, etc. And there in the crowd was one little girl who brought an umbrella.
I love that story! That little girl was like, “I believe that it’s going to rain today because we are praying for it!” That’s confident faith!
Oh to have the child-like faith to just believe it!
Jesus said in Matthew 17 that if we have faith even the size of a tiny mustard seed, we can move mountains!
What are you praying for today that you need to bring your umbrella as a symbol of confident faith? Maybe you need a miracle today. Maybe you’re praying for victory over sin, or healing; or reconciliation; deliverance; or to get through the next few hours of work or school; or for the next 5 minutes or even just for the next breath.
Don’t be afraid to pray. Ask God for what you need. He already knows but He wants to hear from you! Increase your faith by praying!
Also, God speaks to us through His Word so dig into the Scriptures. This also increases our faith.
Pray with confident faith – trusting that God hears and answers our prayers in His perfect will and time.
Heather Hanton
Media and Ministries Specialist
The Salvation Army Central Territory
Women’s Ministries Department