Simple Faith

QUESTION: Simple Faith - Having Joy, No Matter What Our Struggles Are

ANSWER:

Simple Faith – Insights from God’s Word
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. - Hebrews 11:6

Simple Faith – Submission to God
Prayer: Father, I reach out my hands this morning in submission to Your authority, and I confidently claim back the ground of my life that Satan has stolen. Prayerfully, I recognize the hand of my God reaching out from heaven and joining my prayers with His great power.

I cry out this morning as I recognize how so many lives could be changed if people would just simply return to a simple faith life. I cry out asking You to forgive us for the many times we have charged ahead fully confident in our own natural abilities to make things happen without pausing to seek Your Face on the subject. We seem to have drifted so far from simply trusting Jesus. Our churches are ripe, fertile fields waiting for the Presence of our King to impact their lives, and they are instead being crippled by their inability to fully trust in Jesus to do what He says He will do. We are so fearful as human beings of giving up control that we sell out our lives to a lukewarm faith when You wait to give each child of God a personal encounter with Yourself.

I cry out for Your Body to be restored from a sleeping, lukewarm posture, and transformed into a giant army of passionate, refined fire Christians -- no longer willing to settle for less, but resolutely determined to seek all You have to give them. When You identify pride as the culprit, I ask You to replace it with humility -- when You see ego and selfish ambition, I ask You to replace it with the attitude of a servant’s heart.

Lord, I know that many who will pray this prayer are going through incredible difficulties right now, so I ask You to let them see that it is precisely these difficulties that You will use to harden them like iron to be used for Your kingdom purposes. You no longer will accept a shallow, lukewarm Body to prevail in Your church. As some wise man once said, we should seek out the great treasures of Your wisdom to be found in the storms and trials of our lives.

Thank You, Jesus, that Your greatest treasures are still waiting for Your kids to claim them. Thank You that with every test we pass, we grow stronger and more able to stand against the storms of our lives. I acknowledge that You are testing us, purifying us, and getting us ready to rule with You as joint heirs. Thank You that we can begin right now, this morning, to unravel the bondages that hold us back by helping us to recognize the power of faith. A simple faith is a faith that tells us that peace is available to us even in the midst of disaster, and that joy can be found no matter what our struggles.

Thank You that You are waiting to give us a bold faith that uses the patterns of our lives to redirect our focus and to grow us into warriors for Christ. Thank You that even when we fail, You will meet us at that juncture of our lives, and use that failure to make us over into people who choose humility -- who choose perseverance as their path. Help all who pray this prayer to recognize the power of simple faith, so that their lives can be used to impact the destinies of nations. You promise us that if we desire faith, You will grant us our request.

I ask You to give those who seek a simple faith, the joy and peace that surpasses all human understanding. Make them true witnesses of a surrendered life dedicated to picking up their crosses daily and follow You. Spill out on the world the living water of faith through their lives, and as they become overflowing believers, use their lives to reflect the truth of Your gospel and restore and reconcile the lost and dying of this world through their ministry of faith.

Simple Faith – Making it Personal
Reflect: The path of faith is the only path worth walking. Any other path often ends up in detours and even disasters. The Lord waits for His people to respond to Him in faith, and when they do, bondages and blindings begin to disappear, and in their place joy and peace reign. At one time or another most of us struggle with faith. The good news is that God can work in those times of struggles to grow our faith deeper -- if we are open to receive from Him. If you sense a veil in place over your faith life, ask Him to remove it and keep persevering in prayer. Soon you will be breathing His fresh air and all the oxygen you need for fuel will be given to you.