Faith. We hear so much about it, but what exactly is it? Faith is your belief. Not what you think, not how you feel about something, not what you are pondering, it is pure belief. It is past the mind and emotions, and down in your heart (while you may think a certain way or have certain emotions because of your faith).
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1
Faith is very much a supernatural force. It is what moves and manifests things from the spirit realm, into the earth realm. You must be a Christian to have access to the power of God, Jesus has to be your Lord for you to use his name. This is an account of some men who attempted to cast out an evil spirit who were not Christians. They said, “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth” and this is what happened:
And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Acts 9:15-16
Before we get into HOW faith works, we need to be aware that we can use our faith in the wrong way even as Christians. This is a separate topic in itself, but in brief summary, you cannot ask for things contrary to God’s word. If you try to use these spiritual laws to do that, then you are operating outside of the kingdom of heaven (which would mean you are in agreement with the kingdom of darkness).
That being said, you need to know what God’s word says, because there are many people that think certain things are wrong to pray and believe for when they are not. Contrary to some false teachings out there; God does not want you sick (for any reason ever), he does not want you broke, etc. God also loves us beyond what we can fathom, he has no problem with all the material type things we like or want so that concept is ridiculous (he just doesn’t want those things coming before him or taking his place on your priority list).
Jesus Teaches On Miracle Manifestation
A very common account that demonstrates faith is found in Mark 11. Jesus is with his disciples and the text says Jesus was hungry. He sees a fig tree, however when he gets to it, there are leaves but no figs.
And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.
Mark 11:14
Notice Jesus spoke to the fig tree. Then the text continues in verse 20:
And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
Mark 11:20-24
Now this is extremely powerful and gives us a lot of points to look at regarding a miracle or supernatural occurrence and how such things actually happen (manifest) in the earth realm.
- Jesus shows us the example and he didn’t ask or beg God to cause the fig tree to die, he just commanded it too. If your prayers even remotely sound like you are begging God, you aren’t using the spiritual law of faith correctly. Some may say he was able to do that because he was Jesus, but Jesus explicitly states later in the chapter shown here what we are able to do and does not instruct us to ask God to do anything. (Jesus is using the power of God in him, and he is telling us to do the same thing.)
- Jesus spoke what he wanted to happen, and he instructed them to do the same. Read it again, and notice where Jesus said the words “say” and “saith”.
- The first thing Jesus tells his disciples to do is “Have faith in God.” This has also been interpreted to mean “Have the faith OF God” (the God kind of faith). You don’t just speak words, they have to be released with faith.
- The second thing Jesus told them was “For verily” – which means “For CERTAINLY”. Jesus himself, (God in the flesh who cannot lie) is saying “what I am about to tell you is CERTAIN”.
- The third thing Jesus points out is “WHOSOEVER”. He is saying anyone who will take heed to what he is saying and act on it can do it. This totally refutes arguments that only certain people have the ability to do these things.
- Back to faith again – “shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith”. Doubt is disbelief, and to believe = faith.
- Finally, in the last statement Jesus made, he said “when ye pray, believe that ye receive”. Jesus is saying that is the moment when faith is released, you believe it is already so (receive) when you pray, before you ever actually see it come to pass. That is key! It is not faith if you have to see it to believe it. And faith is what is necessary to see miracles and impact the natural realm through the spirit realm. The only way you will ever see these things is if you can get into that place. You may ask, how can I believe something before I see it? How can I learn to have that kind of faith? More on that later…
So you start with having the God kind of faith, say to your (obstacle, need, etc.) mountain _______(insert the command you are giving it). The commandment you give will be different based on the need/desire. For example, if you are sick you command your body to line up with the word of God (find and quote healing promise scriptures) and be healed. If you need a job, you wouldn’t command healing here. Instead you will claim and decree the favor of God, and scriptures that state your promised provision as a child of God. The point is that you command those things according to what the word says, in faith. And you don’t beg! You wouldn’t be begging if you had faith, faith is belief that it is so and you are certain you will see it manifest in your life. If you are begging, you have already moved out of the spiritual law of faith that holds the supernatural power to see it come to pass.
Faith Is The Activator
There are many examples all throughout the Bible that tell us this supernatural force called faith is the activator for miracles. It is important to settle this fact in your heart to be able to operate in these things! Here are a few more instances (again this is all throughout the word) showing us that faith is the activator, or the key that unlocks the door to miracles…
Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
Matthew 9:29
And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
Mark 5:34
And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.
Mark 10:52
And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
Matthew 8:13
Reading these scriptures it is very clear by the words of Jesus himself that faith is the key player in people receiving their miracles. Also notice how he made a point to tell people why they were healed. He did that on purpose because he wants us to be able to understand these things, it is not something God is trying to keep hidden from us!
How To Have Faith
Maybe it is weird to describe this, but I know for myself I would wonder, “If you have to be in faith when you pray to receive the things you are needing, and you have to believe it is done and you receive them when you pray, but you don’t believe it even though you try, what do you do?!”
Perhaps what you are believing for is pretty high on the impossible scale. Or you know God can do it, but you wonder if it will happen for you. Here is the thing, you can’t make yourself believe. You choose with your will to believe God and that God’s Word is 100% truth and the ultimate authority. But then the supernatural faith (true belief)comes into your heart like this:
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Romans 10:17
What does this mean? It means how easy it is for you to be in faith is directly linked to how much of God’s word you immerse yourself in (and how much you practice it). Word immersion can be many different things from reading the word, listening to sermons, having talks with others about the power of God that builds you up, praying in tongues which also builds you up… It is the POWER in the WORD that will then ignite faith (belief) in your heart. You can’t make faith come. You can’t (in your natural ability) hear you have terminal cancer and then believe, being fully persuaded without doubt, that you will be healed even when the doctors have said there is no hope or very little hope.
If you desperately want to learn how to be effective but you struggle with faith, all you have to do is start immersing yourself in the word. It is not impossible, there is an answer to this problem!
Knowing the Word
Since we now know that having the faith you need is dependent on consumption (if you will) of the word, then it becomes clear that knowing the word is also key when it comes to miracle manifestation. If you don’t know what the word says about whatever it is you are believing for, then you will not have the faith necessary to receive it and you won’t know if you are submitting to God (within his will) when you are doing these things. For example, you can’t pray for the downfall of a person, that is witchcraft. You can speak against (and bind) the spirits operating through a person.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Ephesians 6:12
Find scripture that talks about the specific thing you are dealing with. Have these scriptures ready to use when you start using your faith in that situation and speak them out loud, command that situation to line up with the word of God, in the name of Jesus.
The more you practice, the more natural it will become and the more the word will come alive to you and bring revelation. Some people may hear this and thinks it’s crazy or “out there”. To those, I would say study the word for yourself, you will be amazed at what you find.
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12
Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.
Jeremiah 1:12
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
Proverbs 4:20-22
Notice here that God is giving you a spiritual truth nugget. The reality is that the word of God is supernatural. This shouldn’t be spooky or weird. The laws (how things work) in the earth realm and the spirit realm are just different, and the concept is harder to grasp until you begin to study those differences. In the earth, a prime example would be to take medicine (a tangible thing) for a sickness. God is saying his word is health to our flesh. We may ask ourselves, how can this be? Well, that is probably over all of our heads but just because we don’t fully understand the possibility of something does not mean it isn’t true.
Get into the word and start practicing your faith! That is why I called this blog “Faith Practitioners”, we are to learn to practice these things and implement them in the earth realm the way a doctor practices medicine. It is an amazing thing to team up with God to see his miracles here on earth in the lives of those we love. Practice it even in the small things. God cares about everything concerning us. To think we are “bothering” God about the little things is ridiculous, let’s not insult his power and ability. He is more than able to handle any and everything we bring to him, God is not pressed for time in that the little things have to “get in line”. The notion of that is hilarious really.
Make a list of some specific needs in your life or in those of your family, find the scriptures to back up the promise from God for the answer for those things, and begin to release your faith on a daily basis. Practice perfects.
