What is Faith?

What is Faith?  We must understand to trust and understand who God is.  We must believe God exists and commit to God.  Faith can determine our actions. Faith is important because it affects the decisions we make, the way we interact with others, and the way we react to the situations that confront us. Faith must be practiced. The more we put our trust in God, the more faith we develop.

Faith can be like your home that is built on a strong foundation which is going to withstand the tests of time and storms. Faith’s foundation is the word of God and you cannot build a great faith life without it. The best part about this truth is that the word of God will never fail and Its success rating stands at 100 percent.

Biblical understanding of Faith:

Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (KJV)  This is not a definition of faith but a description of what faith does!  It is where evidence is speaking of proof or conviction and substance means the essence or reality of things hoped for, of things to come.

Hebrews 11:3 “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” (KJV) ⁴ Faith, in of itself, understands that the invisible God created the vast universe. Faith proves that what is unseen is real, such as the believer’s rewards as the return of Christ.

In Mark 9:23, “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”.” According to this and other verses in the Bible, what you believe determines what you receive from the Lord. In other words, your believing affects your receiving.  Receiving is based on individual’s faith and you must study the word for yourself. 

Faith and Believing go hand-in-hand, meaning they work together! Because, without faith there is no believing and, without believing faith is lost!

Here is an example of my faith and believing in a situation that became true.

December 18. 2009 was a day that definitely changed our lives forever. 

My husband, Tom and I had a day that began just like any other and as the day progressed, he began feeling ill.  He had been undergoing chemotherapy for   Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma for about a year and most days he did not feel well, so he just attributed his feelings to his treatments.  He told our son and me that he was going to bed.  He was not in the bedroom long and I was in another room when I heard a loud thud and it was around 6:00 pm.  I ran in the bedroom to see what happened and I found him on the floor, breathing, but he was not moving or responding.  I immediately called 911 and the ambulance arrived promptly.  The EMTs were not able to awaken Tom either, and they took him to the hospital. 

The doctors at the Emergency Room discovered that he had suffered a major brain stroke and they really did not give us any hope of him waking up or recovering.  I had called our pastor and our close friends and they came right over to the hospital and began praying.  Our church family was also praying.  The doctors advised me to get things in order because they gave him no hope.  He was not awake and it did not appear that he would wake up.  They informed me that if he did wake up, he would be a vegetable.  Our pastor and one of the elders from our church asked to go in to him and pray.  The doctors agreed.  I went back to the waiting room with our close friends and we stood in a circle, held hands, and prayed.  A while later, our pastor came out and asked me if I would like to come back and talk to Tom.  We all began crying and I ran back to see Tom!  Our pastor said that they were praying over Tom and he suddenly asked where he was and what was going on.  Our pastor explained that he was in the Emergency Room and that he had suffered a stroke.  He then found the doctor who was taking care of Tom and told him of the MIRACLE that just happened!  Of course, the doctors were unable to explain what happened, but we know that it was the hand of God!  It was nearly midnight; seven hours after Tom fell in our bedroom.   He had healed Tom!  While Tom was unconscious in the hospital, he saw a beam of light brighter than the sun traveling through a tunnel with white and colored lights coming toward him.   It was God’s love, our faith, and the fervent effectual prayers of our church family.  God hears and answers our prayers all the time!  He said “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20) and (John 11:25) “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life:  he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”  Our faith has increased immensely and we trust God in all things!