Growing your Faith part 2

In 1 Corinthians 12: 9, we read some people receive a gift of faith. This is different to the ‘saving’ faith each of us has when we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour. The gift of faith is extraordinary confidence in God’s promises, power and presence. It is a strong and unshakeable confidence in God, His Word and His promises. It is a fearless and zealous reliance on God and His ability to advance the Kingdom.

You can ask God for the gift of faith. Mark 11:24 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Other ways to grow your faith include:

1. Surround yourself with people of great faith

After we returned from three months in Mozambique at the Iris Harvest Mission School, many friends commented on how my faith had enlarged. They would often comment that they could see a massive difference in my faith level pre and post-trip.

It puzzled me. As I reflected on our (exhaustive) trip with two little kids, the growth in my faith didn’t register. Instead, I focused on the tough aspects, the challenging aspects, friendships made and the highlights.

Maybe I didn’t see that my faith had enlarged because it seemed ‘natural’ what I believed after being around people who also had a ‘big’ faith.

The words ‘we become who we surround ourselves with’ are true. Surround yourself with people of great faith, and it ‘rubs off on you’. When I spend time with godly men and women who love God, have seen God work mightily in their lives, often through trauma or difficult circumstances, I am inspired. As Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” (NIV) or as it is written in The Passion Translation, “so one person sharpens the character of another”. When I am around those of great faith, I am inspired to believe bigger, to grow my view of God and what He is capable of, and to realize my true identity as His royal daughter and all that encompasses. I am also challenged with any faulty thinking or being judgemental. This calls me up into purer thinking, beliefs and actions.

Thus, in wanting to grow your faith, surround yourself with men and women of great faith. You may say, ‘but Jane, I don’t know anyone like that where I live’. Then find someone somewhere or start reading biographies of people with great faith.

When we returned from Mozambique, my husband encouraged me to buy the entire set of “YWAM Christian Heroes Then and Now” books for us as a family to read. These books contain nuggets of gold. Written about missionaries who had sacrificed a lot, they all had one thing in common – that of their incredible love for God and their great faith in God.

An excerpt taken from ‘George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans YWAM Christian Heroes Then & Now’ by Janet & Geoff Benge is: One morning, George Muller had 300 orphans in his care but no food or money for their breakfast. The children were all seated at the dining tables with a plate, mug, and cutlery in front of each child. George shared with the children that God would supply their breakfast, having no idea where it would come from. He prayed and thanked God for the food that God was going to give to them. George knew without a doubt that God would not fail the children. Instantly there was a knock on the door. A local baker entered carrying a huge tray of delicious smelling bread. He shared how God had woken him up at 2 am that morning to bake bread for them. Another knock followed, with the milkman entering, asking for help. His wagon wheel had broken right outside the door, and he needed to lighten the load, so he had ten full cans of milk to give to them.

Reading numerous accounts like this, where people trusted God and took God at His Word, enlarges your faith.

Surround yourself with people who believe that “nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37) and live accordingly.

Folks, this is why testimonies are so crucial. Hearing testimonies grow your spirit. Revelations 12:11 “They triumphed over by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony”.

Testimonies release power.

Testimonies release hope.

Testimonies release faith.

Surround yourself with people who strengthen your view of God.

2. Inner healing

Regularly ask God to reveal any false beliefs or lies you believe about Him or yourself. It’s easy to incorporate faulty or incorrect thinking into your life. Have prayer ministry and address issues in your life.

Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” We are required to keep renewing our mind to that of Christ’s.

2 Corinthians 10:5 “we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Only keep those thoughts in your mind which God would keep in His mind and aligns with His Kingdom.

3. Obey immediately

The quicker you obey God and His promptings, the quicker you grow and become more Christ-like. The more God will trust you when He sees you are eager to grow and be faithful.

4. Minimise sin

When God highlights an area of sin or shortcoming to you, immediately deal with it. Don’t play with sin. Run fast from it. This applies to what you watch, read, and do.

5. Take risks

A significant part of growing your faith is trying, practising, and doing. If you will never step out and take risks in the supernatural, then you can’t expect to grow. If you see someone sick or injured, immediately ask God, “What do you want me to do?” or “Do you want me to pray for healing for them?” Then do it!! Do not expect to pray and see people raised from the dead if you have never prayed for a dead person before to come back to life. Take every opportunity.

6. Identity

Realizing your identity as a royal child and all that entails grows your faith. Know your identity – who you are in Christ. Know what the Bible says about you and who you are.

For your identity to be true and solid, you need to let go of any false beliefs. Receive prayer ministry/inner healing to align your heart and mind with God’s perspective of you. Healing inner wounds, especially from childhood or from your experiences, is a great place to start. No parent is perfect. No matter how great your parents are, there will be some wounding. I believe it helps to have some prayer ministry regularly (i.e. annually or every second year) just to make sure that no faulty thinking sticks and causes any issues. There are numerous types of inner prayer ministry available.

7. Authority

John 14:12 records Jesus saying, “whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these”.  Once you have the revelation in your life of your true identity, you can then walk in the authority that Christ has given you. When you read the Bible and see what Jesus did and realise that Jesus said that we would do even greater things, you start to walk in that authority. The authority of seeing healings, miracles, living a pure lifestyle. This is the life you were created for and are called to be walking in every single day. As you experience this lifestyle, your faith will grow. As you experience God answering prayer and see miracles, your faith grows.

8. Worship God.

As you worship and meditate on God, His goodness, His greatness, His ability, His promises, His power, and His presence, your spirit grows. As your spirit grows, your faith grows.

As you worship God and give Him His worth, your view of God and His magnificence enlarges as well. Decree God’s goodness and greatness. Psalm 71:15-16 Psalm 89:15-17 (TPT).

As stated last week in part 1, take God at His Word. Get into the Bible. Read the Bible and know what His Word says. Then believe it.

I would love to hear your thoughts on how you are growing your faith in God.

Prophetic Activations / Exercises to incorporate into your week:

Every week I list 5 prophetic activations/exercises under children/family, group, beginner, intermediate and advanced. The purpose of these exercises is to practice to help us hear God’s voice in a clearer manner. They sharpen our senses to hear and see and sense God and His way of communicating with us. This enables us to grow in our relationship with God and also to impart to others what God tells us for them. Feel free to use as many of these activations each week as you can. The more you practice, the sharper you become at hearing God’s voice. Enjoy! Remember that whenever you give another person a prophetic word or picture etc, please make sure that it is encouraging, edifying (strengthening) and comforting (1 Corinthians 14:3) and that it comes from a place of love.

1. Children / Families Activation:  Spend a few moments each asking God what He loves about them. Then share, draw or write it down.

2. Group Activation: Pair up and ask each other what area of their life they need a breakthrough in. Spend a few moments hearing from God, then ask everyone to prophesy over their partner.

3. Beginner Activation: Spend time with God asking Him how you can specifically grow your faith.

4. Intermediate Activation: Ask God to highlight a Pastor in your area that is not from the church you attend. Spend time with God hearing His heart for this Pastor. Write an encouragement card to this Pastor, expressing God’s heart for Him/Her.

5. Advanced Activation: Spend time with God asking Him to reveal His heart about the Covid vaccine. Prophesy and decree the future of the vaccine.

2 thoughts on “Growing your Faith part 2

    • Jane Berry Post author

      Thank you Beth. The power of the testimony is amazing – as you can attest to with your blog where you share your testimonies. Thanks.

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