Earlier in this book, faith was defined. Then it was established that living by faith is mandatory for all believers. Finally, various models were given suggesting how faith grows. Yet none of this will be truly beneficial to you unless you know how to develop faith in your own life.

A fact of church life

    Almost universally, Christian churches of any persuasion will acknowledge that faith is an important part of the Christian life. This is particularly true of biblically conservative churches.

    At the same time, many of these same churches fail to clearly teach what faith is. Initially, they fail to define faith in such a way that the listener has a practical idea of how to implement faith in daily living. Worse, there is seldom clear teaching on the process of acquiring faith. It is usually assumed that faith will be a by-product of tenure in the religious tradition of choice.

    Therefore, we need to look at four steps involved in developing nurtured faith. The first three are essential, while the last is merely a practical consideration used to keep faith growth active.

1. IDENTIFY THE SOURCE OF FAITH

    We have already looked at Hebrews 12:2 which says, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." We can make a simple and direct application from this verse. Our faith comes from Jesus. He is the "author" or source of our faith and He is the One who will "perfect" our faith.

    Simple as that sounds, we so often fail to see its significance. Who is the source of our faith? Jesus! Who will take the full responsibility for developing our faith? Jesus!

    This does not mean that we are passive in the faith-building process. We must be obedient to Jesus' leading or He will not continue to increase our faith.

    Yet simple as this principle is—that it is Jesus who gives faith—look at your own experience as a possible contrast. In all likelihood, you have fallen into the habit of believing that your faith growth depends on your own effort. You may think that the motivation for faith must come from within yourself and that the incremental increase of your faith comes as a result of your own enterprise. You undoubtedly also believe that you must have some "feeling" of faith before your faith is genuine.

    With a self-effort approach to faith growth you will fail.

    Before moving on, look briefly at Ephesians 2:8-9:

    For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

    These verses are rightly applied to salvation. Yet there is more in the passage than just the conversion experience. It says that we were "saved through faith." Then we are told that "this" was not from ourselves but was a gift of God. What is "this" referring to? The Greek construction generalizes so that both the saved and the faith are included in the gift. So God not only granted us the gift of salvation, He also granted us the gift of faith that led to salvation. To be certain that we understand the source of both our salvation and our faith, Paul added the clear qualifier that "This is not from yourselves."

    Faith comes from God. Jesus is the source of our faith, and He is the One who will perfect it in us. We do not produce faith by our own self-effort!

Our absolute inadequacy

    We can never be successful in living by faith if we attempt to produce that faith through personal effort of any kind. We are incapable of a self-produced faith. We are incapable of initiating faith. We are incapable of nurturing faith. We are incapable of even desiring faith apart from God producing that desire in us.

    Faith simply does not result from our effort. That should be a stern warning to every believer to avoid attempting to generate faith. At the same time, it is wonderfully liberating. Since there is nothing we can do to produce faith, then God doesn't expect that effort from us! Furthermore, there is no frustration we must shoulder in not having a personality type that tolerates the risks of faith. We are free of any demand placed on us by God to produce our own faith. We need never be concerned because we think we should have more faith, but just can't seem to do it right.

    This does not imply that faith is not important, nor that we have no responsibility in pursuing faith. Nor are we to regard faith as a fatalistic or "predestined" empowerment. It is simply never our responsibility to produce faith.

Principle #1: Jesus is both the source of our faith and the One who will bring that faith to completion. Faith growth is never a product of self-effort.

2. ASK FOR FAITH

    Paul twice told Timothy to pursue faith.

    But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. (1 Timothy 6:11)

    Again, Paul told Timothy:

    Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2 Timothy 2:22)

    The first thing we notice in the injunction to "pursue faith" is the implication that faith does not automatically grow over time. There is something which Timothy—and by application, we—must actively do in order to grow in faith. We must pursue faith or it will not grow.

    The Greek word dioko used for pursue is interesting. It is used some 30 times in the New Testament to mean to persecute or to be persecuted. This immediately suggests Saul of Tarsus on his way to Damascus, zealously pursuing Christians. In Acts 22 Paul described his life in Judaism to the angry mob in Jerusalem:

    "I persecuted (dioko) the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison." (Acts 22:4)

    Then Paul recounted his encounter with Jesus:

    "About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, 'Saul! Saul! why do you persecute (dioko) me?' "'Who are you, Lord?' I asked. "'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting (dioko),' he replied." (Acts 22:6-8)

    Paul used this same word when he told Timothy to pursue faith, "But you, man of God...pursue (dioko)...faith." (1 Timothy 6:11. See also 2 Timothy 2:22.)

    We cannot miss the intensity of the word pursue. Paul was not suggesting a casual search for faith. He was telling Timothy to go after faith with abandon and total commitment.

    Certainly, pursuing faith is all-inclusive of every activity leading to faith growth. At the center of those things leading to faith growth, however, will be waiting on God for faith. In other words, we must ask for faith in prayer.

    How often do you ask God for faith? How much time do you spend intently asking for faith? In part, that is certainly some of the reason we see such little faith growth. As believers we seldom ask for faith. James 4: 2 says, "You do not have, because you do not ask God." The positive side is Jesus' promise:

    "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you, for everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8)

    If that is not enough, Jesus then promised,

    "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree [which withered after Jesus cursed it], but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (Matthew 21:21-22. Emphasis added.)

    There is an assumed qualification in the promise, "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." We cannot pray contrary to God's will and receive our request. So we must ask, "Is it God's will that I have faith?" Granted, God may lead us in faith growth differently than we anticipated. But it is always God's will that we have faith. It is "impossible to please God" without faith. Consequently, we can re-state the promise saying, "If you believe, you will receive faith when you ask for it in prayer."

    You do not need to artificially create a dilemma claiming that if you do not have faith to believe, you cannot ask for faith. Earlier we looked at the account of the healing of the epileptic boy in Matthew's Gospel. However, the parallel account in Mark 9 adds an interesting interchange between Jesus and the father:

    Jesus asked the boy's father, "How long has he been like this?" "From childhood," he answered. "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." "'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." (Mark 9:21-23)

    Jesus confronted the father with his own wavering faith. The father's statement to Jesus shows that he was desperate for the well-being of his son as well as his own need for faith. The father's cry to Jesus was one that He must find great pleasure in hearing from all of us:

    Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)

    Jesus then generously responded by healing his son. Did Jesus also grant the father's request that his own unbelief would be overcome? This man's request for his own faith was just as urgent as his request for his son's physical healing, and must have pleased Jesus immensely. Jesus certainly gave this father greater faith.

    Prayer will be discussed later. However, prayer is a vital part of the process leading to faith growth. Ask God intently and incessantly for faith. Spend significant time waiting on God regarding your personal faith growth.

    Ask for faith!

Principle #2: Pray specifically for faith. Your personal need for faith, your complete dependence on Jesus to produce that faith in you, and your willingness to face the cost of faith growth should occupy the highest level of concern and intensity in your prayer life.

3. SEEK FAITH OPPORTUNITIES

    Faith cannot grow outside of some context of trusting God. We are not growing in faith if we are not trusting God for something. This is where we confuse faith that has the sense of a verb (an action) with that of faith having the sense of a noun (a system of belief). We can be amassing biblical knowledge and mistake that for faith growth. In fact, faith growth that is evidenced by trust in God will always take place in a setting of dependence on God with the accompanying risk of negative consequences if God should not provide.

    Therefore, to grow in faith, it is necessary to seek opportunities to trust God. We must practice faith. Practicing faith will realistically involve prayer that requests God to lead us into areas of ministry or action that will be beyond our own abilities. In conjunction with prayer, we may then actually plan areas of ministry that will provide for our faith growth.

    Nonetheless, practicing faith is not the result of a carefully planned list of activities. Just as we ask God to give us faith and allow Him to accomplish that in His own way, so too, we allow Him to lead us into the circumstances which will produce faith growth. We may undertake a task that we know will require faith growth, but we will not plan activities outside of God's leading in order to artificially create faith.

    Nor do we need to seek trouble. We never need to plan our own trials. It is enough to plan a worthwhile objective in our life and trust God in His sovereignty to open and close doors as He pleases. Enough difficulty will come without our masochistically seeking it.

    It should go without saying that attempting risky stunts to prove our faith is never in order. Jesus rebuked Satan for suggesting that He leap from the temple in order to attest God's protection of Him. There is never justification for similar imprudence on our part in order to demonstrate faith.

Practice acting faith

    There is no particular order in which either acting faith or resting faith is initiated. However, most of us have probably begun exercising our faith by asking God to do something first. It is not at all surprising that Hudson Taylor looked to God to provide his medical school expenses as an early lesson in faith.

    You must allow God to lead you into opportunities to exercise faith. Never use anything—such as this book—as a substitute for seeking direction directly from God. Understand, of course, that after presenting the matter directly to Him, He may then direct you through various means. Other believers will certainly be one important source of that direction.

    Consequently, you will probably begin exercising faith in multiple areas of your life. This may involve prospective ministry, asking God for direction with personal finances or time, or seeking God's direction concerning health needs or family conflicts, to name a few. You will continuously learn as you grow in faith. This means that, not only will you need to learn how to exercise faith, but you will also need to learn how to wisely select opportunities for growing in faith. All who have attempted to consistently live by faith can look back and see early attempts that were ill-conceived or lacking in good judgment. There have often been unrealistic expectations of what God must do or provide.

    There is a risk of making mistakes when you are trying to live by faith. This is most likely to occur when you are seeking opportunities for acting faith. Pray for wisdom and make your best effort to act wisely and prudently. When mistakes happen, do not become discouraged to the point of quitting. Learn from the mistake and incorporate that understanding into your next attempt at practicing faith. Avoid excessive caution in order to sidestep risk. Wisely engaging in personal risk is a part of the faith growth process.

    How much should you tell others about your faith objectives? This is a question that only you can answer. On the one hand, a constant recitation of all that you are trusting God to do will soon earn you the reputation of being sanctimonious. On the other hand, there are times when it is appropriate to stand on the mountain top with Elijah and publicly cast your lot with the God who sends fire. Generally, however, it is probably wisest to confine most of your faith objectives to private prayer and careful personal scrutiny. At times, you may feel the freedom to share those objectives with a few trusted fellow believers for their evaluation and counsel. "Going public" with an imposing faith objective should be done only after carefully determining God's leading. If there is any sense that doing so will draw attention to you and your great "spirituality," avoid it.

Practice resting faith

    Resting faith is not something that you must wait to practice. As you are attempting to do certain things as an exercise of acting faith, also seek His leading in how you might better trust Him during the uncertain times of your faith attempts. There may also be particular trials in your life that will call for resting faith early in your faith growth experience. These are wonderful opportunities to see God work in your life.

    As in any area of faith growth, asking God specifically for resting faith is an important element in His work of producing it in your life. Pray specifically for resting faith.

    Nonetheless, a deep resting faith may come later in your Christian maturity. Hudson Taylor had already experienced much in his life of faith when he described himself as "becoming a new man." The result was apparently a great calm and effectiveness that had not been evident in his earlier life. He discovered a resting faith that sustained him for many years in his missionary work in China. (See the book Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret, by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor, Moody Press, 1989.)

Cost and the exercise of faith

    Why has there been so much emphasis on the cost of faith growth? Though you have probably already sensed the answer, the reason for the cost is really very simple. It is only when you have a great deal at stake personally that your trust in God has meaning.

    Imagine that you are planning a particular ministry that will involve a substantial amount of financing. Part of the reason you are continuing with this ministry effort is that God has already supplied almost half of the funds you anticipate needing. Both the initial direction in this ministry and the money you already possess have clearly come from God. Appropriately making the remainder of the financial need a matter of public disclosure is the normally expected way to conduct this type of ministry. Other believers would expect to be informed of the need and would respond as they were able.

    However, as you have prayed about this ministry, God is seemingly leading you to use it as an opportunity to grow in faith. You have the strong sense that God wants you to let Him supply the finances without any public appeal or mention of the need to trusted individuals. When asked about your need for money, you feel led to tell even your closest associates that "God is supplying."

    The problem you face is simple. You cannot wait to start the ministry until you have all the finances in hand because God is prompting you to begin immediately. On the other hand, if you had to stop in the middle, little would have been accomplished for the ministry. Both the time you had invested and the available finances you had already used would have been wasted.

    This is the dilemma you now face. You know that if you simply conduct the ministry in the normally accepted way, you will be able to raise sufficient money to complete it. You are fully aware that raising money is something that you could do in your own strength, though there would be little confirmation of God's direct provision when you had finished the fundraising. On the other hand, if you follow God's prompting and do not mention the financial need to anyone, you face a much greater risk. You will become entirely dependent on God to supply your need as He sees fit. If He does not supply, much effort, time, and money will be lost. More than that, your colleagues will feel that you have mismanaged a ministry opportunity.

    Do you see why the cost must be high? How could you grow in faith if the outcome had little importance for you personally and incurred no risk? God will increasingly move you toward faith outcomes that have greater personal consequences. That is the nature of learning to trust God—you are not trusting Him for things of little importance. You must increasingly learn to trust Him for things of extreme significance. That is why the cost is high.

    This illustration focused on money. The cost of faith may incidentally involve financial cost. However, the word cost as it is used here to describe faith has a much broader meaning. It includes any of those things on which uncertainty or failure will have a momentous impact. This will include our time, our reputation, our professional advancement, our health, and even our family and closest friends in addition to our personal resources and finances.

    If you truly pursue faith, you will discover that the cost in all of these areas will increase. In some of these areas, God may choose to let the cost become extremely high. At the same time, your growth in faith will be commensurate with your willingness to allow God to take you through these experiences. You will need to trust Him to provide for both your physical needs and your spiritual and emotional well-being.

Principle #3: Faith grows through exercise. Both acting faith and resting faith grow from continued practice. With God's leading, we need to seek opportunities to apply faith in increasingly difficult situations.

4. EVALUATE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES (Supplemental)

    Faith growth is a dynamic process. You will progressively encounter new opportunities to trust God. There is great merit in evaluating God's faithfulness in the past. Learning to trust God more is precisely what faith growth is about. Thinking back to His past faithfulness in provision or protection will be the renewed basis for trusting Him in present and future faith growth experiences.

    However, there is also the matter of evaluating mishaps in our faith growth experiences. It may be as simple as recognizing that you do not perform well in certain types of ministries. God will, from time to time, direct all of us into circumstances in which we are not comfortable. But there is no point in deliberately seeking a mismatch to our natural interests merely to "prove" God.

    There will be other areas of mishap in your faith life that will require careful scrutiny. You may discover failures due to your own impatience or emotional or spiritual immaturity. There may be need for confession of sin. Careful planning in order to avoid future recurrence of the same problems may also be beneficial.

    In your evaluation you may discover that you were too timid in your faith growth endeavors. Perhaps you held back when God would have led you into more aggressive reliance on Him. Again, evaluate the situation with future correction in mind.

    In the end, however, our objective in faith growth is not to develop a program. It is to learn to trust God in a personal relationship. Relax. Let God lead you. If you are consistently asking Him for faith growth, you can trust Him to take the initiative in directing your life. After all, He is the One who wants you to live by faith. Your responsibility is to allow Him to do what He already wants for you.

Principle #4: There is value in reviewing God's faithfulness in past faith experiences. You can also learn much by evaluating both the past successes and failures in your responses. Above all else, faith is a relationship of trust in a personal God—it must never degenerate into a program of planned activities.

Summary: How do you get faith?

1. First, you must IDENTIFY THE SOURCE OF FAITH. Faith comes from God. It is impossible for you to produce faith.

2. The second step is to ASK FOR FAITH. Pray frequently for faith.

3. The third step is to SEEK FAITH OPPORTUNITIES. Faith does not develop in a vacuum. You will grow in faith by increasingly trusting God. Pray about—and wisely plan for—God's leading into areas in which you must trust Him more.

4. Finally, EVALUATE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES. You will be particularly aware of how God has been faithful in the past, thus encouraging you to increasingly trust Him both now and in the future. You should also evaluate weaknesses and failures in your faith experiences so that you can wisely seek His help in trusting Him more in the future. Do not, however, try to develop programs. Place the emphasis on trusting God (Jesus).

    What would happen if you daily asked God to give you the faith He wished you to have for that day? Would He slap your wrist and irritably say "No!"? Of course not! Jesus went through all of the anguish of the cross so that He could author and perfect your faith. Why would He ever deny your request for as much faith for that day as He wants you to have?

    Maybe you think He is waiting for you to do your part in producing that faith? Of course not! You can't produce any of your own faith. Certainly, your life must evidence obedience to Him and sin issues must be confessed. But He isn't waiting for you to do anything by way of producing your own faith. He alone "authors" your faith.

    So what happens when you pray with complete integrity, asking God to give you faith for that day? He gives you as much faith as He wants you to have. Perhaps you made that request each day last week. Then in a Bible study class the leader asked the question, "How many of you can honestly say that you have as much faith as God wants you to have?" Would you confidently raise your hand? Why shouldn't you? You have lived that week with every bit of faith God wanted you to have. Of course, next month or next year, you will expect to have more faith. But this week you are exactly where God wants you to be.

    That is not arrogance or pride in your own accomplishment. It is a consequence of God being free to do in you exactly what He wants because He has heard your request. Claim His answer! Live as though you have faith!

    WHAT FREEDOM TO LIVE THE LIFE OF FAITH! I CAN LIVE EACH MOMENT KNOWING THAT I AM EXACTLY WHERE GOD WANTS ME TO BE IN MY FAITH LIFE. I HAVE THE FAITH THAT PLEASES GOD!

    Experience that freedom and enjoyment for yourself. Know that you are pleasing to God. Then live that way.