Genesis 15:5-6 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
INSIGHT -Abraham was promised a son & many descendants like the stars above. -Later in chapter 22, Abraham was told to sacrifice his only child Isaac but did not question God. -In both cases Abraham had faith in God & the Lord was faithful to him. -We should have total faith in God & pray in all our life situations trusting in Him completely as His ways are not our ways.
PRAYER: Abba Father, I come to You today seeking Your faith. I count on You Lord for You are righteous, full of mercy & love. Deliver me from every bad situation & lead me in Your ways for Your thoughts are not my thoughts & Your ways not my ways. Let me be still in You always & shed off all my anxiety. Amen.
Acts 8:37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
INSIGHT -Philip baptised the Ethiopian eunuch. -Faith is believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God & trusting in Him in everything.
PRAYER: Jesus Christ, I believe with all my heart that You are the Son of God. Come into my heart to strengthen me in this journey Faith. Baptise me by Your Holy water like the Ethiopian eunuch so that I may have pure faith in You. I believe & trust in You always; Lord. Amen.
Ephesians 6:16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
INSIGHT -St. Paul writes that we should put on the full armor of God which includes to girded your waist with truth, the breastplate of righteousness, having shod your feet, taking the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. -The shield of faith is a guard against all the evil plans of the wicked one. -The evil one always throws fiery darts/arrows at us to block us from doing God’s will & finally from entering the Kingdom of God.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I call on You to assist me in this journey of Faith. I take the full armor of God so that I may stand with You always. I ask for the shield of faith from You Lord which keeps me strong when the evil one tempts me as I look forward to enter Your kingdom. Amen.
Corinthians 13:2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
INSIGHT -Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit. -The gift of faith & all other gifts without love accomplish nothing. -With faith, one can do anything even move mountains by the power of Jesus Christ.
PRAYER: Holy Spirit, I call on You today to give me the gift of Faith. I believe everything is possible with faith that comes from You. Bestore on me the fruit of love so that my belief & trust may be affirmed in Your name. Help me Holy Spirit my Lord in all situations that cause pain, fear, sorrow & anxiety in my life. Through faith I am healed in Your name Father. Amen.
John 11:21-22 Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”
INSIGHT -Lazarus, Martha’s brother had died for 4 days. -At that time Jews accused Jesus of blasphemy & did not believe in Him as God. -Jesus could have performed the miracle by Himself but He wanted to affirm the belief of the Jews in Him as the Son of God. -Martha also believed that whatever Jesus would ask from His Father, it will be accomplished. -There is physical death & Spiritual death. We should ask Jesus to resurrect our spirits everyday through His Word. -We should also believe that whatever we ask from Jesus, He will give us.
PRAYER: Jesus I believe & trust in You. Father, I pray that You renew my spirit & the spirit of my family members which might be dead. Strengthen me to believe in Your miracles & divine provision in my family. I also believe that whatever I ask from You, You will give me. I ask this believing & trusting in Jesus Mighty Name. Amen.
Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
INSIGHT
-Faith in Hebrew is written as emunah which means believe, trust, confidence, fidelity etc. Faith has been referenced numerous times in the Bible including; faith in God (Isa 50:10; 1 Jn 5:13; Jn 3:16), trusting in self (Eze 33:13; prov 3:5-6), faith in army (Hos 10:13 ), in riches (Jer 49:4), Abraham’s faith in God yielded righteousness (Gen 15:6), faith in Gods’ Word ( Luke 1:20 ; 24:25 ), faith in Jesus resulted to healing of the centurion’s servant (Mat 8:13 ), the paralytic ( Mat 9:2 ), a woman with the blood issue ( Mk 5:34 ), a twelve-year-old child who died ( Mk 5:36 ), a blind beggar ( Lk 18:42 ), expression of faith through prayer (Mk 11:24), faith in baptism (Acts 8:12-13 ; 18:8 ; 19:2 ), confession (Acts 19:18 ), forgiveness (Acts 10:43 ), grace (Acts 15:11 ; 18:27 ), the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2 ), justification (Acts 13:39 ), purification (Acts 15:9 ), sanctification (Acts 26:18 ) and many others.
-The bedrock of faith is to believe that the unseen God is real. It is foundational for Christians to remain steadfast in their belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; by Whom we have overcome the world (1 Jn 5:5). Faith has been defined as the assurance/substance of things hoped for & the manifestation/evidence of the unseen things in God. In simple terms; faith is the illogical process of believing in the impossible, acting as if the unseen promises of God have already come to pass. Faith gives us understanding that the things present on the earth were formed through Gods’ word; stemming from an unseen realm to reality. This reminds us that God is able to create anything out of nothing & with Him nothing is impossible. By faith we obtain a good testimony just like our forefathers; Abraham, Isaac, Jacob etc. who excelled in faith. Faith requires us to believe that whatever we are praying for; has already been done for us awaiting the manifestation.
PRAYER
We praise You LORD according to Your righteousness & everlasting love. We sing praises to Your name LORD Most High for You have always been faithful to us. We thank You Jesus for establishing us in faith as You did with our forefathers, we humbly ask You to increase our faith. Guide us Father, our families, friends, colleagues, leaders both political & religious, our nation & the entire world in Your grace as we begin a new week & direct us according to Your will. We have always found comfort in You Jehovah; we thank You. Your promises for us are true & just Lord; receive all glory & praise now & forever. Amen
Romans 4:16
“Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all”
INSIGHT
-God tested Abraham the father of faith; with an opportunity to sacrifice his only son Isaac for he loved him (Gen 22:1-2). The test was really about Abraham; whether he loved God more or Isaac. Abraham excelled & the promise of him becoming the father of the world was accomplished as his faith was accounted to him for righteousness. Abraham was commended for putting God first & not his love for his son Isaac which would have been a form of idolatry. We note that; those things & people who we deem to be more important than God become our idols & draw us far from His righteousness. In the same manner; God did not spare His only begotten Son through His love for the world that we may believe in Him & have eternal life. By grace we have been saved through faith & that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast (Eph 2:8-9). Faith has been equated to the grace of God & not the law; through which we obtain salvation of Christ according to the promise, that we may walk in good works prepared for us beforehand.
PRAYER
Walk with us through this journey of faith Lord; we humbly beseech You & teach us the principle of grace through which You saved us. Deliver us Father from any form of idolatry in our hearts & grant us the gift of wisdom & understanding. We thank You Lord for the rains & Your grace that reigns in our hearts; help us to harvest good fruits at the appointed time. Heaven & earth will pass away but Your word will remain eternally Lord. Help us to remain focused on Your love Jesus & Your everlasting promises for us, our children & our descendants after us. We declare Your name on high as we say thank You Jesus; praise You Jesus. Amen
2 Corinthians 5:7
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
INSIGHT
-Walking is symbolic to the all the activities that pertain our lives. Through faith & purity of heart we are able to see God in all our walking (Mat 5:8). David knew the secret & prayed that God may create in him a clean heart & renew a steadfast spirit within him. From his youth; he applied faith in God when faced by a bear, lion & the giant Goliath, he declared that the battle belongs to the Lord & God gave him victory (1 Sam 17:47). God calls us to trust in Him with all our hearts & to lean not on our own understanding; to submit to Him all our ways & He will make our paths straight (Prov 3:5-6).
PRAYER
We submit our hearts unto You Lord, have Your way in us. Purify our hearts Father; we seek to see You in all areas of our lives. Give us the gift of faith Holy Spirit; we humbly ask You & help us to overcome all challenges that we are facing in our lives, families, societies, leadership, nation & the world at large. We believe that we can all things through Your Christ Who gives us strength; help us Lord. When You created us Father, You planned our destinies before the foundations of the earth, we submit all our plans unto You Lord; direct us & make all our paths straight. We thank You Jesus for this far that You have brought us, all victory & praise belongs to You now & forever. Amen
Luke 17:5-6
“And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” So the Lord said, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”
INSIGHT
-Jesus displayed great works of faith like performing miracles that puzzled many including His apostles. Through them; Jesus revealed His deity & spoke profoundly in parables & figurative language about faith & His kingdom. In the above scripture, Jesus reveals that faith as little as a mustard seed can expose serious deeds like moving the mulberry tree & commanding it to be planted into the sea. Jesus demonstrated such faith & trained the disciples well; especially Peter who he commanded to cast his net into the deep sea, to walk on water etc, defining new possibilities in the impossibilities. Christ also spoke to the multitudes who followed Him mostly because of the miracles He performed & the bread He offered, reminding them that He is the bread of life & whoever partakes of Him will never hunger. Through all these teachings, Jesus reveals that faith in Him is more important than faith in physical bread for the latter perishes quickly & former lasts forever.
PRAYER
Jesus You reign forever in all the universe let the heavens & earth rejoice. Help us to realize that only in You Lord can we can find satisfaction. We believe that You have great plans for our lives Father & only in You will we find provision, healing, protection, direction, favor, success, wisdom, grace & abundance of life. Increase our faith Lord we yearn for You at every moment of our lives. Nothing can separate us from Your love Lord; do a new thing in our lives, families, churches, societies & nation; according to Your will. Amen
Mark 2:5
“When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
INSIGHT
-Jesus makes it clear that without faith it is impossible to please Him for the just shall live by faith. Additionally, faith without works is dead & works without love is impractical. Jesus also reveals that through faith one is forgiven (Lk 5:20), healed (Lk 8:48), saves (Lk 7:50) etc. Interestingly; Jesus healed the paralysed man not because of his faith but the faith of those who accompanied him. The faith of other is also significant for our wellbeing & it brings us encouragement (Rom 1:12). We are called to have faith in Christ for ourselves & on behalf of others, & remember to intercede for them for His love & mercy endures forever.
SUMMARY
Faith is a substance of things hope & evidence of things not seen. Through the death & resurrection of Christ; our Christian faith was founded & always gives us the hope of eternal life with Christ. Towards the end of apostle Paul’s life; he was proud to have fought the good fight, finished the race & kept the faith awaiting his crown of righteousness for him & for all who long for His appearing (2 Tim 4:7-8). Faith is a race; which began when God predestined us for good work before the foundations of the world & ends in eternal life with Him. On the flip side; when one looses faith there is nothing left to live for & one dies in the spirit awaiting physical death. Henry Ford once said that “those who walk with God, always reach their destination.” As Gods’ sons; we are reminded that without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is & that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb 11:6). The Holy Spirit fills us with this gracious gift of faith as He wills so that we may live by faith & not by sight (2 Cor 5:5-7). We have comfort that by grace we have been saved through faith & that not of ourselves but it is the gift of God (Eph 2:8-9). Faith has been equated to sonship & grace through which we are led by the Spirit in good works for we are no longer under a guardian which is the law; but under grace & have received abundant life now which transcends to eternity with the Father (Gal 3:25).
PRAYER
Teach us Jesus to seek You diligently with all our hearts, souls, minds & strength. Cover us with Your precious blood loving Father, forgive us our sins & save us from all the snares of the evil one. Heal all the sick Jesus, those who have been afflicted by cancer, diabetes, HIV, stroke, ulcers, arthritis, leukemia, malaria & all other diseases including depression, for by Your stripes we are healed. Many do not know Your Jesus & others have lost faith in You, welcome them all into Your kingdom Lord; for Your mercy is everlasting. Fill us with the gift of faith Holy Spirit so that we may see You in all things & perform many signs for the glory of Your name. May Your goodness & mercy follow us Lord all the days of our lives & we shall dwell in Your house forever. Amen