Growing Your Faith

Growing Your Faith

To a woman of Canaan, a Syrophoenician by birth, Jesus responded in Matthew 15:28 “O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” Great faith is tenacious faith. It is faith that will not give up in spite of opposition. It is faith that responds with knowledge. This type of faith is based on the amount and quality of information you have received, accepted and endorsed.

When Jesus tested the woman’s faith by telling her that what she desired could not be hers, as circumstances would many times tell you, she responded with knowledge. She spoke back words of faith. Read again this inspiring dialogue between Jesus and the woman:

“And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. But he answered and said, it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. And he said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour” (Matthew 15:22-28).

When Jesus heard her informed answer, He said to her, “…woman, great is thy faith.” On another occasion, Jesus said the same thing about a Roman Centurion in Luke 7:9;

“When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”

The Master’s words were again, a response to the words spoken by the lips of faith. Remember, the more accurate information you have, the better. And when you act undauntedly on this information, you will be demonstrating great faith or ‘much faith’ as it were.

Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” So you see, when you don’t have enough spiritual information from the Word about a particular issue, your faith will be little as your faith is according to God’s Word that you’ve heard. The cure for such little therefore is simply to learn more of God’s Word on that issue. The Scripture we just read tells us how faith comes – by hearing God’s Words.

If you have any situation that seems hopeless, get into the Word! Become a student of the Word by careful and diligent search and study on the scriptures that talk about your peculiar situation. Get the teaching tapes and books that are relevant to your situation.

If you’re having problems in your health or finances, or with getting a job or expanding your business, or in your academics as a student, or in any area of your life, this is what you should do. Get more information from God’s Word. Inundate your spirit and bombard your mind with God’s Word. Get teaching tapes in audio and video formats; listen to them and watch them again and again. Don’t say, “I’ve already listened to the tapes.” Keep listening!

I’ve listened to certain tapes through the years over and over again. I have tapes that are more than ten years old and I’ve listened to them repeatedly. God’s Word never grows old; it’s undated. As you keep listening to it, your mind, your thinking and mindset will begin to change and align with God’s vision for your life.

God’s Word is Spirit. It has the divine capacity to stir you up, give you a vision, energize you for success and programme you for greatness. Don’t underestimate the power of God’s Word. When you face challenges, put the tapes on and keep listening! Listen until the Word gets into your spirit and renews your mind! Listen until your thinking, ideas and perspective change! That’s how to grow your faith big.