Hearing the Word of God
A question I often see floating around the Christian community is, how do I increase my faith? I’ve asked this question myself a number of times. We, as Christians, are taught that faith is everything and that’s absolutely true.
Hebrews 11:6 NIV says, And without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Do you see that? It is impossible to please God without faith—so our faith is everything! But how do you get more faith? That is the question of the day.
First of all, you cannot please God without faith, that is absolutely true. But do you notice the next part of that scripture? Anyone who comes to him [God] must believe that he exists. My friend, this is faith! Just believing in God is an act of faith because if you believe that God exists, then you know that He is listening and that He rewards those who earnestly seek him.
So don’t get caught up with questions about how much faith you have, if you have great faith or little faith or weak faith. Just believe in God and believe that He is good—because a good God rewards those who seek Him.
This isn’t rocket science; faith is not a complicated topic at all, in fact, it is as easy as believing the things you read in the Word of God. That is faith. So how do you increase it, strengthen it, obtain it?
Let’s return to the Word.
Romans 10:17 NIV Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word about Christ.
Faith comes from hearing the message—and not just any message, my friend, the message is heard through the Word about CHRIST.
If you want to increase your faith then read the Word, listen to Christ-filled sermons, meditate on encouraging scriptures, listen to the Bible while you sleep! Instead of plugging in to music, sit down and listen to the Word when you study or read or feel bored. Faith comes from hearing the Word! It doesn’t get any simpler than that, but I want to show you one more story in the Bible.
Turn to Acts 14—I think you should read the entire chapter, but you can focus on verses 5-10 for this article. In these scriptures, Luke is telling us how Paul preached the Gospel and told a man who was lame in his feet to stand up. Through the healing power of the Word, the man was healed. But what I really wanted to point out was the sort of illness this man suffered from.
The Word says the man was lame and he had never walked a day in his life. Do you know what that means? It means this man had nothing to do but sit and listen to Paul preach! Unlike every other listener, the man who was healed could not get up and walk away when he got bored, tired, or didn’t feel like hearing Paul anymore. Does that sound like some of us?
Have you ever drifted off during Sunday service? Do you know anyone who complains about church being too long?
When I was in college, I heard a girl in one of my classes proudly tell the class that she believed in God but she didn’t believe she had to go to church to have a relationship with Him. She was met by many nodding heads and grunts of agreement—I remained silent.
Sometimes we get bored of praying, tired of waiting, or uninterested in the Word. Sometimes we aren’t rooted in Christ and we find ourselves slipping away. But imagine being held captive by the Word. Imagine not being able to get up and leave like this man could not. Do you think if you continued to hear the Word, even when you didn’t want to, that you would be blessed?
The Word says faith comes by hearing, so when this man sat and listened to the Gospel of Christ over and over and over, he was filled with faith and received his healing by believing the good news about Christ. It isn’t that he heard the message and was rewarded for being a good listener, the Scripture goes on to say that Paul saw he had faith to be healed. So don’t just blindly listen in church—listen with intention. Search for scriptures on healing, provision, comfort, restoration, or whatever you may be praying for. And even if you don’t understand the message or the scripture at the moment, just keep listening!
Hebrews 4:12 KJV says, For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword…
Even when you don’t feel changed or empowered or strengthened, the Word is still there inside you, working and shifting and rebuilding you from the inside out. God is working even when you don’t see Him or feel Him.
Don’t worry! Faith is not complicated. All you’ve got to do is trust God and believe and it will be all right. Keep reading and hearing the Word, don’t walk away when you grow impatient, don’t get up and leave God when the going gets tough. Be held captive by the Word and receive your breakthrough like this man in Acts.
Go in faith and be blessed!