10 Considerations for Understanding Biblical Faith

Are you struggling to understand faith? 

I have learned to understand faith I have to put it in terms of a relationship. When we speak of a Biblical faith, we are speaking in terms of having faith – trusting – based upon our relationship with God through His son, Jesus Christ.

With this in mind, based on my understanding of Scripture…

Here are 10 considerations of understanding Biblical faith:

1. Faith is defined for us as “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1-2)

2. Faith believes even when it makes no sense to believe, not because of the proof before you, but because of the trust you place in the object of your faith.

3. Faith is based on the will of the person in whom you place your faith, not my will. This is huge to understand. You can have faith the person you love most will never hurt you, for example, but whether they do or not is up to their will, not yours.

4. Biblical faith is in a person, the person of God. (God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – they are One.)  Faith is not in me or my abilities, but on God and His abilities.

5. When Jesus used the illustration of moving mountains He was giving an example of the power of God and how we should place our whole faith in Him. He was not talking about the power of my ability to have faith, but rather the power of the One in whom we place our faith. If God’s will is to move a mountain, He will surely move it. You can even ask Him to by faith.

6. When we talk about faith in God then, we are talking about His will, not our will. Again, this is another huge point. This is how Jesus taught us to pray….”Our Father, who is in Heaven – Thy will be done”. Faith is based on God’s agenda, not my agenda. It’s not your ability to move mountains. It is God’s ability. You have no power over God with your faith. Again, it’s not your will to move mountains; it’s God’s will. We can’t command God to do anything regardless of the size of our faith – because, faith is based on God’s will, not our own.

7. Faith is based on the promises and the character of God, not our hopes or desires. We often miss this one. When you struggle with faith, you don’t doubt your ability – you doubt God’s ability. Sometimes we get upset God hasn’t done something we think He should do, but God never promised to do it. He keeps His promises. You can trust His character – without reservation. God is always going to do what is best. If God has promised something you can absolutely, without any reservations, have faith. And, so, you can also know if God hasn’t done it He hasn’t promised He will – or it is not in His timing yet. You may not always understand what God did or why, but you can always have faith He is acting within His goodness and love. 

8. When you pray by faith then, you are praying with the understanding you trust God to do His will in your life, based not on your wishes or desires, but on what He has promised to do. Some things we can always have faith God will do, because he has promised to do them, such as “love you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3), “work all things for good” (Romans 8:28) and “never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:8). You can have peace in this world – Jesus promised this. (John 14:27) You don’t have to be afraid. (Isaiah 41:10) You don’t have to worry. Jesus made you a promise. (Matthew 6:25)

We can’t, however, have faith God will heal every sickness, because He’s not promised He will. We can pray He will – and we should. We can hope He will, but we can only have faith in what He has promised to do. And, in fact, God promised we would have trials – He promised we would need Him daily – and, praise God, He also promised throughout all tribulations we can rejoice in our sufferings – and our Heavenvly reward will be worth far more.

9. God is trustworthy – worthy of our faith. I love how The Message Version puts 1 Thessalonians 5:24, “The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!” Do what? His will. Faith in the person of God is based then on your trust He is who He says He is and He will do what He says He will do.

10. When your faith lines up with God’s will, you can absolutely, positively, unquestionably claim by faith God’s will be done. One of the reasons it is so important to know God personally is so we will know His will, so we can know how to pray in God’s will. (Romans 12:1-2)

You can ask God to do anything – and you should. Pray continually. Seek Him continually. Have faith God will keep His promises to you. He will. If you are a believer this should be a huge encouragement to you. The greatest days for a believer are still to come. Eternity will be glorious. God promised. Have faith in this.

Understanding Biblical faith is critical to maturing in our faith. Now, take a minute and read the “faith chapter”, as it has been called. Hebrews 11.

God bless!