What Is Faith?
According to the oxford dictionary, faith is complete trust and confidence in someone or something.
The Bible says that if we have faith as small as a grain of mustard seed we can command any mountain to move out of our way and it will have to obey. How extraordinary! It is even more remarkable when we think about the size of a mustard seed.
He said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 17:20
A mustard seed is 1 or 2 mm in length. This means that if you have even the tiniest amount of confidence and trust in God, he will give you the power to remove any mountain or obstacles in your way.
We can clearly see that nothing warms the heart of our savior as much as faith.
In the Gospel of Luke 8:43-48. Jesus is touched by someone. He immediately knew this because he felt power come out of him. It was a woman who had touched him. This woman had been suffering from an issue of blood for several years.
She believed with her whole heart that all she had to do was touch Jesus or even the helm of his garments and she would be healed.
She was not disappointed, once she touched the border of his clothes, she was healed. Her faith was sufficient and she experienced a miracle.
How Do We Acquire Faith?
The Bible says in Romans 10: 17, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” The word of God has the power to ignite our hearts and fill them with love and trust in our risen savior.
The more we hear the word and truly listen and believe, the more we will develop our faith. There are many who hear but do not really listen. When we are listening we hear Jesus speaking to us when the word of God is spoken.
As we listen, our minds and hearts are enriched with wisdom. The more wisdom we gain, the greater our knowledge of God, and the greater our faith.
The Faith of the Centurion
In the Gospel of Matthew, we find one of the most profound examples of faith in the scriptures. A centurion approaches Jesus and asks him to cure his servant who is lying in bed at home, paralyzed.
The centurion does not press Jesus to visit his home to cure the servant. Instead, he asks him to say the “word” and heal his servant. This centurion understood the power of the word of God to overcome earthly obstacles such as sickness and disease.
Jesus is astonished by the centurion’s faith and is quoted as saying in Matthew 8:10, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”
The type of faith that the centurion expressed can be achieved by all of us. We should not only hear the word of God but truly listen and open our hearts and minds. In this way we will receive the blessing of great faith in our lives.
