This is the first prayer in the prayer acrostic, F.O.L.L.O.W. C.H.R.I.S.T.
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F: Increase our FAITH!
1)"The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith" (Luke 17:5).
2) "The Lord said, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have all of you, that he might sift you as wheat, but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn't fail. You, when once you have turned again, establish your brothers" (Luke 22:31-32).
3) "Flee from youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Timothy 2:22).
4) "night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face, and may perfect that which is lacking in your faith" (1 Thessalonians 3:10).
5) "We are bound to always give thanks to God for you, brothers, even as it is appropriate, because your faith grows exceedingly" (2 Thessalonians 1:3).
6) "For I say through the grace that was given me, to every man who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith" (Romans 12:3).
Prayerful Observations:
We should pray about our faith... that God would multiply our faith.
In the first passage we see that the apostles asked Jesus to increase their faith.
In the second passage we see that Jesus prayed for the faith of Simon, "that your faith wouldn't fail". While they did fall away (Matthew 26:31), their faith did not fail because of the prayer of Jesus in Luke 22:31-32 above. After falling, Peter returned and the disciples were strengthened. So, prayer is God's provision to return us into fellowship, after we sin.
In the third passage, the apostle Paul admonished Timothy to "pursue, righteousness, faith..." (2 Timothy 2:22). Faith is something that Timothy was to "pursue", even though Timothy had faith (1 Timothy 1:2,19; 2:15; 2 Timothy 1:5).
The fourth passage is from Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians. Paul indicated that he prayed that he might "perfect that which is lacking" in their faith.
The fifth passage is from the second letter to the Thessalonians. It indicated that their faith has grown exceedingly. Paul gives credit for this growing faith to God. "give thanks to God for you, brothers, even as it is appropriate, because your faith grows exceedingly."
To summarize, the prayer of Paul that was mentioned in 1 Thessalonians resulted in the increase in their faith which was mentioned in 2 Thessalonians.
Existing faith is increased by asking for greater faith.
Let's revisit 1 Thessalonians 3:10:
- "night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face, and may perfect that which is lacking in your faith" (1 Thessalonians 3:10).
You may wonder what Paul meant by "that which is lacking in your faith". Well, scripture describes faith as strong, weak, wavering, unwavering, growing, little, incomplete, without works, without root, dead, etc. Some believe that faith in this verse means "information". Well, faith is not information. To test that theory, read all of chapter 3 from 1 Thessalonians to see 1 Thessalonians 3:10 in context. As you read, replace all five occurrences of the word "faith" with the word "information" as you read. You will see that the passage doesn't make sense if "faith" is replaced with "information. A prayerful observation of the three versions of Jesus's calming of the storm, from Matthew, Mark and Luke, reveals that we can have boundaries to our faith. In other words, we may trust God for this but not for that. All of these varieties of faith are explained, from the scriptures in subchapter 2.6 titled, "What Variety of Faith Do You Have?"
One account of when Jesus calmed the storm is in Matthew 8:23-26. The disciples were afraid that they were about to drown in a storm. In that situation Jesus said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" So the words of Jesus reveal that fear is a result of a small faith.
Fear is something we are commanded not to do. So, it is a choice.
- "Don't be afraid. Don't be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).
- "Don't be afraid. Don't be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).
The sixth passage above reveals that the "measure" (or amount) of faith that we have was "apportioned" to us by God. Here is the passage again:
- "For I say through the grace that was given me, to every man who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith" (Romans 12:3).
You can see that the "measure" (or amount) of faith that we have was "apportioned" to us by God. Ephesians 6:23, which according to Ephesians 1:1 was written to saints, indicates that additional faith comes to saints from God:
"Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ' (Ephesians 6:23).
This raises questions:
Does God grant initial conversion faith?
If God does grant initial conversion faith, does He grant it arbitrarily or conditionally?
For example, what if God grants faith to those who seek Him with their whole heart? If He did, then that would be granting faith on the condition of seeking.
If God grants faith, but His granting of faith is not based on a condition, this type of granting would be arbitrary. It would be grace, but it would be arbitrary grace... because it was not based on a condition in the individual. To grant faith as an act of grace to one individual but not to another individual, would be an arbitrary granting of faith, if the reason to grant or not grant faith was not based on a condition in the individual.
God's nature does not change. So the different treatment of two types of individuals, those who received faith and those who didn't, can not be attributed to a different condition in God... that God felt graceful when when he created one person, but didn't feel graceful when He created another...
Many scriptures have been compiled to deal with these issues in the appendix (A3) titled, "The Unabbreviated Conversion Corridor". Click here to read. Many passages are reconciled without bending any. The end is this: God gets all the glory. And God is not arbitrary. The scriptures paint the whole picture.
2011
I tried to manufacture more faith in myself for many decades, I could not. It was only after I acknowledged that I could not, that I began to ask God to multiply my faith. For three years I asked God to multiply my faith daily. First I asked Him to double my faith, and then to triple my faith. Then I asked Him to multiply my faith one thousand fold, then ten thousand fold, again and again. Daily and more than once a day, I asked. Then, when the doctor told me that I had cancer in 2014, I had no fear. I actually laughed. If you believe that God will increase your faith by only 10%, ask for it. Then keep asking.
2002
Pray, Trust, Keep Trying
After my son Austin turned sixteen, I told him it was time to get a job. It was summer and jobs were hard to find. The unemployment rate was about 6% at the time. But the unemployment rate for teenagers was 19.5%! The summer is the hardest time of the year for a teenager to find a job. The kids who held the jobs during the school year want more hours, since school is out and they have more time on their hands. There is also an increase in applications from the students who didn't work during the school year but want a summer job. The outlook for a first time summer job was dismal. On a Monday, I told my 16 year old to apply for ten jobs every day until he got one. He said he couldn't come up with ten places to apply.
He applied for ten jobs per day for five days. He received a job on application number forty-five, the following Friday. He was a busboy at a pizza parlor that summer.
2009
Pray, Trust, Keep Trying
My son graduated from college in May of 2009. The economy was in turmoil. It was the Mortgage Debt Crisis. The unemployment rate was nearly 10%. The seniors in his class were not finding jobs. This is what I told him:
"I lived through times like these during the Oil & Gas and Real Estate Depression that occurred during the 1980's. That's when oil prices fell to $9 per barrel! The unemployment rate in my region rose to 9.3%. Almost every major bank in my region failed and was taken over by an out of state bank. Most of the companies in my industry did not survive." I said... "Expect to call one thousand companies to find a job!" My wife and I admonished him to pray and rely on God. He did!
He contacted about three companies per day. Most were not hiring. Many laughed when he asked if they were hiring. He applied to those which were accepting applications. He lived like a Gypsy on a shoestring, expected success and never asked me for a penny. It took two hundred phone calls to find a job, in his field, with a fast growing company. The job was three hundred miles from his preferred location, but was a great job for him! The search took two months.
What's the lesson? Many become discouraged after a series of failed attempts and stop trying. Never give up! Expect suffering. Expect God to provide what you need according to His will but not necessarily what you want. That was discussed in micro-subchapter 4.2c.
Being discouraged is a choice. We are actually commanded to not be discouraged. God said to Joshua,
- "Haven't I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don't be afraid. Don't be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).
To see all twelve prayers in the acrostic FOLLOW CHRIST, click here.
- "Haven't I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don't be afraid. Don't be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).
To see all twelve prayers in the acrostic FOLLOW CHRIST, click here.