Necessary Ingredients of Faith

In the last post I wrote on faith, I spoke about salvation, i.e., accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, as being very important. I will write further on the others in this post.

Firstly, it is important to remind ourselves of what faith is.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith and Hope

Faith and hope are not the same thing.

Faith cannot be substituted for hope, but they both need to be present for the proper effect to take place.

Hope is about expecting something even though you may not see it now. You know it will happen sometime, while faith talks about the now.

One needs to have something to hope for before the substance of faith can be put to work regarding that issue.

Faith and hope are totally different.

A number of people are yet to receive what God has for them because they are still hoping.

To hope is an easy thing which everyone can do, but to have faith in that hope by believing God has done it is what makes the difference.

Subtle, yet powerful.

People believing that God will heal them someday may remain there for a very long time until the substance of faith is given to what they are hoping for.

From the explanation given, it is safe to say that faith doesn’t work alone.

Possibly, the reason why people are not receiving things the way they should, despite their faith being in place, is because they are not adding the necessary ingredients needed for their faith to work.

Apart from hope, other ingredients needed for faith to work are:

• Love
• Work (the will of God)
• Patience

Faith and Love

As much as faith is a potent force that gets things in the spiritual realm to manifest physically, love is the foundation for everything functioning in the Kingdom of God, including faith.

Between faith, love, and hope, love is said to be the greatest of them all (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Faith is nothing without love.

1 Corinthians 13:1–3 gives a good picture of love.

Verse 2 says (NIV):

“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.”

This is how important love is, and this may be another reason why people’s prayers are not answered despite their faith.

The summary of the Bible passage makes us understand that one cannot make Heaven without love.

No wonder Jesus said in Matthew 7:23:

“I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work in iniquity.”

This was despite the prophesying and mighty miracles they did.

One who loves God and man does not have a heart for malice, keeping or backbiting, but has wonderful benefits that are seen in 1 Corinthians 2:9–10.

Faith and God’s Will

For faith to actually produce results, the will of God must be known.

It is when you ask anything according to His will that He will hear you (1 John 5:14).

God’s will is known in the Word of God.

Some of these are:

• Healing
• Protection
• Supplication of needs, which is different from wants
• And many more.

There may be other specific things tailored to our individual needs which are not in the Word of God but have principles in the Word of God.

In such cases, we could ask God directly. He told us to bring our strong reasons with us (Isaiah 1:18).

If He does, we can put our faith to work, but if He doesn’t, it’s for our own good because God doesn’t have anything to lose or gain.

He still remains the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

Faith with Works

There is no faith that doesn’t give you something to do regarding that area.

Even healing that looks too simple to be true, not only are you to stand strong in faith but also act your healing out.

The earlier you add action or work, the faster your miracle comes.

For those unable to do things normally, with your faith intact, start doing what you couldn’t do.

For example, those that couldn’t stand should make efforts to start.

Another area of faith with works is the area of giving.

Are you indebted, or do you need a breakthrough in your finances?

God has already promised to supply our NEEDS.

Start paying your tithes and giving to the needy, but it is also vital to know those who are truly in need rather than giving your precious pearls to swines and them coming back to bite you.

In this generation, we really need the discernment of the Spirit to give because some people are nothing but trouble.

What to do is in the Word of God. All you need to do is locate it and put it to work.

Faith and Patience

Patience is another virtue needed in faith.

That you don’t see something happening immediately does not mean that it hasn’t already taken place.

Someone would ask, “What do you do between the time you praise and await results?”

Patience, praise, and thanksgiving are what you do.

This is the time to thank God for answering your prayer rather than getting agitated.

Sometimes, the situation might look like it is getting worse. Don’t let that bother you.

It’s the trick of the devil.

When evil spirits are about to come out of a man, the manifestation is usually more.

Just be calm and keep believing.