Faith Growth

 

    To have your faith grow you have to be involved.  You have to pursue God and do your part.  He does the heavy lifting, but you have to be willing to go into the unknown, unpredictable, and uncomfortable places.  The first question you need to ask yourself is am I really saved?  If the answer is no, then you need to step into faith.  If the answer is yes, then you need to ask yourself if you are willing to talk to people about Jesus and your faith.

    Faith starts and ends with believing the truth about Jesus and prayer.  You pray to God about all the aspects of your day, intervention, intercession, healing, peace, and so much more.  You discover who you are to God in prayer and time in God's Word.  It is really beneficial to find a prayer partner or two.  These are people you can bare your soul to without fear of judgment.  They will not condone sin, but they will help you overcome it.

    Prayer partners become your best friends in life.  There is a bonding that happens that is similar to a sibling, but possibly without the toxicity.  Your sibling can be a prayer partner and it will only make you closer.  A prayer partner will pray for you in ways that you don't see.  They may see your blind spots.  They speak truth into your life.  They love you like Jesus loves you.  In return you do the same for them.  This will help your faith grow because you are able to see God work in different ways than if you were alone in your spiritual journey.

    A prayer partner will encourage you to take healthy risk.  They see the best in you.  They know your limitations and potential.  Not anyone can be a prayer partner.  No one can assign one to you.  You have to find each other and choose to be transparent, honest, and vulnerable with each other.  When you are struggling with direction, they can help make things more clear.  

    A prayer partner will not tell you what you want to hear to spare your feelings.  They will not tell you that you are doing good when you are not.  They will not lie to you.  They will tell you the truth in love.  If they do not do the following, then you may need to pray for a new prayer partner or have a hard conversation about how to move forward in your relationship.  

    Faith growth takes people in your life.  This include the people that you may not like or make life harder.  You tend to grow the most when you are under persecution or struggling in an area.  If you are comfortable, then you think all is well.  It is easy to become complacent when you are comfortable.  

    You are in this world for a reason.  God created you to really live, but with responsibilities.  The main responsibility is to spread the Good News and make disciples.  You need to learn your spiritual gifts and how to use them to help the church grow.  They were not given to you to make your life easier.  They were given to you to spread God's message in a personalized way.  Faith growth requires true faith, submission, and loving action.

Psalm 16:5-6, Proverbs 3:5-6, John 14:12-14, Romans 10:16-21, Galatians 6:7-10, Ephesians 4:14-16, Colossians 2:6-7, James 2:25-26, & 2 Peter 3:17-18