Faith By Practice Instead of Theory
In his book, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill wrote, “All down the ages, the religionists have admonished struggling humanity to ‘have faith’ in this, that, and the other dogmas or creed, but they have failed to tell people HOW to have faith. They have not stated that faith is a state of mind that may be induced by self-suggestion” (pg. 83). And if the truth be known, religionist don’t understand themselves how faith works given that according to an article in Gitnux, 50% of pastors feel unable to meet the demands of the (pastoral) job with 90% of pastors report working between 55 and 75 hours per week, with 80% of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave within the first five years of ministry with over 70% being underpaid with 90% of wives, or husbands feeling the need to get out of ministry all together given the lack of financial and spiritual support.
Each person started with good intention with a head full of biblical knowledge with very little or no PRACTICE to what it was they were getting themselves into. Everything they learned was based on THEORY alone leaving most religionist ill-equipped to live a true life of faith. And so, the phrase, “Knowledge is power” is really incorrect. It should really be, “The application of knowledge is power.” And so, since the average religious leader has very little practice in living by faith, when problem arise in other people’s daily experience, the response the religionists give is “All you need is Jesus.” “Just have more faith.” “Keep praying and God will answer.” “Have more faith.” Yet, most people do not know HOW to live by faith because they don’t know and the people teaching them don’t know. Which is the main reason the majority of religious leaders live paycheck to paycheck, unless the leader decides to work bi-vocationally to make ends meet for his own family, since they cannot depend on the money that is collected from the offering plate.
Jesus said, “Let them alone; they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matthew 5:14, KJV). You cannot lead by faith if you only understand faith in theory instead of practice. It takes practice of understand Faith for God the manifest the good that you desire.
Jesus clearly teaches how faith works, BUT, since the average religionist has never truly seen faith work in their own lives, the leaders actually resist true faith as a fantasy and a fairy tale. The leader will quote Scripture to substantiate their lack of faith by saying things like, “What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul” (Mark 8:36). Or they’ll say, “they are teaching prosperity theology” as if it is a sin to prosper in order to provide adequately for their family? Doesn’t the Bible teach from the mouth of God in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future?” Yet because of the lack of understanding regarding practical faith from religious people around the world, people chose to suffer in abject poverty due to the ignorance of those who have commissioned to teach them regarding how to live by faith.
So, when millions of people finally hear truth regarding how faith works, the teaching is so foreign to them that they resist how to practice faith for the theory of faith of begging and pleading to God leading them into the same ditch as the religionist who is already in the same ditch that they keep listening to. The average person has been programmed to believe a lie about how faith works until their eyes are finally open to the truth about how faith works.
Jesus Himself taught that, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24, NIV). That’s it! That’s it! “Ask, believe that you have (already) received it, and by faith, it is already yours.! And so, faith is a state of mind of believing that whatever you manifest within you, God will manifest outside of you, IF you trust and believe that it’s already yours just waiting to be physically delivered to you from the Lord. Is it that simply? Yes, if you don’t give up believing that it’s already yours as you wait for God to manifest it in his “Divine Time” which is different from “human time.” Remember that the Bible says that “beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3:8). And so, the pray that is already yours, that God has said yes to will manifest in your life in the Lord’s perfect time.
And since Faith is a state of mind assuming and believing that it’s already yours, you release that prayer to God, and from that point on, you continually thank God for your answered prayer: “Thank you Father for my blessed life.” “Thank you Father for my successful business.” “Thank you for my loving family.” “Thank you for my new home, my new life, etc., etc.” That’s how you put faith to practice as you align your thoughts, your heart, and your beliefs in alignment of God’s love, abundance, happiness, and joy. This is when “the God in you,” the Holy Spirit can take what you ask for and believe God for outside of your inner earthly temple and transmute your prayers into your outer reality. Your major concern isn’t on the “How” or “When” you get it. Your focus in on the “What” and “Why” you get it.
So, breath in, and breath out, and let God do what only He (or She) can do, as you live by faith in practice instead of theory.
Bernard H Hamilton, Th.M., MAPC
Counselor/Spiritual Influencer, Former Senior Pastor
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