How do I know if I have faith?

I'm not sure if this belongs here, but it feels like a "new Christian" thing to ask.

I've been worrying about this for a long time. The pastors and other Christians I've spoken with have told me things like, "If you are asking this question, you have faith." or "You just have to feel like you believe." or "If you read your Bible every night, you have faith." But none of that seems right.

Jesus says I need the faith of a mustard seed, a really small seed, and I'm good. How do I know if I have even that?

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Maybe not all who wander are lost, but I certainly am.

Everyone has been given a measure of faith. Without God's divine faith, we would not be able to get saved. It's up to us to use the faith God gives us. If we use what we have, He will give us more and then we can even reach a point where we are given faith without measure.

God's divine faith is in us, because the Holy Spirit of God is in us. When we live in the Spirit and not in the flesh, then we are using the faith He has given to us. So, if we are living Holy, Sanctifed lives, set apart onto God, then we know we are yielding to Him. If we live according to the flesh, and we are out in the world to indulge the desires of the flesh, then we are not living for God.

when we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Our faith becomes stronger as we continue to pursue and follow His way.

:-)/jm

Welcome to the forum ,trav0127 and Michael-Rev12:7!

I have moved this thread to the Bible Study forum as it is a more indepth question that can be answered better here.

Hi Trav; (to me) having faith in God is similiar to the relationship that we may have with a loved one. It is <knowing> that before you fall asleep at night and when you awake in the morning, Jesus Christ will be there with you. It is the belief that God listens to your prayers, and everything that is whispered from your lips, is heard only by him. It is looking foreward to reading the bible, so that something new can be discovered. It is a special and sacred relationship, like a child who is innocent and believing in the words of their father.

I often wonder, when I am out in the bustle of this world, how many others feel the way I do..when I see a sky painted with brilliant colors, knowing it was given to my sight by Gods hand, I am speechless.

Oh, how I am struck by his patience in all of us.

Seek the comforter, who is the holy spirit of truth. Ask to recieve this; Remember, Jesus told us he would not leave us comfortless. It is a gift. This will help guide you into the understanding of all things.
Wildfire

Jesus said "whoever has faith in me shall do the works which I have done, yes, even greater works than these he shall do."

So, if you are doing the works which Jesus did, then you have faith.

well,
answer my question
do you believe what is written in the bible?
do you believe that jesus really is the son of god?
if you say YES. then yes, you do have faith.

the devil will play mind games with you, and get you all confused, hes very good at that twisting things around and bending truths, so that you are very confused and so he can then attack you in a weakened state.

how do i KNOW that i have faith?
well, that is a very athiestic agnostic mind teasing question, you can go around, around and around agian, maybe never finding anything that makes sense, becuase your question doesnt really make sense.
its like saying
HOW DO I KNOW THAT I KNOW? its one of those unfeasable questions that dont make sense that athiests ask becuase it is quite confusing.

change the question.
DO YOU CHOOSE BELIEVE? it is up to you.
faith is not a feeling and they do connect, you do not FEEL that you have faith.
YOU SIMPLY CHOOSE TO HAVE FAITH.

simply say to yourself
YES, I DO BELIEVE, I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE.
and forget the rest. dont talk with the devil, dont let him in your mind, hes quite intelligent and can twist things around and trick you.

you simply CHOOSE to have faith, and then it is yours.
the potentail to have faith is given to all men. it is not something that must be sought after. it is already in you.

you put your foot down and choose it, and dont worry about the feelings and dont think yourself into a hole that you cant get out of. you CANT think god away, but you can easily confuse yourself.

and when the devil attacks your faith and says "
WELL? HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU HAVE IT?"
say,
BECAUSE GOD SAID WE ALL CAN HAVE IT, AND I CHOSE IT, I DO BELIEVE. I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE.

sometimes you simply have to make em shut up.
listen to him long enough, and hell get in you.
listening to the devil is opening a door to the devil.

jesus didnt listen to the devil very long, he simply said GET THE BEHIND ME! GET THE HENCE!
LEAVE NOW!
and it is not running away from a fight. it is not being weak, it does not mean you are weak or stupid.
the devil isnt big and strong, yet he can easily confuse you and make you forget the things that clearly prove you are RIGHT!

i use to do this, and id think myself into a place where i didnt know what was true anymore.
but it was simply because the devil has a way of making you forget where you came from and what youve been through and what youve seen and know. hold on to those things very tightly! like jesus did, he didnt debate with the devil, he simply spoke the word of god, what he knew, what hed seen, what proved he was right and then told him to shut up and leave.
it is very dangerous to have long conversations with the devil.

Do you believe that Christ is the Son of God who came to live among us on earth to give us a way to be reconciled to God?

That is what the Bible means when it says, "faith."

If you believe that, you have faith. If you don't believe that, then you don't have faith.

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Carry only love. Hate is a burden that is tremendously heavy.

If you want to live like Jesus, love your enemies and give up your life for them.

Trav, thanks for posting this, faith is something I am working with and questioning myself. So what I am saying I am also saying for myself.

Heb. 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

I think that we have faith, even when we think we don't. Just on the material realm we act on faith, we sit on a chair without checking to make sure it is structurally sound, we turn the key in the ignition of our car without checking that the engine is there. We asssume that the sun will rise the next day, so many things we take on faith.

Godly faith is a bit challenging, because God does not hit us over the head with a hammer. But one thing I was meditating on the other night is that when the Israelites were walking in the wilderness, they had many tangible proofs of God's existence, they had the parting of the Red Sea, the freedom from the Egyptians, manna, a pillar of fire, a pillar of cloud, the booming voice of God, lots of tangible things, and they still did not follow God's dictates.

Maybe God is smarter than we think, maybe he is way more subtle so that we are drawn to him, seeking his face, curious. Sometimes it seems hard, but when we take that first tiny step, he meets us. (Believe me when I say that I need to trust in this myself, because this is hard for me). But I think you have faith, faith enough to know that faith exists. Faith enough to pursue faith.

You can always pray to have more faith.

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God makes it quite clear in His Word that He has only one answer to every human need -- His Son, Jesus Christ.--- Watchman Nee


Prayer Walk Across Connecticut 2004

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