What is your faith based on?

[returntosender]

Do you have faith because God has answered your prayers? What keeps it going because we all know he doesn't answer most.

 

[John G.]

My faith is based on the experience of the new birth I had when, alone in a college cafeteria, I read a New Testament given me by a Christian friend.
This experience, some 48 years ago, changed my life forever.

 

[dzheremi]

2,000+ years of consistent Christian witness across the entire world of life in and with Christ, as testified to by all those who have pleased His good Father since the beginning, as confirmed by the Holy Spirit speaking through the mouths of our glorious saints in whom the Lord has dwelled and continues to dwell.

More basically said, the Holy Trinity, Who has taught us the Orthodox faith of God from day one (see here the statement on the Faith of the Church, in the Coptic daily prayer book known as the Agpeya).

 

[Yarddog]

Do you have faith because God has answered your prayers? What keeps it going because we all know he doesn't answer most.

My faith is based on an incredible personal relationship with our heavenly Father.

As a young Christian, I failed to understand just what faith meant. I had no doubt about God but I truly trusted myself instead of God. As a result, I went through what may be described as the Job experience. I lost what was worldly important to me. My marriage.

God showed me that it was my fault because I trusted in myself instead of him.

It was then that God began teaching me what faith truly was. "Completely denying oneself and placing everything in the Father's hands".

I can do nothing good without the our Father's Holy Spirit doing it from within.

In the name of the Lord Jesus, may God bless you.

 

[bèlla]

What a strange OP.

My faith is rooted in the irrefutable truth of God's existence. The magnanimity of His love and grace. An unprecedented display of compassion for His creation and provision through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And the indwelling of His Holy Spirit. An honor which many did not experience.

He is Everything and All. My Reason, Father and Friend. No one loves me more.

Our relationship isn't dependent on gifts or answered prayers. I love Him because He's worthy. I serve Him because He's earned my fealty through His constancy. I bow out of love and reverence not expectancy.

When I call He answers. I am the benevolent recipient of His grace, healing, deliverance, provision, restoration and redemption.

It's important to stay plugged into the Source. We do this through prayer, fasting, worship, service and study. But we mustn't neglect the most important part. We are temples of the living God. Set apart and holy. When must live with that in mind. The greater our commitment to the Kingdom (in word and deed) the more we'll experience the fullness of its promises.

If we're experiencing dryness the solution is worship. That's when a fresh infilling (oil) descends. We'll encounter the same through prayer and fasting.

~bella

 

[Brihaha]

My faith is based on my belief that Jesus was sacrificed for my sins and is my only path to eternal salvation. And I have been blessed with faith. Praise God.

 

[Akita Suggagaki]

One day I realized that I did not love God. With in my heart I said " I don't love you because I do not know you. I cannot love you unless I know you. Please show me who you are. After that everything changed and I still cannot describe how. It was like a new world and yet it was all still the same. That was about 50 years ago. I practice awareness of God's presence.

 

[eleos1954]

Do you have faith because God has answered your prayers? What keeps it going because we all know he doesn't answer most.

I believe no matter what happens in earthly life that God is in control ... He knows everything ... we do not ... and I trust Him ... come what may.

I remain content in His promises and believe He will do all that He said He would ... regardless of what goes on in my life or in the world.

I look forward to His return. Amen.

 

[d taylor]

-​

My faith is based on the promise of God. That all who believe in Jesus, receives God's free gift of Eternal Life and becomes a permanent born again child of God.

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.

 

[Joseph G]

I believe because He has taught me to recognize His voice in my spirit, as He promised all of His sheep would:

Romans 8:14-17 NIV

"For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."

 

[Maria Billingsley]

Do you have faith because God has answered your prayers? What keeps it going because we all know he doesn't answer most.

Love.

 

[GodBeMercifulToMeASinner]

May 20, 2017, suddenly all these events began to flash into my mind one after another, various sins I had committed. With each one I began to become increasingly upset, disgusted, even angry at myself. Then it just sort of hit me, exactly who had seen all of this. Never was an atheist or believer in any of the false religions or their manmade idols but I surely wasn’t any Christian at this time. Only knew I had broken about all the 10 commandments, didn’t care. Only knew a few bible verses. I believed the God of the Bible was real, and Jesus was God incarnate many years prior to this day.

But now, for the first time ever it became quite clear exactly how real He truly was. It was as if I could feel Him looking down on me at that very moment. He wasn’t happy either. Brings to mind these verses, which I did not know at that time:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”
—Proverbs 9:10

And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.
—Job 28:28

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
—2 Corinthians 7:10

And all that disgust I had been having with all those sins which flashed into my mind intensified to infinite. It felt truly awful to realize how defiantly I had lived against God for so long.

I used to believe only ‘real bad’ people deserved to go to hell..you know, serial killers, rapists, child predators, etc. Well whatever ‘little’ sins we do down here is far worse in the eyes of God and that was quite clear now. I fully believed I deserved to go to hell for the first time ever, and I was good with that, because it truly did cause me much pain to finally see how much I had done against God. It also became obvious how merciful and patient God was all this time. Then out of nowhere, the image of Christ being mocked, ridiculed, tortured etc came into my mind then my sorrow intensified even more. It was I who put Him there by how I lived in defiance to God. It caused me so much anguish. That day is why I have this username, from Luke 18:13. And that day, God caused a change.

The memory of that day is the basis of my faith, and all of the wisdom contained within His Word which is very much alive. The enemies I have accumulated for telling the truth are even encouraging. And just like Christ during His earthly ministry, His enemies were the devout adherents of the religious system..those who only honor Him with their lips, yet their hearts are far from Him. Those whose faith revolves around building and ritual/tradition oriented religion. satan doesn’t come with atheists and pagans to try and harm your faith, the weapon of choice in his tool belt is fake Christians. The tares which the enemy has planted. But overtime, rather than sowers of doubt (how can religious tradition-oriented covert narcissists have the truth? they’re more wicked than most pagans!) such people become a source of encouragement, those are the ones who were Christ’s biggest enemies during His earthly ministry.

Plus, submitting everything to God and relying on Him is the only true freedom and peace anyone can have in his life, that is also encouraging. I don’t try to be a, b, or c, x, y, or z. Don’t care. God is in control, that is assuring.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.”
—Proverbs 3:5-7

 

[Rsdar]

My faith is based on an incredible personal relationship with our heavenly Father.

As a young Christian, I failed to understand just what faith meant. I had no doubt about God but I truly trusted myself instead of God. As a result, I went through what may be described as the Job experience. I lost what was worldly important to me. My marriage.

God showed me that it was my fault because I trusted in myself instead of him.

It was then that God began teaching me what faith truly was. "Completely denying oneself and placing everything in the Father's hands".

I can do nothing good without the our Father's Holy Spirit doing it from within.

In the name of the Lord Jesus, may God bless you.

Amen. So many easily look at belief and faith as synonyms. The devils believed. Faith is heart trusting.

 

[Yarddog]

Amen. So many easily look at belief and faith as synonyms. The devils believed. Faith is heart trusting.

The devil knows. Satan was in heaven with God but has faith in himself. I trusted myself but God revealed my failure.

 

[Lost4words]

Do you have faith because God has answered your prayers? What keeps it going because we all know he doesn't answer most.

Life is not easy with lots of suffering.

But......

What keeps my faith going is a very strong love of God and a massive belief in Him.