Faith

Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Interestingly, degrees of faith are not taught in the Bible, you either have faith or you didn't. A weak faith is still faith and it can move the highest mountains if God wills it. God does not require a certain level of faith from us, just faith in itself. How much faith do you need to be saved? Just enough! Just enough faith to “call upon the name of the Lord” (Romans 10:13). 

How much faith do you need to have your prayers answered as a Christian? Just enough! Just enough faith to pray (Philippians 4:6). Our duty is to pray, and then trust God.

Take a quick look at Acts 12:1-16 and you'll be amazed. James had been killed by Herod's sword. Peter was next. The church prayed for Peter's rescue, God answered their prayer. When Peter came to the door (where the church was assembled praying for his release), they didn't believe it was him. The Bible says they were "astonished" (shocked) in disbelief. What is so amazing is that these people didn't believe God would answer their prayer in the first place, that is why they were so astonished. Amazingly, even though they prayed in doubt, God answered their prayers. You see my friend, God does not require hardly any faith at all, just faith. The church in Acts 12 prayed with the least of faith, yet God delivered Peter from the murderous hands of King Herod. 

We read in the Bible about “this kind” of faith which Jesus spoke of in Mark 9:29. Yes, sometimes we will need to spend time in prayer and fasting to boost our faith. The disciples could NOT heal the boy afflicted by the demon because they had no faith. They didn't have little faith; they had no faith. In Mark 9:19 Jesus called them “faithless.” It is God Who works miracles, not man. Fasting is the process whereby we let go of the physical to grasp more of the spiritual, thus creating faith in our heart. 

God tells us in James 5:15 that the “prayer of faith” shall heal the sick, not the gimmick of a TV evangelist or a Pentecostal-Charismatic experience. Hebrews 11:6 declares that it is FAITH which pleases God. How silly then that so many of us try to impress God with our self-righteousness (which is NO righteousness at all). Do you think fasting is a way of earning an answer to prayer? No friend, God wants faith! The sinful flesh is the direct enemy of faith in God. Fasting is a way of subduing the flesh to help us strengthen our faith. Prayer is asking, which is faith.

Let me say, though God only requires the smallest amount of faith, some people do have a stronger faith than others. Jesus spent much time in the mountains praying alone as an example to us. We need to walk with God to maintain our faith, but be comforted in knowing that God is only looking for faith, not a certain amount of faith. There's nothing taught in the Bible which requires a person to have a certain level of faith to receive answers to prayer.