Faith in God is essential for us to be a strong Christian. That goes without saying but thought I should say it anyway just in case someone might actually think they can be strong in the Lord, and pleasing to Him, without building their faith. (Hebrews 11:6) And as many of you know, the only way to develop our faith is by hearing the Word of God. (Romans 10:17) In other words, we must be reading and studying our Bible to have faith, and, to learn how to effectively use our faith.

However, there are hindrances to us building our faith and some of them are not so easy to recognize.  If not careful, we think only in terms of people being a distraction or hindrance to us, or just a busy schedule, but if we are truthful with ourselves, there are more hindrances within us that we have to deal with.   Some of us deal with insecurity, doubt, fear, and sometimes health issues; but these are more of the result of hindrances and not always a hindrance in and of themselves.  Of course, they will keep us from walking in the blessings of God if we are too fearful to step out in faith to believe God for His blessings. If a person is insecure, they probably won’t even try to walk by faith; and certainly, if a person has health problems that could keep them from volunteering in their church, etc.  But for most of us, these types of things are more of the result of deeper hindrances in our lives.

My thought is that there are three main areas of hindrances that God’s children have trouble with from time to time.  So, this week we are looking at some solutions to a few hindrances to our faith.  Are you ready?  Let’s go.

HINDRANCES TO FAITH:

1) Lack of knowledge of the God’s Word;

2) Lack of skill in using our faith;

3) Lack of prayer;

Since we’ve already established that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17), we also need to understand another component to our faith is having the skill to use it effectively.  Hosea 4:6 tells us that we are destroyed for -or because- of lack of knowledge; implying the lack of knowledge of God’s Word.  So, the antidote -the solution to a lack of knowledge- is to know God and His Word.

Having faith is the believing part, but it standing alone will not take us very far in our faith walk; we must know how to activate and give power to our faith in order to receive from God, and have victory over the devil.  Activating of our faith is done by our words -speaking out our faith – some call it our confession of faith.

Our confession of faith involves more than just saying we believe that Jesus died for us; our words every day are our confessions.  The question is whether the words we speak in everyday life line up with the Word of God.  According to Proverbs 18:21, our words are powerful, leading to the consequences of either life or death.  So, the answer to a lack of knowledge of God’s Word, and the lack of skill, is using our faith, is to read, study, and learn the Word of God, and speak it over our lives.

The third area is our prayer life.  I’m convinced that most of us do not spend enough time in prayer.  Prayer is the language and power-line that brings the power of God into our lives, and the lives of others.  It’s during our prayer times of quietly sitting before the Lord that He gives us the wisdom to know how to execute His Word in our lives.  For example, we may know that First Peter 2:24 says, “by His stripes we are healed”, but may not have kept our words in line with that truth. The solution is found in Joel 3:10 that teaches, “let the weak (sick) say, I am strong (healed)”.  In other words, we are to speak strength and health over our bodies.

This week I challenge you to evaluate how you spend your knowledge of the Word of God, your skill in using your faith, and time spent in prayer.  I’m sure that all of us could improve in these areas.  My prayer for you this week is for you to realize and dispel any hindrances to your faith with knowledge of God’s Word, developing your skill in using the Word of God, and praying the Word over your life.

Proverbs 4:20-23, my child, pay attention to what I say. Listen to my words. Never let them get away from you. Remember them and keep them in your heart. They will give life and health to anyone who understands them. Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. (Good new Translation)