“…God hath dealt to every man the MEASURE OF FAITH” (Rom. 12:3).
Some Christians want to pray for faith. They don’t seem to realize that if they are born again, they are already believers, and they already have faith; they just haven’t developed it.
Actually, the Bible says that every person is given a measure of faith. It also says that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). So as a believer, you do have faith, but faith has to be exercised so that it can grow and develop.
The same principle is true in the natural realm. For example, if you want to develop your body, you have to exercise and lift weights. There is no use trying to lift 500 pounds if you can’t even lift 100 pounds! It could even be dangerous because you might tear a muscle that may take months to heal.
Things work much the same way in the spiritual realm. You are not going to get your faith to work if you don’t exercise it. People who haven’t taken time to develop their faith have weak faith. So if they try to believe God for something beyond their level of faith, their faith fails them, and they are hindered for months. Then they think they don’t have faith when really they have just never developed their faith!
If you are a believer, you do have faith. So start where you are in faith. Start believing God where your faith is developed right now.
For example, if you were trying to climb a ladder, would you start at the top rung? No, you’d have to climb the ladder one step at a time, beginning at the bottom rung. No one can take one step and climb to the top rung of a six-foot ladder. But it is very easy to climb a ladder when you take just one step at a time.
It’s the same way with faith. Start developing your faith now for the things you need from God. But first you’re going to have to know what God has said in His Word. If God hasn’t said it, then you can’t believe for it. But if He promised you something in His Word, then you can believe Him to bring it to pass in your life.
The Bible says, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: HATH HE SAID, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (Num. 23:19). Whatever God says that you can have, you can have!
Faith is not sight. Faith is not feeling. Faith is based on the fact of what “God hath said” in His Word.
Some people confuse faith with feelings. They are always waiting for a feeling before they will believe God. In essence, that is telling God that His Word is a lie. But that’s not how faith works. First, you have faith, and then the feelings come.
God promised that if we believe His Word, we can receive from Him (Mark 11:24). So our assurance must be in God’s Word. We don’t need feelings when we have the facts – the facts of God’s Word. If God said it, shall He not do it? He watches over His Word to perform it (Jer. 1:12). He will certainly make His Word good in our lives if we will just believe Him!
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications
Kenneth W. Hagin, President of Kenneth Hagin Ministries and pastor of RHEMA Bible Church, ministers around the world. Known for calling the Body of Christ to steadfast faith, he seizes every ministry opportunity to impart an attitude of “I cannot be defeated, and I will not quit.”
Rev. Hagin began preparing for his call to ministry—a ministry that now spans 50 years—at Southwestern Assemblies of God University. He graduated from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and holds an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Faith Theological Seminary in Tampa, Florida.
In his early years of ministry, Rev. Hagin was an associate pastor and traveling evangelist. Later, he went on to organize and develop RHEMA Bible Training Centers in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, and in other countries around the world.
Kenneth W. Hagin’s array of responsibilities also includes International Director of RHEMA Ministerial Association International. He hosts the annual A Call to Arms® Men’s Conference, and with his wife, Lynette, cohosts RHEMA Praise, a weekly television program, and Rhema for Today, a weekday radio program broadcast throughout the United States. They also conduct Living Faith Crusades, spreading the message of faith and healing around the world.
Recognizing the lateness of the hour before the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, Rev. Hagin has expanded his speaking schedule beyond his regular pastoral duties. To fulfill the urgent call of God to prepare the Church for a deeper experience of His Presence, Rev. Hagin delivers messages that reveal key spiritual truths about faith, healing, and other vital subjects. He ministers with a strong healing anointing, and his ministry leads the Body of Christ into a greater experience of the glory of God!
Kenneth W. Hagin and his wife live in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is the son of the late Kenneth E. Hagin.