Week 23 of 52 Prayers of Faith - Faith is always forgiving others because in Christ, God has forgiven us

Faith is always forgiving others because in Christ, God has forgiven us - Lord increase our Faith

Forgiving someone is an act of the will and an act of faith.  We can choose to forgive someone even when we don't feel like it, because the Word of God says to.  We can forgive someone as an act of faith because even though we don't feel like it, we have faith that The God of All Creation can change our hearts when we choose to follow His Ways.

Jesus paid for our sins so we have been forgiven.  Because He has done this, He has made it possible for us to forgive others.  When we say that we cannot forgive, we deny Christ's redemptive work on the Cross.  He can make a way where there seems to be no way.  God has empowered us to forgive others, we just have to accept it by faith, knowing that forgiving others is God's will for our lives.

Lord, thank you that You have made a way for us to forgive others - Lord, increase our Faith.

Week 12 of 52 Faith is knowing that trials and temptations can only make us stronger if we trust in Him

Faith is knowing that trials and temptations can only make us stronger if we trust in Him - Lord increase our faith

The Word of God talks about this topic from two sides. In the Lord's Prayer we ask God the Father to keep us from falling into temptation. Jesus tells us that He has given us his peace, yet blessed are those who face all kinds of trials and attacks from people. The Apostle Paul tells us in one of his letters to the Corinthian church that the temptations that we face are merely common to humans, but we are to persevere and He will give us a way out of it. We are also encouraged in the Word of God that when we face all kinds of trails and temptations that this builds our patience, but we are also encourage that the trials we face will not be eternal, they are just part of life.

When we face trials and temptations, we can either complain or petition God and believe for His help. God's desire is for us to become more and more like him. He wants us to put off the old person corrupted with its evil desires and put on a new persona - one like Him in Righteousness and Truth. Further, God has give us his Holy Spirit to both help us and remind us of God's Truth.

But this isn't quite like lifting weights where we make our self stronger through repeated excising of our muscles. rather it is accomplish by our surrendering to God, embracing the circumstances and obeying the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes that means "Stand," girded in God's armor and sometimes it means flee from temptation. The end result is that we gain strength in that we become more dependent upon God.

I know that I am human and prone to failure but God is eternal and perfect. The more I have of Him in me and the more I trust in Him, and the more I am capable of doing through Him. The Apostle Paul says, "When I am weak, He is strong". As a Christian our strength comes from God and not just personal resolve or fortitude. We are fallible, while God is infallible. When we face these difficult situations and listen to his Holy Spirit, we are made strong IN HIM.

Lord, we know that you cause all things to work to the good of those called by You and who love You. Lord, may the trials and temptations we face make us more dependent and thereby stronger in You Lord Increase our faith.