How to be Filled with Real Faith in Jesus Christ
Have you ever asked yourself, “How can I have real faith in Jesus Christ?”
As believers in Christ, we know that the Christian life is a life of faith. Second Corinthians 5:7 tells us clearly,
“For we walk by faith not by appearance.”
But in our daily life, we often find ourselves sinking on a stormy sea.
We’re like Peter who stepped out of the boat at the Lord’s word. Yet, when he lost sight of the Lord and looked at the stormy waves around him, he began to sink (Matt. 14:29-31).
As the Lord stretched out His hand to lift Peter from the waves, He said to him,
“You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
If you feel short of faith and your circumstances seem more real than the Lord is, I hope this post will fill you with real faith.
In this post, I’ll present twelve words–action verbs– that describe what faith is. Then by applying these twelve words, I believe that you will be filled with real faith in Jesus Christ.
12 words to fill you with real faith in Jesus Christ
Here are twelve words–action verbs–that describe what faith is and show how to be filled with real faith.
1. Hearing
First, faith comes from hearing. When we hear God’s word, faith is sown into our heart. Romans 10:17 says,
“So faith comes out of hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
We should never think that faith originates with us. It is God’s gift to us through our hearing of the good news of Jesus Christ. In Galatians 3:2, Paul reminds us that our receiving of the Spirit is through the “hearing of faith.”
This is why it’s so helpful to read God’s word with prayer every morning, to feed on the “words of the faith” that nourish our inner being (1 Tim. 4:6).
2. Appreciating
Then as we hear God’s word we’re filled with appreciation. We spontaneously appreciate the wonderful Person of Christ revealed to us on the pages of the Bible.
For example, when we hear how Christ died for us, we’re overcome with appreciation for Him.
3. Calling
Appreciating is followed by calling. Romans 10:14 says,
“How shall they call upon Him into whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe into Him of whom they have not heard?”
The word that we hear, sows faith into our hearts. Then the word becomes so near to us, in our mouth and in our heart (Rom. 10:8). So we spontaneously call on the name of Lord,
“Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus! I love You. You are so good!”
4. Receiving
Real faith also includes receiving. When we appreciate the Lord Jesus, calling on Him, we spontaneously receive Him. John 1:12 says,
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name.”
So real faith, that is, our believing into Christ, is our receiving Him. After we call on the Lord Jesus, we need to tell Him,
“Lord Jesus, I receive You. come into me. and fill me.”
5. Accepting
However, it is possible to receive something yet not really accept it. Children often unwillingly receive a certain food, but they don’t really accept it. They swallow it without assimilating what they receive.
But when we appreciate Christ, calling on His name, we also accept Him as well as receive Him. Our will agrees with His will.
By accepting Christ through God’s Word we’re filled us with real faith. We need to tell the Lord,
“Lord, I not only believe into You and receive You, I accept You. I invite You in. Have Your way in my life.”
6. Joining
When we receive the Lord and accept Him we are spontaneously joined to Him. Paul speaks of this joining in 1 Corinthians 6:17,
“But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.”
We need to remain in this joining with the Lord in our spirit. Here we live as the branches of the true vine, abiding in Christ (John 15:4-5). In such a joining we’re filled with real faith.
7. Partaking
In our joining to Christ, we need to partake of Him. By joining ourselves to Christ through God’s word, we partake of His divine nature. In 2 Peter 1:4a Peter says,
“Through which He has granted to us precious and exceedingly great promises that through these you might become partakers of the divine nature…”
The simplest way I know to partake of the Lord is to pray over His Word, that is, to pray-read the Word. By daily pray-reading a few verses, especially in the morning, you’ll be filled with real faith in Jesus Christ.
Here is a post that presents 12 tips to help you pray-read the be spiritually nourished.
8. Enjoying
As we are partaking of delicious food, we also enjoy it. Real faith includes both partaking of and enjoying the Lord.
We need to not just “swallow the food” but take time to savor it, to enjoy it. By musing on God’s Word and having fellowship with the Lord we enter into a real enjoyment of Him. In such a way, we’re being filled with real faith.
9. Rejoicing
Partaking and enjoying the Lord through God’s word fills us with rejoicing. The prophet Jeremiah said,
“Your words were found and I ate them, / And Your word became to me / The gladness and joy of my heart…” (Jer. 15:16)
10. Thanking
Thanking is also an excellent way to be filled with faith. We need to thank the Lord at all times for all things. Ephesians 5:20 says,
“Giving thanks at all time for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father.”
The more we give thanks, the more we’re filled with real faith in Jesus Christ. Try it right now. Just say,
“Lord Jesus, thank you for dying for me. thank you for saving me. Thank you for filling me with faith.”
11. Praising
God desires not only our thanks, but even more our praise. There is a difference between thanking and praising the Lord.
We should first thank Him for what He has done for us. But we should also praise Him for who He is. Even when He does nothing for us, we should still praise Him. We can say,
“Lord Jesus, I praise you. Thank you that as the eternal God, You became flesh. You became the perfect Man, the sinless Lamb of God, and the Bread of Heaven. Now, you are my life, my hope of glory, my King and my Lord. You are worthy of all the praise and glory.”
To praise the Lord in such a way, is a higher expression of our faith. As we praise the Lord for who He is, we’re spontaneously filled with real faith in Him.
12. Overflowing
Finally, such faith results in the overflow of life from within us. The psalmist said,
“My heart overflows with a good matter; I speak what I have composed concerning the King. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. You are fairer than the sons of men; Grace is poured upon Your lips; Therefore God has blessed You forever. (Psalm 45:1-2).
When we enjoy such a Christ, we cannot help but overflow, speaking of Him to those we meet.
Practice these 12 points to be filled with real faith in Jesus Christ
Try practicing these twelve points from hearing to overflowing and see if you’re not filled with real faith in the Lord Jesus.
The best time to start this practice is first thing each morning. Begin by calling on the Lord and praying some short prayers. Then pick up your Bible and begin to feed your inner man with the “words of the faith.” The rest will follow in a very normal way.
If you enjoyed this post please take a moment to leave a comment. You can also stop by the Holding to Truth Facebook page and continue the conversation.
References and Further Reading:
- These twelve points on faith were taken from The Life-study of Galatians, by Witness Lee. You can read more at ministrybooks.org, under “The Life-Study of the Bible” tab, in “The Life-study of Galatians,” Messages 14, 18 and 19.
- You may also like to listen to a podcast on this topic from the Life-study of the Bible Broadcast Archives—Life Study of Galatians, Program # 14
- Photo credit: missyredboots from morguefile.com
About Tom Smith
Hi. My name is Tom Smith. I'm the writer behind Holding to Truth in Love, and I love the Lord Jesus and His life-giving Word. Please feel free to send me an e-mail through the contact page if you have any questions. I hope you'd take a moment to subscribe to the Holding to Truth blog. Then you'll be sure not to miss a post. Thanks!
Thank You Lord Jesus for the Divine Life! May You be my expression daily.Amen.
Amen. As practice the 12 aspects of faith from hearing to overflowing, we’re filled with the divine life and the Lord becomes our expression. In this way we’re kept in contact with Him, live Him and are transformed into His image to express Him. What a blessing!
Amen! Lord make this our daily practice and keep us practicing the 12 aspects of faith, from hearing to overflowing, so that the Christ that we have appreciated will be infused into others.
Amen! Good post. But the links to “Life-study of Galatians” and “Ministrybooks.org” in the reference do not work or link to wrong place.
Glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks so much for pointing out the non-functioning links. I believe that they are fixed now so hopefully others will not have the same experience.
The links still not work. Please check the first reference in the post online to find out yourself.