What is "Active Faith" Anyway? Should I Worry If I Think I Don't Have It?

What is active faith

Active faith? Most of us don't have time for that, do we?  It sounds like something that takes a lot of time -- like volunteering regularly for a good cause sponsored by a church or ministry. It definitely sounds like a big committment. 

Active faith, however, at its basis, is very simple. The spirit of deception has allowed us to believe that demonstrating active faith is a whole lot harder and more time consuming than it actually is. Why? Because the enemy of God knows that active faith is the strongest tool a Christian can develop for the purposes of Christ and the kingdom of God. 

If you study the words of Jesus in the entire book of Mark, you will learn that active faith is the faith that enables you to “see God” working in your life and in the lives of those around you. You will also see that people were praised by Jesus for their faith when they did nothing more than this: they made an effort to come to Jesus for help. 

We frequently complicate the idea of active faith in our churches. We think, and sometimes we are instructed, that active faith means we are volunteering somewhere in our community or in our church. Although these acts of service could represent acts of faith, they aren't necessarily so. Much of this could merely be "going through the motions;" or "checking something charitable off our to do list."

There are many instances in the New Testament where people were praised for their great faith - a crippled man, a bleeding woman, Jarius the father.  In every instance, the action these persons were praised for was this: they believed enough to actually come to Jesus and to ask Him for help. 

How does that apply today? Have you ever thought, "I don't pray, or won't pray, because it's not going to help anyway." Obviously, that would not be active faith. That would be active doubt.

Instead,  we demonstrate our faith by coming to Jesus in belief,  through authentic daily prayer. The quality of our prayer life is probably the number one indicator of our level of active faith. We are told over and over again by Christ, and then later by his disciples, that we should bring all of our concerns to God. Not just the big concerns. All of them. (1 Peter 5:7)

Sounds easy, right? Shouldn't it be easy?  Then why do I have to admit that I still frequently tend to overreact and “stress-out” first, and then pray later? I do this even though I definitely know I should go to God first. The act of taking our concerns to God is not necessarily basic human nature.

I am certain of this:  we will not have the privilege of seeing God working around us if we do not have a regular, meaningful prayer life. And the converse of that is true too – it is through an active and authentic prayer life that we live our faith and build our faith, and are enabled to see the very active works of God around us. 

Personal Application:
Until now, what has the term active faith meant to you? How would you define it now? Are you capable of demonstrating active faith in such a manner on a daily basis? How do you think your life might transform if you do? 

Take a few minutes to really think about those questions above. Even write down your answers. 
Do you take all your concerns to God daily? Or do you fret and stress for hours or even days first? Do you wear yourself out before you finally realize you need to talk to God?

Tip: If you haven't started a prayer journal yet -- start one today. It is a simple record of your prayers which you track and then date when and how they were answered.  Having a prayer journal supports the growth of great faith! How can you deny what God has done for you if you have kept, and are keeping, an ongoing record of prayer results in your life? If there is one thing I want to encourage my readers to do, it is to keep a prayer journal and update it regularly. I cannot stress enough how much this will empower both your prayer life, and your faith life!





-----------------------------------
If you would like to learn simple, practical ways to walk with God every single day, then you would really enjoy Closer to God: Simple Methods, Starting Today

If you want to learn more deeply and fully about what Jesus taught, then you would enjoy He Called: 56 Daily Studies and Reflections with the Words of Christ. There are also 14 videos that go along with this book on this blog here: Teachings of Jesus videos

The author also interacts with her readers on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GospelLifeBooks

Author's other books can  be found at: https://www.amazon.com/Sherry-Elaine-Evans