An Excerpt Taken from 'Principle 3: God Answers The Prayers of Faith' in the Book "Ultimate Connection: Eight Principles That Will Transform Your Prayer Life" by Barbara Ho (9.26.21)

All,
This message was written by Barbara Ho.  Regardless of anything you see or experience GOD is faithful!!!!!! His word will stand and there is nothing that can stand against the word of GOD and be successful. No evil can stand in His presence because He is an all powerful GOD!! He does not share His power with anything or anyone. He is GOD all by Himself and He has power over all things, evil and good.
- Marilyn

 
Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
We read that we can be sure of what we hope for! What an amazing statement. Faith is having trust in GOD! It is walking and making decisions with the certainty that The Creator, our Heavenly Father, GOD is in control.

One of my favorite sayings is “Faith is not believing GOD can, it’s knowing He Will!” It is being confident that He wants the best for us. We tend to think of faith as a supernatural happening - when, all of a sudden our emotions soar to the sky and we’re caught up in this moment of belief.  Those times may happen on occasion, but I believe they are rare! Faith is a daily lifestyle of choosing to trust GOD, through prayerful commitment and spending time in His Presence and in His Word.

Many Christians tend to look for what I call the “wow factor” in their Christian lives, including when they pray. They expect their spiritual growth to come out of mountaintop experiences, often during a Christian retreat, when something sensational has happened in their life; or after GOD has spoken to them in a powerful way. I’ve seen even pastors get pulled into this way of thinking.

Every meeting has to be amazing.
Every encounter must be powerful.

In the same way, many expect their faith to grow from highly emotional events. Now, these times do happen. They’ve happened in my Christian walk and I look forward to them happening again. They are indeed wonderful and GOD-given; however, it is not during these times that we grow the most. Our growth happens primarily in our day-by-day life experiences, both pleasant and unpleasant.

Faith is like a muscle that takes time to build.

If you’ve ever been involved in working out, you’ve seen how slowly these muscles grow with daily exercising. As we begin making life choices based on Godly direction, things begin to happen. Eventually, we look in the mirror and see real definition. Our foundation of faith gradually grows so it will be strong and ready for the trials we must face.

We need to commit to the long haul and know that GOD is working in our lives.
Slowly but surely, our faith will grow, in time!

~ Prayer ~
Faithful Father, 
I am awed by how You have worked, through time, to build the faith of Your People. 

Yet, it sometimes seems as if, for some people, that in these days, there is such a lack of faith. And even though I know You are a miracle working GOD, and I know that there are other "Faith Filled Believers" out there just like me; help us to stand on Your Word, with unmovable faith. 

Build faith within our hearts and help us all - faith filled believers, lukewarm believers, fallen away believers and non-believers alike - to believe that You Are actively at work.

Building Your Kingdom..... in, through and ALL around me.  In, through and around all of us.

In the Mighty Name of Your Son, Jesus, I pray,

Amen