O ye of LITTLE faith, why reason ye among yourselves because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet UNDERSTAND...
- Matthew 16:8-9a

Excerpt From

“Faith - The Supernatural Connection”

he little faith of the disciples was, according to Jesus, directly correlated to their lack of understanding. Had they understood, Jesus implied that their faith would not have been little. But because they failed to understand, their potential for great faith was hindered. Faith, then, is the result of a comprehension, or a grasping, so to speak, of the Word of God as it’s taught or studied. This is confirmed in Romans 10:17:

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

The Greek word translated "hearing" has its root origin in the word that means "to understand." Romans 10:17 isn’t saying that faith comes by the auditory exercise of having sounds hit the drum of the ear. If this were the case, every person in every church service where the Word of God is taught would be able to exercise faith. Those of us in pulpit ministries know that this isn’t the case. Some people will grasp it while others won’t. Romans 10:17 is talking about an understanding of the Word of God. Faith comes when we understand, that is, comprehend the Word of God on the particular subject that is taught.

It’s noteworthy that Paul said that faith comes by "hearing, and hearing...". If the comma is removed (actually, there’s not any punctuation in the Greek manuscript. All punctuation was added at the liberty of the translators.), Romans 10:17 would read as follows — "faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God," meaning that faith comes by hearing and hearing and hearing and hearing. This implies much study on our part. For most people faith doesn’t come by having heard once. Everyone catches on at different speeds. Faith, for some people, comes by hearing once. For other people, faith comes by hearing and hearing. Yet for other people faith comes only after hearing and hearing and hearing and hearing and hearing. The more we hear, the better the opportunity we have to understand. The more we understand, the greater our capacity for faith. Thus, the capacity for faith comes by studying and gaining an understanding of the Word of God.

For example, if we want faith for healing, we should study the many scriptures in God’s Word on healing. If it’s faith for prosperity, we should study the many scriptures in God’s Word on prosperity. If we need wisdom, we study scriptures on wisdom. If it’s the family, we study scriptures on the family. Whatever the subject that we want or need to develop our faith in, we need to go to God’s Word to find the corresponding scriptures. As we study God’s Word in these many different areas the light, so to speak, will come. Sometimes it comes easily, and other times we have to break through some erroneous traditions that have been built into our minds through wrong teaching and it takes longer.

Thus, our potential for faith is in direct correlation to the comprehension that we gain of God’s Word. Our faith depends upon knowing the facts as revealed by God in his Word. Faith isn’t reaching into some unknown gray area beyond our understanding. Faith is simply our response to a clear understanding of God’s Word.

This is why Hosea 4:6 says, "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge." In other words, faith and knowledge of God’s Word are inseparable. We can’t have faith without the knowledge of God’s Word, and we can’t have a revelation of God’s Word without it producing faith. If we have an understanding of God’s Word, faith is automatically present.

This is why it’s a waste of time and effort for people to work themselves up physically or emotionally trying to get into faith. Some people will strain hard by clenching their hands and squinting their eyes trying to have faith. Other people will pray for it. Others will fast for it. But faith doesn’t come in this way. Of course, we need to pray and fast. Waiting upon God helps us to be more sensitive to the moving of the Spirit. The point is, faith doesn’t come in this way. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Take salvation for example.

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And he showed us how he (Cornelius) had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; WHO SHALL TELL THEE WORDS, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved.
- Acts 11:13-14

How Faith Came For Salvation

Cornelius was a devout man — one who prayed, one who gave substantial gifts of money to the poor, and one who had seen an angel. Yet as wonderful as all of this was, he didn’t have faith for salvation. Certainly we need to be sincere, we need to pray, and we should give offerings to the poor. Faith, though, doesn’t come this way. The instructions from the angel were clear and simple — Cornelius needed to HEAR WORDS in order to be saved. Since we’re saved through faith (Ephesians 2:8), and because faith comes by hearing the Word of God, we must have knowledge of God’s Word. We cannot believe beyond our knowledge of God’s Word. Bible information is what caused Cornelius to have faith for salvation.

And there they (Paul and Barnabas) PREACHED THE GOSPEL. And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked: the same HEARD PAUL SPEAK...
- Acts 14:7-9a

How Faith Came For Healing

This cripple heard Paul speak, that is, he heard Paul preaching the gospel. Obviously the gospel that Paul was preaching was not only salvation but healing as well. As this cripple was listening to Paul speak about the great redemptive truths of Christ, he began to comprehend the information that Paul was preaching. He came to the realization that Christ came for the purpose of redeeming man spirit, soul, AND BODY. At this point, Paul took notice of the man:

(The cripple) heard Paul speak: (And Paul) steadfastly beholding him AND PERCEIVING THAT HE HAD FAITH TO BE HEALED, Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked. - Acts 14:9-10

When this crippled man heard Paul speak, faith came. It’s encouraging to point out that Romans 10:17 says, "So then faith cometh...". It doesn’t say that faith might come, faith always comes with the understanding of God’s Word. When we grasp the Word of God in our heart faith is automatically there. Had not Paul preached, this crippled man couldn’t have had faith to be healed. But by hearing the Word of God through Paul’s preaching, faith came. Healing was the end result.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and PREACH THE GOSPEL to every creature. He that BELIEVETH and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that BELIEVE; In my name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
- Mark 16:15-18

How Faith Comes For The Miraculous

According to Jesus, the opportunity and capability to believe comes as the result of hearing preaching. People can’t believe until they’re first exposed to the preaching of the gospel. This is the whole purpose for preaching, to give people the capability to believe. Paul put it this way:

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? ...So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. - Romans 10:14, 17

A person can’t believe until they hear the Word of God. The purpose for the five-fold ministry gifts (the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher as listed in Ephesians 4:11-13) is to teach and preach the Word of God. People who avail themselves to such teaching and preaching have the potential to believe. Jesus said that certain miracles would follow those of us who would believe — exercising authority over the devil, speaking with other tongues, and the healing of the sick by the laying on of hands.

The prerequisite to the miraculous is the believing, and the prerequisite to the believing is the preaching of the Word of God, with the implication being that those who hear have understood. Again, the order is 1) hearing preaching, then 2) believing.

Further, the Greek word translated "word" in Romans 10:17, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the WORD of God," is rhema. Rhema simply means, "the spoken word." As such this verse reads like this, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the spoken word of God."

This confirms what we saw with Cornelius and the crippled man. Cornelius received faith for salvation by hearing Peter teach. The crippled man received faith for healing by hearing Paul preach. This is what Jesus meant in Mark chapter 16 when he said to go into all the world and preach. Why? So that people could believe. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God spoken through teaching and preaching.

It’s to our advantage to study the Word of God and to sit under proven ministries that teach and preach the Word of God. The development of our faith relies on such study of God’s Word. This is how we grow and develop spiritually. It’s beyond an intellectual pursuit of knowledge, though our mental understanding is certainly involved in the processing of Bible data. But faith is of the spirit. The writer of Proverbs said it this way — "Trust in the Lord with ALL THINE HEART, and lean not unto thine own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5). In other words, there’s a difference between an understanding in the heart and an understanding in the intellect. Proverbs 3:5 could be written in this way, "Trust in the Lord with all the understanding in thine heart, and lean not unto thine own intellectual understanding." Faith, then, is more accurately an understanding of the Word of God in the heart.

When we study God’s Word it goes into our mind on its way to our spirit. The Word of God is spiritually discerned, yet our mind is the link between the Word of God on paper and the Word of God that’s alive in our spirit. As we meditate on the scriptures, it becomes a part of us. Our thinking processes allow our spirit to feed on God’s Word much like our body feeds on natural food. In fact, the formula for success that God gave to Joshua was to meditate on God’s Word day and night (Joshua 1:8). Obviously, the person who will keep his mental energies focused on thinking about God’s Word day and night is the person whose spirit will soar to new heights.

It’s vital to keep our mind focused on God’s Word. This is how we begin to understand the many truths of God’s Word in our heart. As the light begins to dawn on us, meaning we begin to comprehend what God’s Word says and means, faith will begin to grow.

The centurion in Matthew chapter 8 had obviously given much time in thought to the healing ministry of Jesus. He evidently had carefully studied His healing the sick because he recognized the authority in which Jesus ministered. He compared it to his own authority from an earthly, natural standpoint. He said, "I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. But speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed" (Matthew 8:8-9). This kind of a revelation in the heart comes only after much deliberate meditation. It’s not surprising then that Jesus said this centurion had great faith. This high degree of faith was the result of his great understanding.

The faith of the woman with the issue of blood came only after she had heard of Jesus. Again, the order is first hearing, then believing. Faith comes as a result of what we hear. In fact, Jesus even said, "Take heed what you hear: with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given" (Mark 4:24). In other words, it’s important not only what we hear, but how we hear it. This is talking about an understanding. Hearing it in the ear should lead to an understanding in the heart.

Summary

It’s commendable to pray. It’s necessary and needful. It’s a wise man who will pray, and pray consistently. The mistake that some people have made is to use their prayer life to try to get faith. But we don’t pray to get faith, we pray because of our faith. To get faith we go to the Word of God, for "faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God." With that faith we then pray to release that faith.

For example, to get saved we don’t pray and ask God to give us faith for salvation. Instead, we go to God’s Word and read that God is not willing that any should perish. Then we read that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. From these scriptures we get faith that God will save us if we pray. We understand the will of God from the Word of God.

Most Christians understand this for salvation, yet when it comes to receiving healing, the promises of God, etc., they throw away what they already understand about faith and blindly start praying for faith. Actually, it’s a waste of time, breath, and energy to pray for faith. As in salvation, we go to the Word of God to find the scriptures that cover our particular need. From those scriptures we get the necessary faith to receive that which we need in prayer.

We also see from the centurion in Matthew chapter 8 that great faith is the result of a great understanding. From Jesus in Matthew chapter 16 we see that little faith is the result of a little understanding. The answer then in obtaining great faith comes from living in the Word of God. We read it, think it, contemplate it, meditate it, listen to it, and study it. Understanding it in our heart comes from dissecting it and then putting in together again over and over in our thinking. We live it, breathe it, walk it, and talk it.

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Once we hear it, if we’ll meditate on it, we can expect the Holy Spirit to make it become real to us. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would lead and guide us into all truth (John 16:13). Therefore, it’s up to us to allow us to be led and guided. As we begin to comprehend the truth of God’s Word, it’s then up to us to start implementing it. Faith makes its greatest strides as we incorporate it in daily living. Like a muscle, faith develops and grows as it’s exercised.

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