Confidence in the ability and willingness of God to act in supernatural power to advance his kingdom, and a commitment, expressed in prayer and action, to being the means by which he does so.
God's power is released through faith
Matthew 17:20 See also Mark 9:23; Luke 17:6
“Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Praying in faith
Matthew 21:21–22 parallel Mark 11:22–24 See also James 1:5–7, James 5:14–15
“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
Praying in Jesus Christ's name
Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it.
In the OT, faith in God's power
Hebrews 11:32–34 See also Hebrews 11:11–12 Abraham's faith when promised an heir in his old age; Joshua 14:6–14 Caleb receives Hebron; 1 Samuel 14:6 Jonathan's confidence in God's power to defeat the Philistines; 1 Samuel 17:32–47 David's confidence in God's power to overcome Goliath; 2 Chronicles 20:20 Jehoshaphat's faith in God's power to give success against Moab and Ammon; 2 Chronicles 32:7–8 Hezekiah's faith in God when threatened by the Assyrians under Sennacherib; Daniel 6:23 Daniel's faith when in the lions' den
And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the raging fire, and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.
In the NT, healing in response to faith
Matthew 9:22 parallels Mark 5:34, Luke 8:48 The woman had exercised faith by touching the edge of Jesus Christ's cloak. See also Matthew 9:29–30 Two blind men are healed; Mark 10:52 parallel Luke 18:42 Bartimaeus receives his sight; Luke 17:19 One of the ten men with leprosy who thanked Jesus Christ; Acts 3:16 the crippled man at the temple gate; Acts 14:8–10 the crippled man in Lystra
Jesus turned and saw her. “Take courage, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that very hour.
Powerful ministries marked by faith
Acts 11:24 See also Acts 6:5–10 Stephen; 1 Corinthians 12:9 Exceptional faith to meet specific needs is a special spiritual gift.
Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
Faith and spiritual warfare
Ephesians 6:16 See also 1 Thessalonians 5:8; 1 John 5:4–5
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
The importance of love accompanying faith
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.