After ensuring that what you are asking God for is in line with His Word, believing that you receive, and speaking the Word of God concerning your situation, the law of faith also requires that you have corresponding actions to go with your faith. As the Scripture says “for as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26).
To have faith is not to be lazy or negligent. James 2:14-17 teaches “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself”. When faith is present in your heart, it is made evident in the way you conduct yourself – for faith acts as a force in the heart, a conviction that dictates what you do. It is when we step out in response to our faith that we show our faith to be alive and see the promises of God manifest in our lives. In whatever situation we find ourselves, our obedience to God’s written Word and the word(s) He speaks to our hearts constitute the corresponding action our faith needs.
To have corresponding actions to your faith is also not an invitation to act unwisely. It is not wisdom to blindly copy someone’s actions, which stems from their faith, without ascertaining from God (and His Word) if He will have you behave in the same way in that instance, or if your faith has grown enough to do what they did. As the Scriptures teach “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3). We are all given the same measure of faith to start with because God is impartial (see Acts 10:34); it is your responsibility to grow it by feeding on God’s Word and trusting Him daily. Therefore be sincere and judge yourself accurately, and respond in faith in accordance to your level of faith.
To be continued…
Kwadwo Omari, PhD
April 17, 2016.