By Doug Creamer

Some people say that having faith is easy or it’s a crutch for the weak. They don’t understand what is required if you want to be a follower of Jesus. It requires surrendering your will for God’s will. I have never met a person who found it easy to give up his or her own will to be obedient to God’s. In my experience, I have found that God requires me to have faith, to believe and trust in Him for everything.

Faith in God is built on having a relationship with Him. Relationships require communication to be successful. I have to believe that God listens to my prayers and acts upon them. He’s not like Santa Claus granting things on my wish list. But I do believe that because I have a relationship with Him, my prayers carry weight in heaven. If we don’t believe that, then why do we pray?

This is why I firmly believe that prayer changes circumstances. When the people of God pray it can change the outcome of specific events. No, I do not believe prayer will help one sports team win over another, but I do believe that God will step in because people have prayed for His intervention. I hope this encourages you to pray as you consider your influence through prayer in the circumstances of your life.

I have been reading in the Old Testament lately and I have read story after story where God put the people of Israel in impossible situations. They might be outnumbered in battle. They might be out of food or water. They might be broke. Time and time again the people were in trouble and hanging on by a thread. That’s when God would intervene. He would wait until the circumstances looked dire and then He would move, proving His love and faithfulness.

I think God works this way so we can build our faith and trust in Him. He wants us to know that He is watching out for us and that He cares about us. He wants us to know that He will meet our needs. He allows the dark clouds to build and the winds to blow so we will turn our hearts toward Him. He will demonstrate His love and faithfulness to us. He will protect us and be with us through our circumstances.

My pastor recently shared a story of a time when God allowed his family to be in a very tight place financially. God was testing them to see if they would trust Him. They did, and God came through for them in a big way. It reminded me of my own financial tight spot at the beginning of this year. I couldn’t imagine how it would work out, but God came through for us in a big way too. He is always faithful if we will trust Him.

After reflecting on these stories, I think it would be a good idea to keep a journal of the many ways God comes through for us. Maybe He has healed you. Maybe He has restored a broken relationship. Maybe He has done a miracle in your finances, too. These stories create testimonies of God’s faithfulness. We could read them when we are faced with new challenges and remind ourselves how He came through in the past for us. It would build our faith and trust in Him for our current situations.

I believe God allows challenging situations to come our way because He wants to prove Himself to us over and over again. If we never faced any difficult situations, why would we need God? Challenging situations require us to stir up our faith. In the Psalms, you can see David is facing unbeatable odds, but then he reminds himself of God’s faithfulness. It’s important to remember God’s faithfulness so we can trust Him in our current troubles. He promises to see us through. There is no situation that is bigger than God. When Peter took his eyes off Jesus he sank into the waves. Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus and trust Him.

I want to encourage you to stir your faith in God and to trust Him with everything. The Bible says it is impossible to please God without faith. God wants to see our faith and He wants to see our faith grow. Remember that God has been faithful in the past and you can trust Him with today’s troubles and with the future. No matter how difficult your circumstances might look at this moment, don’t forget there is nothing impossible with God.

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041 or doug@dougcreamer.com.