As I was pondering on LifeSpring’s 2026 theme: Increase Our Faith – two things emerged.
Firstly, without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6); this is a prerequisite of all things in the kingdom of God. Secondly, our faith will be tested (James 1:2-4 ; 1 Peter 1:6-7). Faith that has not been tested is faith that cannot be trusted.
If this is so, then how do we increase our faith? Romans 10:17 says:
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Two observations:
- Faith comes by hearing. It seems simple enough, but if we meditate further, hearing is not the same as listening. Jesus mentioned many times as He taught – he who has ears to hear, let him hear (e.g. Matthew 11:15;13:9). Obviously, there are some who may not hear or listen, and thus do not receive any benefit.
- The source of faith is the word of God, not the word of man. If what we hear does not align with God’s word, faith will not come. Therefore, we need to be careful what we are hearing.
In addition, it is not enough to just hear God’s word. We have to act upon what we have
heard. In Matthew 7:24, Jesus said:
Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
James said if we are hearers (of God’s word) only, we are deceiving ourselves. (James 1:22). Bearing the above insights in mind, I would like to share some practical steps to increasing our faith from my own journey of walking in faith.
- Spend time with God – there is no short cut to this step. We have to be intentional. God’s word encourages us to draw near to Him, as He promises to draw near to us (James 4:8). As one of our memory verses goes – John 15:5 states we are to abide in Christ in order to be fruitful. One way to abide is to spend time with Him. In spending time, this is where we “hear”, “listen” to His word.
- Journaling – statistics show that we retain 50% of what we heard immediately. About 44% after one hour and only about 25% after 2 days. This definitely demonstrates the necessity of recording what we have heard (Habakkuk 2:2)
- Test what we heard – there are 3 sources of information; one is from within, the
Holy Spirit; the second is our flesh, our carnal self; and lastly from the kingdom of darkness. It is crucial to test out the source of what we have heard. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 exhorts us to test all things, and hold fast to those things that are good. For some of us, it is also good to test it out with Christians who are more mature than ourselves and have the experience of hearing God’s voice (Proverbs 11:14) - Take action – acting on what we have heard is the impetus that increases our faith. It is obvious that if we have no faith in what we have heard, we would not take action. James 2:20-24 states that faith without action is dead! If we keep procrastinating our action, nothing will happen and our faith will not increase.
In preparation of my mission trip to Okinawa in July 2025, I needed to practice driving on the right-hand side of a car. I tried calling driving companies to get the practice, but because it was short-term, none could help me. At my wits end, I went to God and asked Him what to do. He gave me 1 Peter 5:7,
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
This meant I did not have to do anything – just cast my challenge on Him and He would take care of it. This was most difficult for me, I had to keep telling myself not to do anything. Within one week, just before I left for Japan, God provided a Lexus (due to be scrapped) for me to practice with and He gave me an instructor who had the experience of switching from left to right-hand driving. God is so awesome!
My faith in Him went up a few notches. What really increased my faith were these
observations: (1) the timing was right, (2) the car was right, (3) the instructor was right. No one could arrange such a perfect opportunity for me except God! Consequently, I had full confidence that I could drive well in Okinawa and everything would be fine. It was so.
I have learned the lesson that when I have faith in God and His word to take action, it will move His hand to take care of my challenge. What challenge are you facing now? Perhaps it is time to be in His presence and hear what He has to say.