“There’s a fellow I’ve been meeting with off and on for a long time,” Stan commented one morning. “I’ve been sharing my faith with him, with the hope and prayer he will come to faith.”
“How’s it going?” I asked.
“There may have been a breakthrough,” Stan replied. I’m going to have to wait and see what God has in mind for him.”
“How so?” I asked.
“This man is not unlike a lot of people I have dealt with over the years,” Stan replied. “His basic approach to what I have to say to him is that he simply doesn’t have faith. He says that he thinks it’s just fine that I have such faith, but he doesn’t have faith, and he just can’t believe the way I do.”
“Yeah,” I responded, “I’ve known a lot of people like that.”
“In fact,” Stan replied, “that’s exactly where I was at one point in my life, and this is what I lately shared with this man. It might have made a difference with him. I didn’t have faith and I didn’t believe. I wasn’t hostile to those who did have such faith, but I didn’t.”
“But obviously something changed at some point,” I said. “What was it?”
“God showed me that’s it’s okay to ask Him for faith to believe.”
“How did He do that?”
“Well,” Stan replied, “as I said, I wasn’t hostile to those who did have faith, and I would occasionally open the Bible to see if it had anything to say to me. One day I opened the Bible to Luke’s gospel. I just opened it, but in retrospect I believe it was God who opened it to the seventeenth chapter and to a specific verse.”
“Which verse?” I asked.
“Five,” he replied. “That verse records that the apostles said to Jesus, ‘Increase our faith!’”
“And that verse opened you to see something?” I asked.
“Yes,” Stan replied, “to the truth that if those walking closely with Jesus, the apostles, asked Him to increase their faith, that it was certainly just fine for me who was not walking with Him to ask Him for the same thing.”
“And did you ask Him that?” I said.
“I did. He responded and nothing has been the same for me since then. My prayer is that it will be the same with the man I have been meeting with. That he, along with everyone, will see that there’s nothing wrong with asking for faith. God is more than happy to respond!”
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Bible verses to consider:
And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” Luke 17:5.
Immediately the boy’s father cried out and began saying, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” Mark 9:24.
Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened. Matthew 7:7-8.
Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me. Revelation 3:20.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for all you have available for each one of us who will by faith accept what you have: life eternally with you when it’s time, along with the eternal life of knowing you and Jesus. Thank you, too, that you are perfectly willing to help my unbelief and lack of faith, if I will only ask and seek what you have for me. I confess that too often I do not come to you with my lack of faith and belief, but I stay away. Please forgive that foolishness. And please help me to follow every step of your lead in bringing to you everything that may be in the way of deeper faith and belief, knowing you will respond. Thank you I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Think on this: Have you, by faith, accepted God’s free and gracious provision of life eternally with Him when it’s time? If no, why? If you do have the assurance of salvation and redemption, how are you doing with bringing any lack of faith and belief to God? Do you think it’s okay to bring such things to God? Why or why not? If you sense God is waiting for you to bring such things to Him so He can help, are you going to do that? Why or why not?
Waiting for the Train 