Effective faith is one of the main ingredients required to flourish. In Psalm 92:12, the Bible states that the righteous will flourish like a palm tree and will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. It goes on in verse 13 to add that those who are planted in God’s house will flourish in His courts.
Before we can demonstrate faith in truth, we must understand that it is the blood of Jesus that makes us righteous. That righteousness is what gives us the foundation to exercise faith. We can express faith because we are born again; therefore, we are righteous and candidates for flourishing.
Following on that, is the place of being planted and faithful in our local church—the house of God—gives us access to certain privileges in God’s sight, and part of that is to flourish. Remember the word of God in Psalm 92:13: They that are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.
Flourishing in effective faith
When God made the spirit of Adam in Genesis 1:26-28, He put dominion in him. This was done even before He created Adam’s physical body in Genesis 2. God is a spirit, and He has dominion, and He designed man to operate on the same level of dominion as Himself. He did that with Adam, and it’s the same for us today through Jesus Christ. If we read further in Genesis 2, we see that God assigned Adam the responsibility of naming all the animals He had previously created. He gained authority to command what he wanted the animals to be called, and that’s what they were and are still called. This is an exercise in dominion.
God has given us dominion, and we release this dominion by opening our mouths to command or confess. In our hearts, we believe, and out of our mouths, we call forth. When we release those words, we start to sound like God and are differentiated from the world. A believing, faith-filled heart and a confessing mouth will get us saved, filled with the Holy Ghost, healed, and give us anything we desire. According to Mark 11:23, we don’t attain dominion by thinking; we do so by speaking, connecting what’s in our hearts with the content of our mouths.
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Mark 11:23
Faith as a mustard seed
In Matthew 17:14-21, the disciples tried but were unable to cure a child who was possessed by the devil. The child was brought to Jesus, and our Lord rebuked the devil, and he departed from the child. The disciples then approached Jesus out of curiosity; they needed to know why it was impossible for them to cast out the devil. Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
God has given us dominion, and we release this dominion by opening our mouths to command or confess. In our hearts, we believe, and out of our mouths, we call forth.
Why then do believers fail? Why can’t believers take dominion over situations and challenges? God is perfect, so He’s surely not the problem. Like Jesus said, we don’t receive what we pray for because we don’t believe.
When Jesus said, “if you have faith as a mustard seed,” He wasn’t emphasizing the size but the quality.
Did you know that a mustard seed cannot be split or crossbred to produce a hybrid plant? It produces after its own kind in complete purity. When we crossbreed our faith seed with doubt, worry, or overthinking, we contaminate our faith. When Jesus says we should have faith as a mustard seed, He wants our faith—regardless of its size—to be so pure that nothing shall be impossible to us.
How do we exercise faith as pure as a mustard seed?
Now that we’ve established the type of faith God wants us to have, it’s important to discover practical ways to exercise this mustard seed faith. What must we do to attain dominion and command the impossible in all areas of life?
Meditate: Joshua 1:8 succinctly describes how believers should meditate on God’s word.
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
We live in a fast-paced world where humans are overtaken by activities and extreme busyness. But God requires us to slow down, sit with His word, and meditate on it until the Holy Spirit fills us with revelation.
Don’t be pressured into reading volumes of scripture; focus instead on one or two verses and meditate on them until you receive divine insight to build your faith. The more you meditate, the purer your faith becomes, and the higher the level of dominion you operate in.
Effective faith is a knowing faith. And this knowing comes about by slowing down and meditating deeply on God’s word. Then we will be able to operate in dominion over the circumstances of life.