Faith on faith

Blessed is the person who not knowing what to say, says nothing. :) (That sounds like a plausible explanation for not posting the last couple of weeks!)

I've been spending a LOT of time looking for a suitable house at a suitable price in a suitable area near a suitable job for Ken... Satisfying needs for church, home, work, and finances is a challenge!

I've also been reading "Your Best Life Now," written by Joel Osteen, pastor of the Lakewood Church in Houston (and watching his sermons on his website!). The book was a Christmas gift (straight off my wish list!), and I started reading it right away. It's easy reading, and I found myself so encouraged as I read that I finished the book much too fast. The words are easy to read, but the concepts take time to "own" and apply. So now I am re-reading it (something I rarely do [my philosophy on books is that since there are so many good books out there that I will never get to read all of them ONCE I shouldn't waste my time reading one of them TWICE]).

My name being Faith (and that for 47 years now), I find it a bit embarrassing to admit that the light bulb about faith finally switched ON. I'm familiar with praying about a matter, trusting God to "work everything for good," thanking Him for what He is going to work--praying and then watching, wondering, waiting for God to work. In "Your Best Life Now" and/or in his sermons, Osteen encourages readers/listeners to pray in faith and with thanksgiving, shifting the focus from the problem to the answer.

Applied, instead of praying/pleading, "God, please help us to find a suitable house at a suitable price... Thank You for your help. Amen," we pray/praise, "God, thank You for a suitable house at a suitable price...!" Instead of "Please provide the money for this need," "Thank You for providing the money for this need..." (Praying like this puts skin on "His praise shall continually be in my mouth..." Psalm 34:1, doesn't it?! )

As I was praying from this new perspective, it hit me: Praying in faith is more than praying, watching, wondering, waiting for God to work. That's FORWARD praying, future-tense praying (sorry, the grammar surfaces spontaneously!). Praying in faith is praying knowing that God has already worked. It's BACKWARD praying--past-tense praying! It's skipping the request step and going straight to the thanksgiving. Exactly!! Faith is the actuality of things of which we are certain, the reality of things not yet real. (aka Hebrews 11:1) If we are certain of things not yet real, then we can patiently wait for it because it's only a matter of time. (aka Romans 8:25)

Duh! (the smack on my forehead dented my enthusiasm a little) This is no "new" concept. I've known this for most of my life. ("...in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Philippians 4:6) But that knowledge just morphed into a breathing, living thing! :)

The issue isn't prayer or thanksgiving. It's faith. Faith is easy when I pray in future tense... and NOT so easy when I pray in past tense! Praying in past tense puts me "out on a limb," makes me "stick out my neck." Reminds me of a poster I have that reads, "Faith isn't faith until it's all you're holding on to." Also of an object lesson my dad used to present about trusting. If you are visiting somewhere and someone brings you a chair to sit on that you don't trust. How do you sit? On the edge. Muscles tensed, still bearing some of your weight, because you are poised to jump up. Not an enjoyable experience!

And when they bring you another chair that you trust? You sit down and relax--perhaps even prop up your feet, allowing the chair to bear your full weight. There's no "poised to jump up" posture. If this chair goes down, you are * splat *! I can sit in faith. Can I pray in faith?