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"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these because I am going to the father, and i will do whatever you ask in my name, because the Son wants to bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it."
-John 14:12-14
The issue isn't whether or not God is willing, it is whether I am willing to believe him. Now, this isn't a matter of me working myself into a fit of frenzy which will enable me to deny reality so i can have faith. Rather, faith follows focus.
This is most dramatically seen in romantic relationships. Think about a friend of yours. Someone who is hooked up with a guy or girl that doesn't seem right for them. They seem like they get on each others nerves and never agree. Your friend often confides in you how distressed they are about this relationship, but for some reason, they hold on. See, your friend is convinced that this will work. They Just know that if they hold on something will change. They have come to believe in this relationship because they have invested the time and effort imagining how good this can be. They have exalted this person in their minds to the point that they just know that all of the heartache will be worth it just to finally be able to have a good relationship with this person.
So, it is possible to come to believe in something just by keeping your focus on that thing. This thing will become a reality in your own mind and heart even if it is just your imagination or emotions getting the better of you. The difference between faith and believing in something just from your imagination or emotions is that faith is faith in God, his character and his promises as revealed by Scripture. You will grow in faith as you narrow in focus on these things.
This reveals the true danger of doing doubtful and sinful things. They distract us from focusing on God and we focus on our fears, our lusts, our status. When the time comes where we need to believe, then we may find that we can't. We can hope in God, but we can't believe from our heart. Our heart has been meditating elsewhere.
The promise stands that if we will believe, having faith in Jesus, He will accomplish that which we ask for in His name. Are you willing to believe? It will probably take more than a rote repetition of prayer. It will take a lifestyle of ever narrowed focus on living in light of the character and promises of God. This is what means to be a disciple.
So, are you willing to focus on Jesus, His character, His purpose, and His promise to develop the faith that it takes to believe from the heart?
