Is it Time for a Faith Lift?

Today is my birthday and I’m 46. It’s one of those times in life when you look in the mirror and ask yourself questions.

Because I recently had lunch with a beautiful older woman who told me she couldn’t recommend the facelift and laser treatment she’d had (which she said felt like a blow torch on her face), I’m not considering a facelift.

Is Your Faith Sagging?

I have been considering how to repair my sagging faith. Like aging skin, faith can lose its strength so gradually that you don’t even notice. It isn’t that I’ve neglected my faith routine any more than I’ve neglected my skin care. It’s just that with both,

I stopped expecting it to make a difference.

I prayed and I read Scripture and I prayed some more. But I fully expected those wrinkles in life to set in–the conflict wouldn’t be resolved, a friend’s marriage would end in divorce, and loved ones would die without professing faith.

That’s when God took a blowtorch to my sagging faith. Miracles began to happen and He made sure I noticed. Now my faith looks ten years younger. The good news is you can have the same great results.

How to Renew Your Faith

1. Admit you’ve let your faith go. Have you been praying without expecting results? Confess it to God. Jesus said, Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24
2. Review past answers to prayer. We can’t trust God for the future without remembering His faithfulness. The psalmist said, I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. Psalm 143:5
3. Spend time with the faithful. Spend time with others who believe God still does miracles. If you can’t find the faithful at church, read missionary biographies. The Bible tells us of the early church: They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42
4. Change the way you pray. Ask God for the results without specifying the method. Accept that things may have to get worse before they get better and commit to praying as long as it takes. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. Isaiah 55:8
5. Encourage others. Tell those you’ve been praying for that God is still at work in their lives. As you encourage them, you’ll find your own faith growing just as Barnabas did. When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. Acts 11:23

Take these steps and you can find your faith looking years younger.

If your faith is sagging, I want to encourage you. Please share prayer requests you’ve lost faith will be answered in the comments or share anonymously at PrayforYou.org.

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