Would you like a formula to develop great faith? The kind of faith sees the manifestation of everything you ask for?
The truth is, there is no formula, but there are some necessary ingredients to great faith. #1 key ingredient to developing great faith is to live a life where your heart doesn’t condemn you. #2 is to keep Christ’s commandments. #3 is to ACT on that commandment to love people.
Before you think I’m presenting a legalistic formula that’s based on performance, keep reading, I’m actually talking about what’s going on in your heart and how to develop confidence toward God.
1 John 3:18 Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth. 19 And by this we will know that we belong to the truth, and will assure our hearts in His presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and He knows all things. 21 Beloved, IF OUR HEARTS DO NOT CONDEMN US, WE HAVE CONFIDENCE BEFORE GOD, 22 AND WE RECEIVE FROM HIM WHATEVER WE ASK, because we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing in His sight. 23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and we should love one another just as He commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps His commandments remains in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He remains in us: by the Spirit He has given us.
How do you get your heart to stop condemning you?
You keep His commandments.
Which commandments?
Love God and love people.
How do you love God?
We love Him because he first loved us. Our love for Him is a response.
So the proper way to love God is by responding to His love for you. What does that look like? You acknowledge Him for who He is in all His authority and majesty, AND you walk in love toward people.
That’s the “formula.” Respond to God’s love for you in such a way that your heart stops condemning you and then allow that love to spill onto others from your own heart.
A Heart that Condemns
If you follow John’s logic you’ll see that a heart that’s free from self-condemnation is so receptive to God that is receives whatever it asks. This kind of heart will only ask for things that God wants for you so it will not ask amiss and therefore will always receive what it asks for.
Earlier in his letter, John walks us through the basic concept that God is love, in Him is no darkness, and since we’ve been forgiven and now belong to God, we should also walk in the light, turning our back on sin.
A heart that is allowing God to abide within it and influence it will not choose sin, therefore will not experience self-condemnation.
This is not a reference to salvation, it’s a reference to the person who keeps their heart free from self-condemnation. We already know there’s no condemnation (from God) for those who are in Christ, but there may be condemnation from SELF in the heart of one who is in Christ.
Walking in the light, free from the lure of sin doesn’t cause God to give you what you ask for, it causes your heart to be confident toward God, therefore able to receive what God has actually already given you in Christ. His spirit is in you and that spirit contains everything you’ll ever need; all the wisdom, instruction, provision, blessing, grace and power you’ll ever need in this earth.
The reason to walk in the light rather than in sin and darkness is to keep your heart condemnation free. God isn’t condemning you, you are. To John, the truest way to ensure a condemnation-free heart is to love God (respond to His love) and love people. Loving God, responding to His love for you, and letting that love spill out to others develops great confidence within, such confidence that it ceases to limit God and allows God’s influence to meet every need.
He already knows what you need, when your heart doesn’t condemn you, you will ask for the things He knows you need. You will also be sensitive enough to ask for the things He wants you to desire.
What Does He Want You To Desire?
God wants you to desire His will for you and good things for others. God wants you to desire to see His healing and transformative love restore and rescue others from darkness.
When your heart is condemnation-free, you will allow His love for others to flow through you. Conversely, if you want God’s power to flow through you toward others, begin to intentionally love people. If you want to see your needs met and see the manifestation of “all that you ask of God,” fall in love with people…and ACT ON THAT LOVE. Acting on God inspired love for others teaches your heart to be confident toward Him.
Keeping His Commandments
Keeping Christ’s commandments develops a confidence toward God that causes you to see the manifestation of “all that you ask of God.” That promise is so powerful I can’t stop myself from repeating it. Keeping the rules doesn’t make God happy enough to give you what you’re asking for, that’s not what John is saying. He’s saying this, as you respond to and experience God’s love for you, you will love Him, honor and worship Him, which will cause you to love others, which causes you to live condemnation free, which results in great faith/confidence toward God. AND THEN, this kind of transformed, God soaked heart, naturally and effortlessly desires the things God desires for you.
How to Experience God’s Love
Try this, develop a daily habit of meditating on God’s love for you. Here are a few things to meditate on that have to do with God’s love for you:
Because your sins have been forgiven through His name.
Because you know Him who is from the beginning.
Because you have overcome the evil one.
Because you know the Father.
Because you know Him who is from the beginning.
Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
These are from 1 John 2:12-14. Don’t confess these to make them true, confess them because they ARE true! Make sure you meditate on each one until actually feel the associated emotions. I’d love to hear you describe what each of these feel like for you.
There are so many passages to pull from, share your favorite passage or “method” that helps you experience and solidify God’s love for you in your heart.
Your Place in the Body of Christ
This article is the first in a series about developing confidence in the heart to see the manifestation of all that you ask of God. I will continue this series for a few weeks. Next week I will discuss how walking in the graces/gifts of the spirit fit in to developing confidence. Stay tuned! Subscribe below to make sure you get all my emails.
