Who Is Faith For?

The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.” The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you! “When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’” [Luke 17.5-10]

How did we get from, "Show us how to increase our faith" to "We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty"?

Frankly, I don't know. But I am learning I think.

For me this starts in prayer. It seems that prayer is the incubation place for faith. I am not speaking of "a" prayer but rather the "practice" of prayer.

Prayer has become something in my life that is a practice of faithfulness. It has everything to do with persistence. It has everything to do with continuing to speak God's will over people and circumstances regardless of what I see. It has everything to do with declaring God's Kingdom and will over circumstances the world sees as normal and inevitable ("May Your Kingdom come... May Your will be done ...as in heaven"). It has everything to do with speaking creatively as God spoke creatively in the beginning - regardless of how "dark" it may seem.

And then, it has everything to do with a commitment to pray this way as a matter of duty and responsibility in the Kingdom of God. We are, after all, servants of God - Kings and priests, yes, but, compared to God we remain servants! Our duty is simply to do what our Father wills - "pray like this...", "have faith...", "do unto others...", "seek first the Kingdom of God...".

The problem most of us encounter is our own pride - we want faith to impress others instead of being "unworthy servants who have simply done our duty".

Who is faith for? It is for God and His glory.

We need to search our hearts when we want more faith... is it for us or for God?

Father, forgive me for wanting faith for myself and my own pride. Use me for Your Kingdom and Your purposes.