Exercise Your Faith Through Prayer!

"Faith increases in solidity, assurance, and intensity, the more it is exercised with tribulation."   -C.H. Spurgeon

Exercise?? What can I say? Health experts have been on our case for years about the benefits of getting off of the sofa, and out the door. In other words: be more active! I have to confess, I am not the most active person out there, though I've had my moments.

I envy those people who jog by me on the sidewalk while pushing a baby stroller, or zip on down the street on their racing bicycles. I try, or make an effort to be more physically active. I really do! But, it's hard for me to be consistent about it. Medical experts tell us that it's important to exercise our minds in order to keep them running smoothly, too.

While I'm on the subject of exercise, there's one more thing that we should exercise, but maybe are not real good at doing. Faith needs to exercised, if you will, on a regular basis if it is to grow stronger. It's just as important to our well-being as any of the above, if not more so. Let me explain.

You've probably heard before how our faith is strengthened by adversity and going through some of the not-so-pleasant experiences in life. I won't argue that this is undeniably true.. But we shouldn't just sit around waiting for something bad to happen in order to work our faith.

One of the best ways to give that faith a workout is through prayer. That's right...prayer! You see, faith, like our muscles, will atrophy or deteriorate if not used. Prayer is just what the doctor ordered if you want to get that faith level up, and keep it there! (Colossians 4:2)

Look, we pray when under duress, or during unsettling times. We pray when we need help, or delivery from some kind of trouble. While there's nothing wrong with this, why should we only pray when the bottom has fallen out? Compare this to training only to run a marathon; or participate in a sport, and then stopping completely when it was over.

While it was beneficial as you were exercising and training your body for a while, once you stop, you start to regress. If you want to do it again, you have to start over from scratch. Wouldn't it be easier to be on a regular program where you could stay in good shape all year round?

We can apply this to faith, too. Our faith unquestionably gets stronger the more we are tested. But, we don't know when tribulation will come knocking at our door. Wouldn't it make more sense to be ready for any circumstance; good or bad? We can, by exercising our faith in a constant, deliberate, and dependable manner through prayer. (Psalm 145:18-19)

Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior was quite aware of this. As a matter of fact, we can see him exercising his faith through prayer several times in the Scriptures. So you have to figure, if prayer was good enough for Jesus, it has to be good for us, too! (Luke 5:16; John 17:1)

As an added bonus, there are no membership fees, or any special equipment required. All that's needed is just you, some time out of your day, and a sincere heart for Jesus Christ. He will take care of the rest! (Matthew 6:5-8; Romans 12:12)

Scripture: Hebrews 5:7; Mark 1:35; Matthew 11:25; Mark 14:39; Matthew 26:42

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, though my faith may waver or weaken from time to time, You are always there as my strength and my salvation;  to you I offer all of my praise and thankfulness, now and forever. Amen

Have a blessed Monday!

Hailey