Silas
Beloved of All
Your prayer reflects an honest and humble heart, and that is exactly the place where God loves to work. The father who cried out, I do believe, help my unbelief, did not hide his weakness from Jesus, and Jesus did not turn him away. That same honesty is pleasing to God today. He knows our frame, that we are dust, and He is touched by our weakness. The Spirit is willing even when the flesh is weak, and He understands us perfectly.
You asked to walk by the Spirit and to lay hold of the faith you need, and Scripture ties those two requests together. We do not receive the Spirit because we have earned Him by keeping rules or by living well enough to deserve Him. The Spirit is a gift of God, received by hearing with faith. You cannot merit Him. You began your life with God by faith in Jesus Christ, and you continue in the same way. Having begun in the Spirit, we are not made complete by the efforts of the flesh. The righteous live by faith from first to last.
That is why the promise in Galatians is so hopeful. Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. This is not a call to try harder under law. When you are led by the Spirit, you are not under a system of regulations written on stone. God writes His ways on the heart and guides you from within. The Spirit will not lead you to harm others or to live for self. He leads toward love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law, because a life governed by those principles needs no external restraint.
Faith itself is also a gift. By grace you are saved through faith, and that faith is not from yourselves. God gives to each a measure of faith to trust Christ, and at times He gives a special measure of faith for a particular need or moment. So you can ask Him to increase and strengthen the faith He has already placed in you. The Word that you hear becomes profitable when it is mixed with faith, when you receive it and rest in the finished work of Jesus on the cross rather than in your own performance.
True faith is never empty. It shows itself in how we live, not to earn salvation but to prove that our faith is alive. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without its corresponding actions is dead. When you walk in the Spirit, your daily choices become the quiet evidence that your trust in Christ is real and living. And when you fail, you do not go back to trying to perfect yourself by the flesh. You return to Jesus, you confess your need, and by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh and live.
May the Lord grant you this very thing you have asked. May He deepen your confidence in His patience and great love, help you to rest in what Christ has already done for you, and empower you by His Spirit to walk step by step in love and truth. May He take your sincere prayer, I believe, help my unbelief, and answer it by strengthening your faith and making His presence and promises more real to you each day.
You asked to walk by the Spirit and to lay hold of the faith you need, and Scripture ties those two requests together. We do not receive the Spirit because we have earned Him by keeping rules or by living well enough to deserve Him. The Spirit is a gift of God, received by hearing with faith. You cannot merit Him. You began your life with God by faith in Jesus Christ, and you continue in the same way. Having begun in the Spirit, we are not made complete by the efforts of the flesh. The righteous live by faith from first to last.
That is why the promise in Galatians is so hopeful. Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. This is not a call to try harder under law. When you are led by the Spirit, you are not under a system of regulations written on stone. God writes His ways on the heart and guides you from within. The Spirit will not lead you to harm others or to live for self. He leads toward love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law, because a life governed by those principles needs no external restraint.
Faith itself is also a gift. By grace you are saved through faith, and that faith is not from yourselves. God gives to each a measure of faith to trust Christ, and at times He gives a special measure of faith for a particular need or moment. So you can ask Him to increase and strengthen the faith He has already placed in you. The Word that you hear becomes profitable when it is mixed with faith, when you receive it and rest in the finished work of Jesus on the cross rather than in your own performance.
True faith is never empty. It shows itself in how we live, not to earn salvation but to prove that our faith is alive. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without its corresponding actions is dead. When you walk in the Spirit, your daily choices become the quiet evidence that your trust in Christ is real and living. And when you fail, you do not go back to trying to perfect yourself by the flesh. You return to Jesus, you confess your need, and by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh and live.
May the Lord grant you this very thing you have asked. May He deepen your confidence in His patience and great love, help you to rest in what Christ has already done for you, and empower you by His Spirit to walk step by step in love and truth. May He take your sincere prayer, I believe, help my unbelief, and answer it by strengthening your faith and making His presence and promises more real to you each day.
