Monday: Watch

Answer These:

1. In what ways has your church experience influenced your view on belief? 
2. How does knowing that God is working in your life influence your view on belief?

 Pray This:

Father, thank you that you are the one, true, living God. Thank you that you want to be in relationship with us and that you allow for us to know you. God, I pray that you would increase our belief this week. Help us to see you more clearly and trust in who you are. Amen.

Tuesday: Read

Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus calling his disciples to believe in Him. Even though the disciples were spending all of their time learning from Jesus, time and time again Jesus had to remind them to choose to believe. Even when they were faithless, Jesus remained faithful. The disciples had a first hand look into the miracles Jesus performed. Still, there were times that they forgot that Jesus was in control and could be trusted. 

Read Matthew 14:22-33.

Answer These:

1. What does this story tell us about Jesus’ character?
2. The disciples were physically with Jesus and still had to be reminded to believe in Him. In what ways is it more difficult for us now to believe in Jesus? In what ways is it easier?

Pray This:

Father, it can be so easy to forget to put our faith fully in You. When circumstances around us seem out of control, we can forget that You are still in control. Thank you that you are faithful to do all that You have promised. We can believe in who you are and reflect on your track record of faithfulness. Thank you that we have reminders in Scripture to place our faith in You. Amen.

Wednesday: Pray

Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is having “…confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Belief requires us to trust in God even though we can not physically see him. Sadly, sometimes the things that we can see (like injustice or mistreatment) cause our belief to decrease. Scripture, however, tells us that we can ask for more faith. We can come to God in prayer and ask His to grow our trust and confidence in what is both unseen and true. 

Please pray for the following:

• Increased faith in the unseen God (2 Corinthians 5:7)
• To overcome doubt and unbelief (Mark 9:22-24)
• For faith to defeat present worries (Matthew 6:34)
• For peace that comes through having faith (Isaiah 26:2-3)

Answer These:

1. What circumstances are you currently experiencing that are having an impact on your faith, both positive and negative?
2.   In what ways has the unseen God allowed you to see something that has increased your belief in Him?

Pray This:

Father, thank you that we can come to you in prayer. Thank you for being gracious to answer prayers. I pray that we would be a generation that is marked by our belief in You. I pray that our belief would be increased daily. I pray against the temptation to think that our belief in you is dependent on our present circumstances. Lord, I ask that you would be quick to increase our belief. Amen.

Thursday: Practice

Today’s practice is going to require some time spent reflecting on your walk with The Lord. Hopefully, there have been times where your faith was strong and confident. Likely, there have also been times where you have struggled with belief. It can be helpful to keep a record of these highs and lows of your spiritual journey, so that you have a concrete reminder of the faithfulness of God in your life. 

Today, you will make a timeline of your walk with The Lord. You can be creative as you would like, but following these steps: 

• Pray that The Lord would bring to mind times that have influenced your belief.
• Write down important events, people, things you read in Scripture, or circumstances that The Lord used to increase your belief.
• Write down the times you have struggled to believe in The Lord (think through hard circumstances, bad news, or disappointments you or your family faced). 
• Pray that The Lord would continue to increase your faith and the faith in those around you. Be sure to add on to your timeline as The Lord answers this prayer.

Answer These:

1. How easy or difficult was it to think of times that increased your faith?
2. Do you see any consistent patterns in the way the Lord works in your life to increase your faith?

Pray This:

Father, thank you for the stories that you have written for us. Thank you for the seasons in our life that were difficult that increased our faith in you. Thank you for using our stories to bring glory to Yourself. I pray that you would continue to increase our faith and allow us to reflect on the ways that you are working in our lives. Amen.

Friday: Reflect

Many worship songs are designed to strengthen our belief in God. Typically, songs reflect on God’s character and also remind us to have faith in the promises still yet to come. Spend some time listening to the song “Do It Again” by Elevation Worship. Pay close attention to the words of the song.

Answer These:

1. What does this song say about belief?
2. How has God’s faithfulness influenced your own personal walk with Him?

Pray This:

Father, thank you that even though we cannot physically see you, your faithfulness remains. Thank you that we can reflect on what you have done and our faith becomes strengthened. Thank you that we can believe that you will make good of what you have promised. I pray that we would be a people securely marked by our faith in you.  Amen.