3 Practical Ways to Increase Faith and Trust in God

What Are Practical Ways to Increase Faith and Trust in God?

This question came up during a routine self-assessment.

I was assessing myself to determine the level of my faith in God. And then the subject of trust came up. In other to better understand the difference between faith and trust if any, I looked up the words in the dictionary.

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What is Faith?

The bible defines faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV)

Merriam Webster’s definition is in tandem as it defined faith as belief in something for which no proof exists. Furthermore, it defined faith as belief and trust in God.

Lexico had a similar definition and defined faith as having complete trust in someone.

Now, we know that “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). And that’s why the topic of faith is crucial for every believer.

In a previous post on how to pray and receive answers, I wrote about the importance of praying in faith.

The Relationship between Faith and Trust

As we have seen from the above that the definition, faith is derived from the word trust.

Therefore, if we can work on increasing our trust level, our faith in God will naturally increase.

Trust means believing in someone’s character, strength, or truth. It also means having confidence that the person is good and honest without harmful intentions.

Based on the above definition, it follows that trust is developed as we interact and get to know someone better. Because the only way to believe in someone’s character is by knowing them and this is done by interacting with them.

So, while faith is based on convictions for which we may not necessarily have proof, trust can be backed by proof.

To further understand the concept of trust, here’s a little story.

A Story to Illustrate Trust – Jack and the CEO

He buried his head in the computer typing away vigorously. There was a deadline to meet and his presentation wasn’t even ready. Knock, knock he heard his secretary knocking at the door. He was in no mood for interruptions. The CEO will be on the phone anytime now and he couldn’t afford to not be ready. He told Tina to come back later and cancel all appointments for the day. Suddenly the phone rang, the shrill sound interrupting his thoughts and bringing him back to the moment. He hastily picked up the phone, it was the CEO and she wanted to see his presentation.

The Frustration

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Jack had barely completed 30 pages of the board strategy proposal for the annual board meeting. He knew the CEO was merciless when it came to non-performers. Jack cringed as he emailed her the presentation.

Less than 10 minutes later, she called him again and said, the presentation was too long. Too long? Jack asked. Yes, she repeated impatiently and told him to reduce the pages further. He did as he was told, who was he to argue with the CEO Mrs. Greene? Mrs. Greene didn’t become the CEO by taking no for an answer, or by running a loose ship. She rose to the top through hard work and consistency and she was well respected for her business acumen.

Jack immediately set to work trimming the presentation to 25 pages. He sent it back and almost immediately got a response that it was still too long.

What was he to do? He trimmed it further, and again, it was returned with the same response.

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Action Based on Trust

He was getting frustrated, but he knew Mrs. Greene was always right and never lost out during a strategy session or contract bidding for that matter.

Finally, she accepted the presentation that was now only 10 pages long.

Shockingly, she told him to prepare to present his work at the board strategy session. All the while, Jack had thought Mrs. Greene would do the presentation like other times.

His heart skipped a beat, how would he be able to stand before the distinguished board members? Beads of sweat formed on his forehead as his stomach rumbled. This was not a good sign at all.

Jack always has an upset tummy whenever he’s nervous. He quickly rushed to the restroom as he sent an SOS prayer to God for help. On getting to the restroom, he sat down but nothing came out. Jack knew he was scared and needed divine intervention.

He remembered his wife, a woman of prayer and wished she was beside him at that moment. Remembering her jolted his memory and he called on God as he had seen his wife do several times.

Somehow his stomach quieted down, it was nothing short of a miracle. He began to practice his breathing techniques. In a short while, the meeting would start, and he would be the cynosure of all eyes.

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The Victory and Subsequent Promotion

… Several hours later, an exhausted Jack packed his bag and left for home.

The meeting had been a success and the board members had unilaterally approved their 3-year strategy. Thinking back, he couldn’t help but be thankful that he had obeyed Mrs. Greene’s directive to trim the presentation. That request had forced him to cut out the fluff, leaving only the meat of the presentation. And now the board members have voted him as the new director of the Strategic Implementation team.

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Reflection on Jack’s Exhibition of Trust and Comparison with Trust in God

Take a moment to reflect on the above story. A similar situation occurred several thousand years ago when God told Gideon to reduce his army to just a handful.

Read Judges 7

He had to reduce his army from 22,000 men to 300 men!

But Gideon trusted God, obeyed the directive, and won the victory in the end.

How many times has God given you a directive and you followed through, despite not fully understanding why?

It takes trust in someone to be able to follow them without question.

What is your trust level like?

Are you fully trusting Him or are you struggling?

If you are fully trusting Him, that is good. But if you are struggling to trust Him, that is okay too. Because trust can be developed.

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3 Practical Ways to Increase Faith and Trust in God

1. Start by trusting God for little things

One practical way to increase faith and trust in God is to trust Him in little things. Start today by trusting God for the little things like that $20 bill that needs to get paid. Yes, something as little as that. Trust Him for that, ask Him to meet that need. And as you do so, watch Him perform beyond your expectations. Gradually, your faith will be built to trust Him for bigger things. And that is how trust is built.

2. Get to know God better

Another way to increase faith and trust in God is to get to know Him better. One way to know God better is through His word. Study and meditate on scriptures, read stories of how God helped people in the past. When any of the words touch you, pray to God about it. If you want to experience something like what you read, tell it to God in prayer. And your trust in God will deepen as you receive the answers to your request.

3. Listen to the testimonies of others around you

The third way to increase faith and trust in God that is examined in this post is listening to testimonies.

Listening to the testimonies of those who have experienced God’s faithfulness will boost your faith and trust in God.

One scripture that I love quoting a lot is;

¹¹ And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. (Revelation 12:11 ESV)

Because testimonies beget testimonies. The bible is full of such testimonies and there are people all around you as well.

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Conclusion

We need to trust God and have faith in Him if we want to please Him (Hebrews 11:6). Faith and trust in God can be developed by;

Spending time in God’s word, learning to trust God in small things, and listening to others’ testimonies. As you do this, your faith and trust in God will deepen.

Have you been blessed by this post? Why don’t you take a moment to share on your social media of choice? And don’t forget to leave me a nice note to let me know you did.

Till next time, always remember you are a Royal Diadem.

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