Faith comes by hearing GOD’S Voice, not by just reading The Word!
If you could develop great faith by just reading The Word, most believers would be doing great miracles. Reading the Logos Word and hearing the Rhḗma Word are not the same. It is vital that we understand the difference between the two. They are not interchangeable. If they were, we would all be in unity. We are not.
Both logos and rhema are the Word of God, but the former is God’s Word objectively recorded in the Bible, while the latter is the Word of God spoken and quickened to us individually at a specific occasion and purpose. Can we develop faith by reading the Logos? Yes, but not at the same level of developing faith as you would when you hear The Holy Spirit speak personally to you… there is a difference. The prophets and disciples did not have a New Testament to read. They relied on hearing The Holy Spirit.
We need the written Word as our foundation, but we also need the spoken Word (rhema) for direction. We have the written Word to stand on. We have rhema, the spoken Word, so we know what to do and where to go.
When the Holy Spirit speaks to you, He quickens a Scripture verse or specific direction to you—a specific Word for a specific time and purpose.
Paul wrote by The Holy Spirit in Romans chapter 10:
16 But not everyone welcomes the good news, as Isaiah said: Lord, is there anyone who hears and believes our message?
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word (rhḗma) of God.
Faith comes by hearing His Voice! Rarely is it audible but The Holy Spirit is not restricted to a specific means of speaking.
Matthew recorded in his Gospel in chapter 17:
14 They came to where a large crowd had gathered to wait for Jesus. A man came and knelt before him
15 and said, “Lord, please show your tender mercy toward my son. He has a demon who afflicts him. He has epilepsy, and he suffers horribly from seizures. He often falls into the cooking fire or into the river.
16 I brought him to your followers, but they weren’t able to heal him.”
17 Jesus replied, “Where is your faith? Can’t you see how wayward and wrong this generation is? How much longer do I stay with you and put up with your doubts? Bring your son to me.”
The disciples had not yet been able to develop their ability to hear The Holy Spirit except through Jesus.
18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of him and the boy was instantly healed!
19 Later the disciples came to him privately and asked, “Why couldn’t we cast out the demon?”
20 He told them, “It was because of your lack of faith. I promise you, if you have faith inside of you no bigger than the size of a small mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move away from here and go over there,’ and you will see it move! There is nothing you couldn’t do!
21 But this kind is cast out only through prayer and fasting.”
When we focus on prayer and denying our soul and flesh, we will be able to deal with such encounters and the power of The Holy Spirit operating in our lives. As we mature in being led by The Holy Spirit, we will no longer be moved by our souls or bodies. Both will submit to our spirit man. GOD’S Voice will become so distinctive, we will become confident in every step we take and every word we speak. The adversary will flee from our midst.