By THE SPIRIT, James wrote in chapter 2:
14 What is the benefit, my fellow believers, if someone claims to have faith but has no [good] works [as evidence]? Can that [kind of] faith save him? [No, a mere claim of faith is not sufficient—genuine faith produces good works.]
15 If a brother or sister is without [adequate] clothing and lacks [enough] food for each day,
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace [with my blessing], [keep] warm and feed yourselves,” but he does not give them the necessities for the body, what good does that do?
17 So too, faith, if it does not have works [to back it up], is by itself dead [inoperative and ineffective].
Consistent, corresponding action is required to walk in faith. As we exercise consistent faith in the Word given to us by Our Heavenly Father, the manifestation of our expectation will occur. FATHER is not obligated to respond to unbelief or self-centered requests but HE watches over HIS Word to perform it. Self-centeredness often revolves around money since it can perpetuate self-gratification in its various forms. FATHER is not opposed to giving you the desires of your heart (including finances) as long as those desires don’t promote corruption and draw you away from HIM. It is up to each of us to know HIS Word in the area of our need so that we ask accordingly.
It is FATHER’S Will to heal us if we are sick. Every person, rich or poor, is subject to sickness and disease so we should not disregard HIS Word in this area. We should equip ourselves to pray for those who are sick when the situation presents itself. If we are reluctant to pray, it is an indication of our lack of faith in HIS Word concerning HIS willingness to heal all. We should not allow a person’s unbelief as a deterrent to our willingness to pray for we are to be a light unto the world.
Faith becomes ineffective if we do not have corresponding works to back it up. We must not allow ourselves to become discouraged and give up while we wait for the manifestation of faith to occur. We must have or develop the tenacity to continue in our unaltered expectation for the manifestation of our faith to occur. We are to act according to the expected result and not be moved by any perceived delay. FATHER always responds “just in time”.
When FATHER speaks to me, I fully trust HIS Word and take corresponding actions. By faith, I expect HIM to speak to me because I fully believe HIS Word. There are times when HE is silent concerning a situation but I am not moved by that silence. I simply wait on HIM and quiet my soul until HE speaks. If HE directs me to take action even though it defies my understanding and logic, I simply respond to HIS Word and know that HE will tell me the “why” later.
We must be careful when it comes to our relationships with others. If they are consistently promoting unbelief and walking according to the ways of the world, they will negatively impact us as we are exercising our faith prior to physical manifestation. When Noah was building the ark, the multitudes were constantly challenging his faith and were ridiculing him. He did not embrace their blindness and as a result, he fulfilled his purpose. Abraham gave glory to Our Heavenly Father in spite of the fact that both he and Sarah were old and beyond the normal child-bearing years.
In Acts chapter 5, the apostles were not moved by being in jail because they had faith that FATHER would deliver them so they could fulfill their commission to preach the Gospel:
19 But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said,
20 “Go, stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life [the eternal life revealed by Christ and found through faith in Him].”
21 And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. But the high priest and those with him came and called the council together, with all the elders of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.
22 But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported,
23 saying, “Indeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing outside before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!”
24 Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be.
25 So one came and told them, saying, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!”
The apostles’ faith caused them to be unafraid of the high priest and elders. They simply walked in faith expecting FATHER to deliver them from harm. Their faith in what they heard, caused corresponding actions and they continued to preach in public without concern of being locked up again. Be assured that they asked FATHER to free them from their bondage so that they could continue to walk according to their purpose. HE sent HIS Word by HIS messenger as a result. Shouldn’t we also expect FATHER to respond in the same manner on our behalf?