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This woman had a personal belief that Jesus could help her—enough that she was willing to walk through a crowd and touch the hem of his garment, knowing that if she did he would heal her. She simply believed that Jesus couldheal her and that he would heal her. That's personal faith in Jesus Christ.

2. The faith of others. Because there are times when our faith may be a bit lacking, we may need the faith of our friends. I believe that often, when my faith was wavering, there were friends who carried me through that period by praying for me, even when I couldn't pray for myself.

Dwight L. Moody was fond of pointing out that there are three kinds of faith in Jesus Christ: struggling faith, which is like a man floundering and fearful in deep water; clinging faith, which is like a man hanging to the side of a boat; and resting faith, which finds a man safe inside the boat—strong and secure enough to reach out his hand to help someone else.

I think the biblical account of the friends of the paralytic man is a good illustration of this principle. Jesus was teaching in a home and it was so crowded that no one else could get into the building. Fortunately, this paralyzed man had four friends who were determined that he was going to see Jesus.

The paralytic man might have believed, but the Word doesn't say he did. However, because of the determination and faith of his friends, Jesus healed him.

3. Persistence. The Scripture clearly indicates that God appreciates those who are persistent. A great example of this is the widow who came to a judge's door in the middle of the night to get legal protection from an opponent. She was so persistent that finally he got up and said, "I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out." To make his point, Jesus said that if an unrighteous judge would do that, "Will not God bring about justice for his elect who cry to him day and night, and will he delay long over them?"

Persistence is one of the characteristics of a faithful steward who needs and wants God's wisdom. To get through the hardest journey, we need to take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping. Be like the persistent widow who needed justice. Don't give up. And if you don't receive God's answer the first time you ask, keep on asking.

God Above All
"Much that worries us beforehand can afterward, quite unexpectedly, have a happy and simple solution. Worries just don't matter. Things really are in a better hand than ours," said Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Above all else, trust in the Lord, and trust the Lord. He cares about you, and he loves you more than anyone else does—more than your own mother, your father, or your children. Many years ago, Andrae Crouch, a musician who truly loves the Lord, wrote a song that says, "Through it all, through it all, I've learned to trust in God." Let that be your song.

God cares about what's going on in your life. Pray for him to intervene on your behalf. And get your friends to pray for you too. You may not need to be lowered down through the roof for healing like the paralyzed man in the Bible, but no one can have too many friends praying for him or her. Martin Luther said, "None can believe how powerful prayer is … but those who have learned it by experience."

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July (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47