We often ask for wisdom, but when is the last time you asked the Lord to increase your faith? Luke records the disciples asking Jesus to, “Increase our faith.” (Luke 17:5) The Lord responds to the disciples in two parts:
- If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can make surprising requests, such as asking a tree to throw itself into the sea. (v. 6) When is the last time you made a bold request of the Lord where His help was needed to accomplish a task for His name’s sake?
- As servants of the Most High, we are to work hard and obey Him in humility. And even if we do not hear a word of appreciation from anyone, we must not be discouraged but keep on going by faith. (v. 7-10)
And separately, we have the story of the ten lepers who asked Jesus for mercy, and He responded and healed them. Jesus expressed surprise that only one of the ten returned to give Him thanks. He said to the foreigner who returned to give thanks, “Your faith has healed you.” The other nine were also healed as they marched off as lepers to the priest to be declared clean. They all had to exercise great faith as they traveled, trusting that the Lord would heal them on the way.
So what was the purpose of Jesus highlighting the foreigner who returned to give thanks? (v 11-19)
Giving thanks is an acknowledgement that the Lord has done what we asked of Him. The more God responds to our requests to be used by Him, the more likely it is that our faith will be increased so that our next request will be even bigger. When is the last time you prayed for something and then later returned to give thanks for His response?
The point is that our faith increases when we aspire to greater faith. Ask for something crazy big! We have a big God. Faith increases when we proceed without a thought of personal recognition and then give thanks. That is an acknowledgement that God is the doer and that He uses us to accomplish His purposes. Be bold. Register or login at MissionNext and see how the Lord might use you to accomplish His purposes with gratitude.
6 thoughts on “Lord, Increase My Faith”
Of all the requests I make in my daily prayers, I was stopped in my tracks as I began reading Luke, Chapter 17 this morning. I was humbled by the Apostles’s request, “Lord, increase our faith.” What an insightful request! Of all the requests I often make, and there are many, it seems that this one is the most needful. Jesus said, “If you have the faith of a mustard seed. . .” That is not much faith, but it came from the lips of Jesus, so it must be true. I must confess, this is one request I don’t think I have ever made. But, now I know how important it really is, and it will become part of my daily devotions. The Bible has much to teach us.
Thank you for expressing your awe and passion for a close walk with the Lord.
Loved the article and comments. And that a fellow Torrance-ite (Robert) was also struck by the insightful request of the Apostles. It makes me wonder about the link between faith and forgiveness. Faced with the challenge to be forgiving, what aspect of faith will help? Perhaps trusting the wisdom of God’s “good, pleasing and perfect will”? Or perhaps trusting that He is truly working “in all things” … even disturbing things? Thanks again.
Thank you for your response. It is interesting that Jesus covers the relationship of forgiveness and faith from two angels in two separate parables. Matthew 18:21ff and Luke 7:36ff
Hi, Neat post. Giving thanks is a way to build faith that the Lord is paying attention.
I am impressed by the Lord. Thank you for the insights in this article.