On the mantle in my living room are two small stones. One has a picture of a house drawn on it. The other has the name of my son, and his birth date. I could have many more stones up there than the mantle could hold, but these two are recent and significant. These stones remind me of difficult times in my life when God was faithful. When I feel myself get anxious or start to worry about how God will resolve a situation, I look at these stones.

The very essence of the Christian life is faith. To even become a Christian requires faith in Jesus as our Savior. To continue to grow as a Christian requires our faith to grow. In James 1:2-4 it says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” Testing is one of the ways God grows our faith. Remembering our past trials and how God was faithful to us through them will help us in future trials.

One way to do this is to keep a prayer journal.  Write down your prayers and then write down when God answers them. This is a great way to remember what God has done for you.

Sharing how God has answered your prayers with other Christians is another way to encourage each other in faith. Small groups provide a great situation to share how God is working in your life. It’s also encouraging to see what others are going through and how God has been faithful to them.

Finally, we need to be in the Word and in prayer daily.  The more we know about God, the more we know we can trust Him. There’s an old hymn that goes, “Whisper a prayer in the morning. Whisper a prayer at noon. Whisper a prayer in the evening to keep your heart in tune.” The more we are talking to God (and listening) through prayer, the closer we will stay to Him and be able to walk by faith and not by our circumstances.

As you spend time with God, He will reveal to you the things He wants you to be doing. Do them. Sharing these things with others in your small group can help you become accountable and give you the strength to do what God wants you to do. Take that step in faith and do what you know God wants you to do. As you obey Him and see how He is faithful to you, you will be encouraged to take more steps.

Copyright 2005-2006 Jennifer Tiszai. This is copyrighted material. Please do not use without permission.

New International Version, copyright 1978, Zondervan