Are You Sure You Are in Faith? 
By Dr. I.V. Hilliard

The greatest lesson on faith was taught by our Lord in Mark 11:

Jesus says this on the heels of speaking to a fig tree, and the fig tree withered and dried up. The disciples were amazed at the manifestation that they saw. So he used the scene as a platform to teach them the principles of faith.

As I teach in various churches and seminars, I have always asked this question concerning verse 24:
“What will I have based on verse 24? What does this Scripture say that I will have as a result of using my faith in this way?” If your answer is, “You will have what you pray for,” it is incorrect. If your answer is, “You will have the things you believe for,” your answer is incorrect. What the Scripture says I will have is plain and clear. I will only have what I believe I receive when I pray.

Secondly, I can release my faith for those things that pertain to life and godliness (See 2 Peter 1:3).

Thirdly, I have a right to release my faith for those promises revealed in the Word of God. Galatians 3:14 says, That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

The promises of God are received by faith. So any promise in the Word of God, any desire that I have that pertains to life and godliness that I might enjoy, qualifies as a desire that I can release faith for.

However, what many people call prayer does not qualify as prayer, based on the Word of God. First John 5:

The most critical point of releasing faith is at the moment I pray. There are specific instructions concerning prayer in the Bible. I must understand that in order for me to pray and for my prayers to be heard, they must be in line and in agreement with the Word of God (the will of God.) So I must pray in agreement with the Word of God in order for Him to hear me.

I must pray to the Father in Jesus’ name. Jesus said in John 16:23, And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

Why? That your joy may be full. It is clear that it is the will of God for your joy to be full.

You will receive from God what you believe you received when you prayed. Therefore, believing is very, very important. In our society, we have been taught that believing is seeing and seeing is believing. That is, what I see, what I verify with either of my five physical senses, are those things that I can believe, rely on, and count as truth. From the Bible, we learn that biblical believing takes on a different scope altogether. To really understand biblical believing, you must understand the narrative of John 20.

In verse 25, the disciple Thomas, called Didymus, said, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. Here is the key to believing! Believing is a matter of your will. You can set your will to believe or you can set your will not to believe. We who are of the household of faith have chosen to believe, by an act of our will, that the Bible is God’s presentation of His spiritual order and that God is real. The biblical order of believing is not based on sense-realm verification, but it is based on accepting something as fact, even though there is no sense-realm verification.

When I believe I receive, I am simply acknowledging that I accept by an act of my will, that the thing I have asked God for in prayer exists (spiritually), and it is by acting in faith that I will make the transfer into this physical world just like God, in creation, made the transfer from the spiritual world into the physical, tangible, touchable world by faith. I choose to use this kind of faith to transfer my spiritual assets into this material world.

Now, we have covered the desire issue relative to faith. We have covered the when-you-pray issue. We have explained how to believe you receive. Now, the Bible says, and ye shall have... The shall-have principles are found in Mark 11:23.

...whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

The Bible clearly says that I will have what I say. The things that I say out of my mouth, believing in my heart, are the things I will have and possess in my life. I make the transfer of those spiritual things into this physical, touchable realm by the words of my mouth. Faith comes by hearing, but faith is released by the words of my mouth. I must learn to release my faith with faith-filled words that are spoken in agreement with what God’s word says about my circumstances, my situations or the things for which I am believing.

After I have qualified my desires, after I have prayed based on the Word of God, I must make a confession of faith, a statement of faith continually. It is only as I do this that I will have what I believe I receive when I prayed.

Here is the real test of believing that you have received. Many people, because they don’t clearly understand the believing that they have received, continue to ask God for things they have prayed for. Their thinking is, that by continually asking God, imposing on God, being persistent in asking or begging God, that finally God will grant it to them. This is a misunderstanding. This is not a sign of faith, but a sign of unbelief. If I have believed I received when I prayed, I have no need to continually ask God for that which I already have.

So what do you do? You simply change that petition prayer of asking for the thing over and over into a prayer of thanksgiving and praise. I should continue to thank God as though I had the thing physically. I should continue to thank God for what I have believed I received. For instance, if it was the manifestation of a healing that I was waiting for, I should continually thank God like this: “Father, thank you. I believe I receive my healing in Jesus’ name. Thank you, Father; I believe I am healed. I believe I am healed.”

If I have released my faith for some other thing, I should thank God this way: “Father, I thank you. I believe I receive my new home. Father, I thank you. I believe I receive my new car. Praise you, Father, for my new car.”

The things of God are covered by principles in the Word of God. I must understand that I should not sit on the sideline and wait for things to happen, as though I had rubbed Aladdin’s lamp and a genie has come out. I must have a balanced respect for the physical laws, biblical laws and social laws, as they cooperate in agreement with the will of God.

The Bible is clear that God wants you involved. Mark 16:20 says:
And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the Word with signs following. There are two key phrases in this passage that I want you to notice. It says the Lord worked with them. God is going to work with you as you work the principles of life, and God is going to confirm the Word concerning the things that you desire.

Secondly, Psalm 37:5 says: Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. Your faith activates the spiritual principles to get the cooperation of all the spiritual forces and beings in place on your behalf. He will bring it to pass in cooperation with your following a plan of action. When God gives you the plan of action, it will be actions corresponding to your level of faith.

Since faith is not magic, and its results are not always instantaneous, you will have to handle, for a period of time, circumstances and situations that look contrary to what you are believing for. In Mark 11, Jesus spoke to the fig tree one day and it was not until the next day that he actually saw results. So, as you stand in faith, you must understand that it takes time for your faith to work.

Second Corinthians 4:18 says:
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things that are seen are temporal: but the things that are not seen are eternal.

Here is the key! It says the things that are seen are temporal or temporary. Things that are not seen are eternal. How do we not look at something that is? You choose to. It says but we look at the things that are not seen. Well, how do we look at the things that are not seen? I look at the things that are not seen through the eye of faith.

Here is the final step of faith. After you have qualified your desires, after you have believed you received when you prayed, after you have made faith confessions and you are now offering the prayer of thanksgiving, after you have developed a God-given plan of action to handle your current situation, now you are at the point where you must understand the time factor involved.

When the Bible talks about patience in Hebrews 10:23, it says:
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

And Hebrews 10:35-36;
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

This article is excerpted from the book, Faith That Works: Are You Sure You Are in Faith?, by Dr. I.V. Hilliard.