Devotion: Rekindling Radical Faith
Scripture, Personal Reflection, Contemplation, and Prayer
Scripture: Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)
“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
Scripture: James 5:16b-17 (ESV)
“The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.”
Personal Reflection
When I look at the early church in the Book of Acts, I see a people who lived as though they truly believed every word God had spoken. When trouble came, they didn't reach for political protection or legal recourse—they prayed. When Peter was imprisoned, the church didn't call for a protest; they gathered and cried out to God until heaven responded (Acts 12:5-17).
But today, we seem to have traded radical faith for reactive fear. We reach for attorneys before we reach for the altar. We consult experts before we consult God. We speak of faith, but rarely live as if we expect God to intervene in real, miraculous ways.
I have to ask myself: when I face a crisis—sickness, injustice, loss—do I instinctively turn to prayer? Or do I treat it as a last resort? Have I settled for a faith that is respectable but powerless? Have I limited God by not expecting Him to move?
Faith is not a fallback; it is our first response. It is not optional; it is the oxygen of the Christian life. We need the kind of faith that insists on the promises of God, that believes He will answer, that pleads and prays until the heavens open.
Contemplation
What is my first response when I encounter a problem—prayer or planning, faith or fear?
Do I trust God as deeply as I say I do?
When I read the promises of God in His Word, do I cling to them with expectation—or treat them as hopeful ideas?
What evidence in my life points to a radical, apostolic faith?
What would change if I truly believed that God still moves as He did in the early church?
There is a reason the church in Acts was full of power: it was full of faith. We can’t expect power without returning to that same radical trust in the living God.
Prayer
Father of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
You are the God who does the impossible. You parted seas, shut the mouths of lions, raised the dead, and poured out power on ordinary people who dared to believe You. Forgive us, Lord, for our weak and wavering faith. Forgive us for turning to the world before turning to You.
Today, stir in me a radical, unshakable faith. Let my first thought in trouble be to run to You—not after everything else fails, but before anything else begins. Teach me to pray like the early church—with fervency, expectation, and persistence.
Help me to believe—not just in my head, but with my life—that what You have promised in Your Word, You are faithful to do. Reignite the fire of true apostolic faith in my heart and in Your Church.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Today’s Challenge:
Before you make a decision, before you respond to a problem, before you reach for a solution—pray. Bring it to the Lord first, and expect Him to act. Ask Him to build in you the kind of faith that the early church lived and died for. Remember: God said it—that settles it. Now live like you believe it.
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