Everything By Faith

Everything by Faith

By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. Hebrews 11:33

HISTORY IS FILLED WITH POWER-HUNGRY CONQUERORS who overthrew governments, built vast empires, and made a name for themselves. History is also filled with Kingdom-minded servants who have influenced empires, established justice, and called God’s promises into earthly experience merely because they prayed and lived by faith. Those two very different descriptions aren’t always easy to discern. Some who claimed the name of Christ fit the first description much better than the second. But people who are powerful in God’s Kingdom are often unknown in the wider world because they are rarely self-promoting. They trust in the wisdom and power of God to accomplish his purposes and simply see themselves as participants in his plan.

Still, the works of faith recounted in Hebrews 11 are impressive. While people like Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, and other conquerors built kingdoms or imposed cultures that lasted a few decades or centuries, works of faith contribute to an eternal Kingdom that never fades or diminishes. They do more than exert power; they establish the character and purpose of God’s Kingdom on earth. They don’t just shift circumstances; they bring hearts and lives into alignment with the love and goodness of God. They accomplish things that matter forever.

We are invited into that vast, sweeping movement of God’s Kingdom on earth. But no one prays with history-changing faith without history-changing vision. Those who pray small prayers do so because they have small vision. Those are the only kinds of prayers they can pray. But when we ask God to expand our vision, increase the capacity of our hearts, and fill us with God-sized faith, we begin to see greater possibilities, the enormity of our calling, and the possibility of eternal returns on our momentary investments. We recognize the potential to have greater influence than the great conquerors, reap greater rewards than the sharpest investors, and pray justice into the most unjust, oppressive, intractable situations. We need no large army, ingenious conspiracy, or influential faction. We just need God. And by faith, we bring his Kingdom into lives, cities, and nations of the world.

God does nothing but by prayer, and everything with it.