How can I strengthen my faith?

Genesis 12:1, 4The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. . . .” So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

Like a muscle, faith gets stronger the more we exercise it. When we act on what we know is true, doing what God asks us to do, and then see him bless us as a result of our obedience, our faith grows stronger. The next time God calls us to do something, we will have more confidence to move ahead without hesitation.

Psalm 119:48, 54I honor and love your commands. I meditate on your decrees. . . . Your decrees have been the theme of my songs wherever I have lived.

Romans 10:17So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.

Our faith is grounded in God’s Word—in what God has said. Our faith will grow stronger as we study the Bible and reflect on the truths about who God is and how he desires to work in us and through us. Faith is not simply a matter of positive thinking or human effort. Our confident assurance in God is divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit who works through the Word of God. Our faith grows as we read the history of God working through people across the centuries and realize that he will do the same in us.

2 Kings 6:17Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.

John 20:27-29Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.”

2 Corinthians 3:14The people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ.

The strongest faith is built on spiritual conviction. Though our physical senses can provide some reassurances (just as Thomas found reassurance in Jesus’ scars), we cannot depend on them to see the whole picture. This world has a spiritual element that we cannot see but is very real. Our faith will become stronger the more we allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen our “spiritual vision,” so that we can sense and see the results of God working in us and in the lives of those around us. We should ask God to open our eyes to see his work and presence in the world.