Three Kinds of Faith

Recent polls reported in the magazine Christianity Today shown that 86% of all Americans believe in a God who answers prayer. Over 70% pray regularly, and over 60% say they pray daily. That is a lot of faith! It is good to know that so many people believe that God cares and helps.
But there are actually several types of faith. While any faith in God is better than no faith in God, the type of faith one has will do much to determine one’s sense of peace, love, and hope. There are three basic types of faith; one of them is almost useless, while another is a great source of calm and strength.
The first type of faith is the faith that God exists. This is a necessary form of faith. Without it, no other form of faith can exist. In Hebrews 11:6, we read, “without faith it is impossible to please God, be-cause anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Faith that God exists is foundational. On the other hand, it is far from sufficient. James writes, in James 2:19, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder.” God's enemies believe in him; simple acknowledgment of God's existence does not make one any better, or any better off, than the devil. We do not do God a favor by believing in him.
The second kind of faith takes into account the second phrase of the verse from Hebrews, “that he re-wards those who earnestly seek him.” This kind of faith believes that God is a person and that he is interested in individuals. He can be known and he can be prayed to with hope for a response. This faith is far better than simply believing that God exists, for it speaks of God's character as loving and good. It believes that God loves those whom he has made and wants to see good things happen for them.
Such faith can do much to bring a sense of peace and hope. If I am confident that God loves me and wants to help me, I have hope in hard situations. I know that I am not alone. I am sure that there is one who is more powerful than I am who can step into a situation and bring good out of it.
This second type of faith is much better than the first. However, it is not as good as it might be. We know from experience that God does not answer all our prayers exactly as we request. Why not? This faith in a personal, prayer-answering God runs the risk of being what one might call a “begging and bar-gaining faith.” I can ask, “Why would God answer my prayers?” and come up with the answer that the response to my prayers depends upon the strength and sincerity of my own faith, or upon my faithfulness in keeping God's commands, or upon the degree to which I have been able to avoid doing what God forbids, or upon the number and quality of my “good deeds” or acts of piety and devotion, or all of these. This second type of faith can be very “me” centered. It can say that it is faith in God, but if the focus shifts to what I can do to be certain of answered prayer, then the object of one’s faith becomes oneself: what I can do to persuade God. One trusts one’s own abilities and actions, not the Lord.
There is also a second danger in this type of faith. Who decides what to pray for? If I simply review my life and my hopes and dreams, I can come up with a list of things I want and of areas where I can see I need help. Having drawn up my “shopping list,” I can then go to the Lord in prayer and ask him to give me the things I believe I need. But – how good is my own assessment of my needs? In Matthew 7:9-11, Jesus says, “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” If my aim is to get my prayers answered as I ask them, then I may well be asking for a stone or a snake without knowing it.
The second type of faith is good, for it recognizes the reality of God and that he is personal and loving. It has the danger, however, of being self-centered, where I simply seek my own idea of what is good. That idea may simply come from a worldly viewpoint, seeking no higher good than my own comfort and convenience. It also runs the danger of trying to beg God for answers to prayer, or to bargain with him based on what I can do for him.
The third type of faith is the best. It is also the most terrifying. In Matthew 5:3, Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This is the first of the Beatitudes, and it is the starting point for blessedness. John Stott writes (in Authentic Christianity, p. 269), “The Church consists of the spiritually poor. The only condition of eligibility is destitution. The rich are sent away empty. We have to acknowledge our spiritual bankruptcy, that we have no merit to plead, no strings to pull, no power to save ourselves. To such Jesus says ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of God is theirs.’”
The third type of faith trusts utterly in God. It says, “Lord, not my will but yours.” If I have this third type of faith, I not only trust God to answer my prayers, but my first prayer is, “Lord, you are great, awe-some, holy, and wise. What do you desire me to ask for?” The third type of faith starts with God, not oneself. It recognizes that we are each a fallible, sinful person and that we often do not even know what is best for ourselves.
It is always good to come before the Lord and to ask for those things that we see as needs in our lives and the lives of others. But it is better to look not only at our physical and emotional needs but even more at our spiritual needs. In Romans 8:29, we see God's appointed destiny for everyone who trusts in him: “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” God’s aim is that we each of us reflect the character of Christ. Thus, we should open our hearts to the Lord, asking, “Father, where do I need to grow to be more like Jesus?” This kind of question is one reason why a Christian should be reading the Bible, for in Scripture we see both the qualities of Christ, and also the path towards those qualities of his character.
That path lies through the cross. The third type of faith recognizes that we have no basis for begging or bargaining with God. Every good thing we have from God comes through his mercy. We can only say, in the words of the hymn, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling.” We do not earn or deserve our forgiveness as sinners; it comes because Jesus laid down his life for us. We do not earn or deserve the myriad blessings that come our way; they come from the hand of a Father who knows our needs before we even ask. This third type of faith recognizes the utter graciousness of the grace of God – his mercy comes because he is merciful and because we are in dire need of mercy.
This third type of faith encompasses the other two, for it believes that God exists and that God cares for his creation and invites people into relationship with him. But it goes beyond these two types of faith. Its focus is not on what we can get from God. While this third type of faith mean that we can tell the lord our own perception of our needs, it does not stop at our own perception. Rather, it goes beyond our earthly life to focus on God and on his Kingdom. It asks, “How can I grow to be more like Jesus?” It asks, “Lord, where may I be of most use to your Kingdom?”
The third type of faith is the least self-centered, but the most personally satisfying. By asking our Creator, “Lord, what do I need?” it frees us from the narrowness of our limited vision and places under the care of the wisest, most powerful, most caring of Fathers. By seeking to grow to be more like Christ, we grow toward our own unique way of expressing the character of the Lord Jesus. By seeking first the Kingdom of Christ, the Lord prepares us and enables us to make the contribution to his Kingdom that only we can make. When we trust him utterly, surrendering even our most precious hopes to him, we find that our hopes were too small compared to the delights and privileges he has in mind for us. It is terrifying to put our all on the altar, but satisfying to find that what God intended to give we could not even imagine in our shortsightedness.
Over 86% of the people of our nation believe in a God who answers prayer. This is a wonderfully high percentage. But how many of this 86% have not grown beyond the second type of faith, and look only to help for physical and emotional needs, as they define them themselves, and seek to have those prayers answered by begging or bargaining? What joy there would be if the vast majority of people who believe that God answers prayer simply said to God, “Lord, direct my prayers and my life. I have no hope but you.” There would be joy on earth, and even more joy in heaven. God would rejoice that his people trusted him with all they are and all they have, and we would know his delight.
Where is your faith on the spectrum of believing? Are you stuck in one spot, or are you prepared to grow? To trust the Lord with even the agenda for your prayers will show you the mercy and the power of God in ways you can scarcely imagine. Trust and rejoice!

(Copyright May 2011, Charles Sutton)