By Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” Romans 10:17 NLT

Sometimes we don’t experience the incredible power that is in the word of God. One of the reasons we don’t experience this incredible power is because we don’t have a faith response. There is a way we have to respond to the word of God in order for it to work. We cannot respond based on our own thinking. We have to respond to the word of God the way God instructs us to respond to it. This is called a “faith response”. This simply means that you respond based on divine instruction, because faith is acting on the word of God. But, when we respond based on our own intellectual disposition, we won’t see our desired result. Any response outside of God is carnal and of the flesh. When God gives us a message, we must find out what it means and how it correlates to our life. If we ask Him, He will tell us.

In Acts 22:8 Paul wanted to be sure it was the Lord speaking to him, “So I answered, who are You, Lord? And He said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting”. Paul continued to ask for more guidance. “And I said, what shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told all things which appointed for you to do.” Acts 22:10.

First, Paul made sure it was the Lord speaking to him. We need no other voice than that of our Lord. Then he asked the Lord for guidance and didn’t use his human thinking or judgment. He received God’s instruction and acted with a faith response. Presumption is a dangerous thing; we cannot presume God’s will or instruction. There is always a divine purpose for what God says.

“Hearing God’s teaching and doing nothing is like looking at your face in the mirror and doing nothing about what you saw. You go away and immediately forget how bad you looked. But when you look into God’s perfect law that sets people free, pay attention to it. If you do what it says, you will have God’s blessing. Never just listen to his teaching and forget what you heard” James 1:23-25. We have to meditate on the word of God day and night. When you don’t take notes or aren’t consistent with the word of God it is easy to forget what it says. The word of God is spiritual food that needs to be eaten on a daily basis.

The spirit of God cannot open your eyes when you are in an attitude of ineptitude and indifference to the word of God. We must be prepared to respond as He has instructed us, then He will give us the strength and understanding. You cannot expect result with zero response. God has given us instruction on how to respond to his word. Luke 9:44 says, “Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men”. We need to listen to messages and read scripture until it sinks in. Faith comes from hearing the word of God. We must listen to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. The word is the secret to healing, and all good things in life. We must be doers of the word and not just hearers, otherwise, we are fooling ourselves. If you give everything a faith response, you will see the glory of God.

“When you hear God’s instruction, listen, know it, meditate on it, believe it, say it with your mouth and then act on it. This is how you respond in faith; “Faith response”.

-Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel