Listen to This . . . Again!

//Craig W. Hagin

According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, faith is “unquestioning belief.” From this definition we can see that anytime we begin asking when, how, or why, we are no longer in faith. Faith never wonders whether something will happen.

No matter what is going on around us, faith never gives up. It always steadfastly believes. It doesn’t matter if we’ve sunk in the mud up to our chin and can barely breathe. Faith says, “I’m coming out. Through Christ, I’m victorious.”

		Faith for Healing
		Meditate on the following scriptures to build your faith in the area of healing.
		“He took our suffering on him and felt our pain for us. We saw his suffering and thought God was punishing him. But he was wounded for the wrong we did; he was crushed for the evil we did. The punishment, which made us well, was given to him, and we are healed because of his wounds” (Isaiah 53:4–5 NCV). “So God’s promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said, ‘He healed our diseases and made us well’ ” (Matt. 8:17 CEV). “No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling” (Ps. 91:10 NKJV). “I am the Lord who heals you” (Exod. 15:26 NKJV). “My whole being, praise the Lord and do not forget all his kindnesses. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases” (Ps. 103:2–3 NCV). “ ‘I will bring back your health and heal your injuries,’ says the Lord” (Jer. 30:17 NCV). “Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross so we would stop living for sin and start living for what is right. And you are healed because of his wounds” (1 Peter 2:24 NCV).

But all too often when we start sinking, instead of standing strong, we begin questioning. “Why, Lord?” “When, Lord?” And God is saying back to us, “Believe. Only believe. All things are possible to those who believe” (Mark 9:23).

Strong faith will get us through any situation. The question is, how do we develop faith that never gives up? It’s not that hard. The answer is found in Romans 10:17: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing, and hearing, and hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” You may be thinking, “Your Bible has a lot more ‘hearings’ in it than mine does.” Not really. In the Greek, the word translated hearing signifies continuous action. Faith, therefore, is developed by hearing something again and again and again. Just because we’ve heard something one time doesn’t mean we have faith.

This is where people often miss it. Once they’ve heard a message on something, they think they’ve got it. Then the next time the minister preaches on that subject, they turn their hearing off. They may be sitting in church and looking directly at the minister, but they aren’t hearing a word that is being said. They think, “I know this. I’ve heard that before.”

However, when we look at their lives, we can see that they’re sick, their needs aren’t met, and they’re in turmoil. Although they’ve heard the Word, they’re not living it. They might “know” the Word, but they’re not doing it. That Word has never dropped down into their hearts or they wouldn’t have the problems
they’re having.

Faith is the foundation of our belief system. And how firm our foundation is depends on how deep it’s been dug. Have you ever noticed that when a skyscraper is being built, the foundation goes deep into the ground? The taller the building, the deeper the foundation.

Jesus told the story of two men—one who built his  house on a rock and another who built his house on the sand. When the storm came, the house built on the sand couldn’t withstand the pounding of the wind and the waves. Only the house built on the rock was able to weather the storm. (See Matthew 7:24–27.)

The same is true in our lives. When we dig deep into the Word of God and continually get it into our hearts, we’ll be able to stand no matter what happens. God’s Word is our rock, and it doesn’t roll when the storms of life buffet us. It is our firm foundation.

That’s why it’s so important for us to continually build our faith. Whether we hear God’s Word preached, or read and study the Bible for ourselves, or listen to recorded sermons, it’s vital that we feed constantly on the Word.

I have certain CDs and DVDs that I like to play again and again. The messages really inspire me and I listen to them a lot. I especially like to pull them out when I’m going through a hard time. They lift me up and encourage me when I’m tempted to quit.

Stuff comes at us all the time. That’s why it’s so important to continually hear the Word—even if we’ve heard it before. It’s really the only way to always be strong in faith.

The more we hear and hear and hear the Word, the stronger we’ll be when the devil’s attacks come. So when we hear someone minister one more time on a  familiar subject, let’s not turn a deaf ear. If we’ll listen with an open ear, the Lord will show us something we didn’t know that will be a key to our victory.