What are Fundamentals of the Christian Faith
Children of God, Christians, sons of light, heirs in Christ, these are many terms that might seem extravagant to those around us. But these names are ours, and we must claim them with confidence!
But what is our faith based on? What justifies our boldness when it comes to defending our faith in a world where Christian values seem to be crumbling?
To speak of the foundations of the Christian life is to come back to what motivates our faith. Among these foundations, we could talk about:
God’s wonderful plan for mankind.
After the fall of Adam, everything seemed already sealed for the man, who then lay under the weight of the curse far from the marvellous plan of God. Thus deprived of the glory of God, man henceforth had to make efforts to be in communion with his creator. It was then that when the times were fulfilled, the Lord sent Jesus Christ into the world in order to reconcile us to Him.
John 3:16 (KJV) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
The death and resurrection of our Lord.
Our faith in Jesus Christ would have been in vain if our Lord had conquered neither sin nor death! Indeed, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead is the pillar, one of the major foundations of our faith. By rising from the dead, the Lord Jesus defeated sin and its power over man. This is why the Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 (KJV) “Death where is your sting, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin and what gives the power to sin is the law. But thank God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”.
From the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, proof of our belonging to the Kingdom of God.
The promise of the Holy Spirit was made to the disciples at the Lord’s Last Supper. The Holy Spirit is the One who convicts us of sin and directs us into all truth. Thus during the new birth, it is possible for any child of God to be baptized with the Holy Spirit because it is part of our heritage in Christ and is not the prerogative of certain people. The Spirit of God testifies to our spirit that we are children of God.
1 John 3:1 (KJV) “See what love the Father has shown us, that we should be called children of God! And we are. If the world doesn’t know us, it didn’t know Him.
These few points could serve as an anchor for the foundations of our faith and encourage us to stand firm in the Christian walk. And suppose we ever encounter opposition that would push us to justify our faith. In that case, Peter’s advice is still valid for us: “Be of good conduct among the pagans, so that even where they slander you as if you were malefactors, they notice your good works and glorify God, on the day when He visits them. 1 Peter 2:12 (KJV)
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How to pray with faith to touch God?
The Bible recommends that we have faith when we want to approach God because it is impossible to please Him without it. And this is so necessary when we pray. Very often, we pray but not in faith. We just come with our requests without much conviction, and then we leave. In this article, we will talk about how to pray in faith to reach God in a certain way. This can help you be effective in your way of praying.
To pray with faith, you must first know God!
Hebrews 11:6 (KJV): “But without faith, it is impossible to please Him. For whoever approaches God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.
Do you want to approach God, do you want to pray with faith? You must believe that He exists because your faith is vain without Him. But that is not enough. In addition to believing in His existence, you must accept Him in your heart. Because here is a man who believes that God exists but who has not yet met Him until the day when God will reveal to him that he needs to listen to a word that will save him and his family. This story is found in Acts 10.1-8 and Acts 11.13-15.
In the first four verses, we see that this man Cornelius was pious and feared God and his family. So he is someone who believes that God exists. In addition, he was generous and prayed a lot, but he was not yet saved despite everything he did. He needed to meet Jesus. It was then that the apostle Peter came to speak to him about Christ and at that very moment, the Spirit of Christ descended on him and on all his family.
You may have started to pray and be in God’s works when you forgot the essential: the encounter! So before moving forward, you just need to bow your heart and invite Jesus to become Master of your life through prayer.
Prayer is a relationship.
Matthew 14:23 (KJV): “When He sent her away, He went up the mountain to pray apart, and when evening came He was there alone.
Luke 6:12 (KJV): “At that time Jesus retired to the mountain to pray, and spent the whole night praying to God.
Matthew 6.6 (KJV): “But you, when you pray, go into your room, close your door and pray to your Father who is there in the secret place; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.
In these three texts, we see that Jesus Himself was an example in prayer and taught His disciples what prayer is. To pray, Jesus withdrew; he needed to be alone on the mountain: to say that prayer is first of all this communion that we must have with God. In this fellowship, God also speaks and we listen (Acts 10:9). And that is what He taught His disciples. This is why Jesus could spend all night praying because He was not the only One talking, God was also communicating things to Him.
Prayer with faith and trust in Jesus and His Word.
Romans 10:17 (KJV): “So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
Praying with faith here does not mean shouting, nor is it aligning our requests when we are in the presence of God, but rather trusting what God is telling us in His Word. God calls us to believe in His Word and what He communicates to us daily through His Spirit. That doesn’t mean we don’t have demands and burdens, but we choose to surrender and let Jesus guide us in our daily prayers even when these things exist.
Because even before opening his mouth and saying Father, He knows what we need (Matthew 6. 7-8). So let us go into the presence of the Lord with a willing and confident heart rather than a filled one. This prayer of faith will make you grow in the knowledge of the Word of the Lord, which will allow you to be more and more firm on what the Lord shows you.
So praying with faith means losing sight of earthly realities and the situations we sometimes go through and instead of leaning on the truth that is Jesus. Because that’s what God says He does, not what we think for ourselves.
