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In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved in various trials, that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes, even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ 1 Peter 1:6'8 WEB.

Faith is the currency of heaven. If you want something from God, you get it by faith. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that it is impossible to please Him without faith, for whoever would draw near to God must believe 1: He exists and 2: He rewards those who seek Him.

Jesus had the faith to walk on water, calm storms with a word, and raise the dead by speaking to them. The Apostles after Him continued His work, and Jesus intended for us to continue as they did from generation to generation. Jesus said this in John 14:12:

"Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father. Whatever you will ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it." John 14:12'14 WEB.

So why don't we see more miracles in our life? Because we can't spiritually afford them. We, myself included, do not have enough of God's currency: Faith. Matthew 17:19 tells of a demon that the Apostles didn't have enough faith to cast out. When they asked Jesus about it, He told them this:

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately, and said, "Why weren't we able to cast it out?" He said to them, "Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:19-20 WEB.

Faith is always illustrated as an entity that grows. Jesus said in Mark 4:31 that mustard is the smallest of seeds but grows until the birds of the air can make nests in its shade. The small faith of the mustard seed grows larger. Tiny faith means tiny miracles. Great faith means great miracles. Faith is so important, but how is faith developed in us? How did the Apostles get more of it?

Peter uses the example of gold refined in the fire to remove all of the impurities like zinc, copper, silver, and iron. The more gold is refined, filtered, cleaned, and pure, the more value it has. So it is with our faith, but the fire, testing, and refining are not pleasant. Too many times when God is trying to remove impurities from our lives, we squeal, whine, cling to our dirty laundry, and scream for Him to stop: "Oh woe is me, God has forsaken me."

All of our prayers are directed at getting out of the fire as soon as possible, and we tend to want to keep as much of our impurities as we can for as long as we can. Then we wonder why we have so little faith. We wonder why our prayers are ineffective. The difficulties you face in life are purifying your faith, which is more precious than gold.

There is no testimony without a test. There is no glory without the story. Don't pray to skip your life; live it hand-in-hand with Him one day at a time. Each time we face difficulties and depend on Jesus to get us through them, our faith grows a little more. Soon trusting Him will come naturally because He has already brought you through so much in the past. You will come through the other side a better person, with greater faith. Fire does not destroy gold. It just purges the impurities.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please cleanse and refine me from the inside out. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and with You by my side, I know that I can face whatever is coming my way. I choose to believe that You are alive, that You love me, and that You are listening to me today. I want to ally myself with You, be part of what You are doing, and walk hand in hand. Come and be a part of my life today. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Note: 'Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.' (Philippians 4:6-7) ~ If you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network

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