There is the capacity in God to speak to us through His Holy Spirit direct from Heaven. And there is in us the capacity to hear through our spirit when He speaks.

For example, a room is filled with hundreds of sound signals beamed out from radio and television stations. But we can't hear them unless we turn on a radio or TV set. As soon as we tune the set to the station, those sounds are transmitted into something audible or visible. In the same way, we can "tune in" to God and receive His signals, some of which are audible and visible!

1) Fasting - Sharpens Your Hearing.

One of the ways we can sharpen our receptivity to God's signals is through fasting . This is like fine tuning a radio. When Jesus taught His disciples about their need for growing faith, He made clear (Matt 17:21) that prayer and fasting was often a key to greater faith. Fasting is an aid to increasing faith when our motive is to draw closer to God so we can better hear the word of the Lord to us.

Fasting Needs Right Motivation.

The motivation in fasting, then, must be carefully weighed. When God speaks, it's always an expression of His will. When we know what He wants done, faith comes by hearing the word of God. This is safe faith.

2. Faith Grows by Speaking

Safe faith is based on hearing, obedience and love. We open our spirit to the voice of the Lord by having an open, responsive heart to hear and to obey because we love Him and He loves us. It is because of that love that faith works. Otherwise, faith is stifled and ceases to grow.

Hearing, obeying and loving, then, are the three central ingredients to the growth of faith. To these we now add a fourth essential ingredient saying.

The Faith Of God :

In Mark 11:22 and 23, Jesus, teaching His disciples, says: " ..have faith in God." The literal translation is: "Have the faith of God. ...For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain... " The implication here is that the faith of God is a faith that speaks. In the first chapter of Genesis, God said: "Let there be light: and there was light." God said "Let there be... " and there was! The faith of God is speaking faith or saying faith.

Saying faith is a higher faith than asking faith. It takes faith to ask, but there is a faith that goes beyond asking to a faith that speaks. "For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith." The original Greek says: "Whosoever believes that those things which he says have already come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he says."

3. Speak What God Says

The progression and growth of faith is related to what you say or speak forth with the very words of your mouth.  Solomon makes it plain that what we say can curse us or bless us, and states IN PROVERBS 18:21 "Death and Life are in the power of the tongue"

Examples Of Speaking Faith 

a. Abraham.

We can see this principle of the positive confession of faith in the biblical record of Abraham in Romans 4:17-22. God had promised to make Abraham the father of many nations. Although Abraham was close to 100 years old and beyond bringing forth a progeny, he was not weak in faith, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God."

This means he went about positively praising God for all the things that He had promised him, confessing what God had said and giving Him the glory. Abraham had heard God' s word; "and being fully persuaded that what he had promised,
he was able also to perform. 

He probably said, "Hallelujah! God's promised me a son and I'm going to have a son. Even though I'm 100 years old and Sarah's 90, still I'm going to have a son. Glory to God!"

Because Abraham confessed the word of God instead of circumstances, "...if was imputed to him for righteousness" (vs22).

4. Take Your Stand In Faith

You, too, can today take a stand in faith by what you say and speak in faith.

When you know God's will, you can call some things that "be not" as though "they were." Ultimately, you can see them fulfilled in your life.

If you accept God' s word to you, you can stand and confess that word (like' Abraham) in the face of devils, opinions, circumstances, and all manner of contrary things . God "...will stand behind his word to perform it" (Jer 1:12). God is waiting for you to get the word in your mouth and speak it forth, believing it in your heart! 

By Ralph Mohoney
World MAP