Perfecting our faith

We like it when we get to experience the immediate results of our prayers. And often we wonder why God allows things to intensify first before giving us our heart’s desire. But it seems like this is done to perfect our faith.

The Gospels tell a story of a blind man who heard that Jesus was passing by. When he shouted out for mercy the crowd told him to be quiet. But he was not deterred and shouted out all the louder. In giving the man his sight, Jesus said his faith had healed him.

Surely, he had faith as he initially cried out to Christ. And if Jesus could heal someone who just touched his garment, could he not also heal this man when he first cried out? It seems there was some divine wisdom in having him to resist the rebuke of the crowds and remain determined in his efforts to get to Jesus.

Jesus is considered the one who starts and perfects our faith. And it’s possible this is what was playing out with the blind man. Certainly, it would’ve been easy to just give up and blame the crowds for missing his chance. But his faith grew as he had to shout louder over the crowds. It was being perfected – made stronger and more mature.

And this is true for us as well. Faith grows through reason of use, which means it must be regularly exercised for it to mature. As such, God is not ignoring us when we don’t immediately get what we pray for, but rather giving us an opportunity to strengthen our faith.

In the end, Jesus is concerned with perfecting our faith. And sometimes this means we have to shout louder and endure longer through the crowds that might be trying to hold us back.

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