In order to directly lay hold of God's promises, you must use faith. You release your faith by acting out on what you believe from God's Word. Faith is a practical expression of your confidence in God and the Word's ability to produce a harvest. When you act on your beliefs, you will begin to see the results you desire.
Faith is an act that is motivated by the Word of God, whether written or spoken. Whenever He tells you to do something and you obey, you demonstrate your faith. It is corresponding action that lines up with what you believe. For example, if you are sick and believing God for healing, take the medicine your doctor has prescribed and confess the Word of God on healing.
You can tell what people believe by how they act. Have you ever met someone who had extremely high confidence? This person carries himself or herself in a way that conveys a sense of authority. There is a certain air about a person who is confident; it is undeniable.
The same is true where your faith is concerned. A person who has faith constantly speaks the Word of God and acts as if what he or she is believing for has already come to pass. The key however, is to not to do something foolish and call it faith; this is presumption. Make sure you find the promise in God's Word and that if you have heard Him speak directly to your heart about something, that what you hear and receive lines up with the scripture.
James 2:17, 18 describes the importance of acting out on your faith: "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works." You see, faith has to have action behind it.
For example, if you are believing God for financial increase, don't just confess prosperity scriptures and expect for your checking account balance to miraculously increase overnight. Do something to demonstrate your expectation of God's promise for wealth; open a savings account and begin to exercise good stewardship over the money you already have. In addition, don't neglect to pay your tithes and give offerings according to what God speaks to your heart. Taking actions such as these give practical expression to what you believe from the Word.
Too many Christians get spiritually "deep" and do silly things that they label as "walking by faith." For example, someone may write a bad check, claiming they have faith in God to provide the money before the check clears. These actions aren't faith; they are foolishness. God will never tell you to do something that is illegal.
The Bible is full of accounts of people who heard God speak to them and had to act out on their faith. Noah was one of them. Hebrews 11:7 describes his faith, "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house…" In John 2:1–11, the servants at the wedding at Cana released their faith by obeying Jesus' instructions, and a creative miracle took place—water was turned into wine. In both instances, these people demonstrated their belief by doing something specific; their faith could be seen.
To keep your faith strong, continue to seek God and feed your spirit the Word of God on a consistent basis. In addition, don't speak negative words or act contrary to what you believe. Keep your words and actions in line with what you believe and you will be actively demonstrating your faith in God and His Word. God weighs your actions, so make sure He sees your faith today!
