faith is not powerful

Today we hear from Aphrahat in our reading from A Year with the Church Fathers. That’s a great name, isn’t it? Aphrahat. It sounds like something you would pull a bunny out of.

But Aphrahat gives us a great litany today. He tells us all of the things that faith has accomplished. He lists miracle after miracle, and tells us that it was because of faith that these things happened. I do want to be careful here and point out that faith itself isn’t powerful. If I have faith that I can lift my car with my pinky finger, even if I have A LOT of faith, it’s not going to happen. It’s important to realize that it is God that actually made all of these miracles happen. Faith in God is very powerful. Faith alone is not.

We do need to grow our faith, though. No matter how great our faith is, it will never match the power of the One in whom we have our faith. So an increase of faith is something all of us should ask for. And that’s the really good news. No matter how much or how little faith you have, if you ask for faith, He will help it to grow in you. He will increase your faith. Just ask, and then watch what happens in your life.

God, thank You for showing us how important faith is. Please grow it in us.