How Faith Grows: Two Simple Steps from God's Word

Have you ever cried out to God, "Lord, give me more faith"? You're not alone — even the apostles made the same request. In this episode of the Confidence in God Podcast, host Julie McGhghy explores what the Bible tells us about how faith actually grows.

Drawing from Romans 10:17, Luke 17, James 1:22, and 2 Thessalonians 1:3, Julie shares two simple yet powerful ways to strengthen your faith. Whether you're wrestling with a hard biblical teaching, watching a loved one suffer, or facing your own difficult circumstances, this episode offers encouragement that your faith can grow — and grow exceedingly.

Episode Timeline: 13:05

| 0:00 | Introduction & welcome
| 0:11 | Opening question: "Lord, give me more faith"
| 0:58 | The apostles' struggle with unlimited forgiveness
| 1:51 | Personal reflection: hard teachings & doubts
| 2:40 | Hebrews 11:6 — It is impossible to please God without faith
| 3:39 | Preview: two ways faith grows
| 3:57 | Faith can grow exceedingly (2 Thessalonians 1:3)
| 4:26 | Way #1: Hear the Word — Romans 10:17
| 4:53 | Faith increases as you hear God's word
| 5:22 | Practical ways to hear the Word (church, podcasts, reading)
| 5:44 | Transition to Way #2
| 6:19 | Luke 17: the parable of the unworthy servant
| 6:46 | Way #2: Obey the Word — humble obedience builds faith
| 7:23 | James 1:22 — be doers, not hearers only
| 8:14 | Faith in action: the church of Thessalonica
| 9:10 | Summary & call to action
| 10:10 | Closing prayer
| 11:29 | Amen & outro begins
| 11:54 | Show notes resources

Transcript

0:00

Hello and welcome to the Confidence in God podcast. I am your host, Julie McGhghy, and our goal today is to help you walk with confidence in God. Have you ever cried out to the Lord,"Lord, give me more faith," just as the apostles did after Jesus taught about forgiving someone over and over again, even if the offender offends seven times a day, which is a lot. Or maybe you've said,"Lord, I believe, help my unbelief" like the father of the boy who had a demonic spirit that kept him from speaking, ripped at his body, and caused him to foam at the mouth and nash his teeth. In both of these situations, the people were struggling with something. The apostles were struggling with a hard teaching that Jesus was explaining to them and wanting them to live by. I must commend the apostles because they understood that living by a principle of unlimited forgiveness of others would take a strong faith, one that is stronger than they had at that time. And they understood Jesus could help them with their faith. The father was struggling with the torment his beloved son was experiencing at the hands of an evil spirit. He had enough faith to take the boy to Jesus, believing that he could and would help him. Yet when Jesus explained to the father that all things are possible if he could believe the father wasn't so certain he could believe the deliverance of his son was possible. Yet he too understood Jesus could help him believe. Maybe you are also struggling with some hard teaching in the Bible that you just aren't sure is meant for you, or that you have enough faith to live by it. I know I have been there many times and wondered how I could live according to the word of God. I could believe in Christ's death, burial in resurrection. But did I have enough faith to believe I was forgiven, to give of my finances when I was finding there was a whole lot more month at the end of the money, or to believe that God would do great things through me, such as casting out devils, speaking with new tongues, healing the sick, merely because I believed, was baptized, and walked in salvation. One of those hard teachings is in Hebrews 11:6, which tells us, without faith it is impossible to please God. That verse itself may cause us to cry out to God, asking him to increase our faith because we want to please God. Alternatively, maybe you are struggling with some difficult situation in your life, possibly watching a loved one suffer from a horrible diagnosis, or even suffering from one yourself. Or possibly you are struggling from some difficult circumstances in your life, such as unemployment, an estranged relationship with a loved one, or extreme fear and anxiety due to this current culture we live in. I've been in each of these situations also, most recently watching as my mom declined into the depths of dementia. Whatever you are facing that is causing you to cry out to God and asking him to increase your faith and belief, I want to share with you some things the Bible tells us will help your faith grow stronger. Before looking at two simple ways our faith grows, it's helpful to know that in fact our faith does grow and it can grow exceedingly. In 2 Thessalonians 1:3, the Apostle Paul explained to the people in the church of Thessalonika that he thanked God for them because their faith grew exceedingly. Our faith can do the same, but how? It's really simpler than we think. First, let's look at the source of faith in Romans 10:17, which states,"So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." Wow did you hear that? Faith comes when we hear the word of God. And I have to chuckle here because we just heard the word of God in Romans 10:17. So our faith is increasing. It's that simple. If you are crying out to God to increase your faith, sit back and rejoice in the fact that your faith increases when you hear the word of God. I admit, I feel like I am preaching to the choir. After all, you are listening to this podcast. You wouldn't be listening to this podcast if you had no interest in hearing the word of God. Keep it up. When you feel your faith is insufficient to do what you believe you're called to do, or to endure what you may currently be enduring, find ways to hear God's word. Go to church. Talk to fellow believers who will encourage you with the word. Listen to podcasters who speak the word of God in truth. You can even read the word yourself. Hear the word. Doing so will increase your faith. Oh, how simple. I need to remember this when I feel my faith is insufficient. Hear the word. The next thing that increases our faith sounds just as simple, but admittedly, may be a little tougher to do. Let's look back at Luke 17 to see how Jesus responded to the apostles when they asked him to increase their faith. In verses six through 10, after telling them they needed only the faith like a grain of mustard seed to command, even plants to move, and they will obey them, Jesus told them of the unworthy servant. At first glance, by telling the apostles about the servant who comes in from a day of work only to first serve the master his food before the servant himself sits down to eat, we understand Jesus is teaching us to humbly do what is commanded of us. We should not have pride and expect special accolades because we have merely done what we are asked to do. Obedience to our parents, to our employers, and especially to God is merely a fundamental duty. We should not expect a thank you or special recognition for doing it, but why did Jesus include this Parable of the Unworthy Servant in a response to the apostles request that he increase their faith? Because obedience leads to increased faith. Even the plants will obey when we exercise our faith and command them to move. Being obedient to do the things we are asked to do increases our faith. James understood this concept when he wrote in James 1:22,"But be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourselves." It is not enough to only hear God's word, even though faith comes by doing so. We can have the greatest faith in the world, but if we are only hearing God's word and not doing it, We are deceiving ourselves. We are not growing as a child of God. We are not growing in relationship with God. It is not enough to just let our faith grow without putting it into action. Let's go back to what the Apostle Paul wrote to the people in the Church of Thessalonica in chapter one, verse three of his second letter to them. He explained that he thanked God for them, not only because their faith grew exceedingly, but also because their faith was evident in their abounding love for one another. They put that faith into action by doing things that showed love. They weren't just feeling love for one another. They were actively loving in ways that were evident to others. So how does our faith increase? By hearing the word of God and then using that faith to put it into action and obey the word we heard. Let's have confidence in God's word today. Take God at His word. If you are struggling to understand or put into practice anything in God's word, or if you are struggling to endure difficult situations in your life, spend more time hearing his word, even if you are reading it out loud to yourself. Because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. As your faith increases because you are spending more time hearing God's word, then put that faith into action. Be a doer of the word and not a hearer only. You will find yourself drawing closer to God and your faith will become more evident to yourself and to others. Your confidence in God will increase by these two simple steps. And again, I want to pray for you today as I have started doing in most of these episodes. Precious Jesus, we thank you Lord Jesus for your word. We thank you for the truth of your word. We thank you for the availability of your word. We have it at our fingertips in your written word. We have it at churches near us that speak truth, Lord. We have friends. You put friends in our lives that we can talk to that will encourage us in Your word. And we even now have. Podcasts and TV shows and things that will share your word. We need only look for your word and those who speak the truth of your word to us. And when we do that, when we hear your word, oh, precious Jesus, our faith increases. Help us to see, feel, hear our faith increase, precious Jesus, as we are hearing your word. Help us to put your word into action, to be doers of your word and not hearers only. Oh, how we praise you. How we thank you. You are so worthy of our praise, of our service, of our attention, Lord Jesus. In Your name, amen. One of the things we experience that causes us to doubt our own faith is when we don't see answers to our prayers. I shared my own experience with that in the podcast episode titled Prayers Answered Through My Mother's Dementia. If you haven't listened to that episode, you may benefit from doing so. I'll drop a link to it in the show note. I'll also drop a link to the resource titled How to Have Confidence In Your Prayer Life. Just click on it and click on the resource. It is freely and immediately available to you. Well, that's it for today. If you find this podcast episode helpful, please take a second to subscribe to our show so you'll be notified when future episodes come out and share it with your friends and loved ones. Also, it would be great if you would rate or review our show that way more people can find it. I would really love to hear from you. Let me know how God is increasing your faith as you spend more time hearing His word and putting it into action. I so appreciate those of you who have contacted me with your prayer request. Please know that I pray for you daily. If you need prayer, please reach out to me and let me support you in prayer. Until next time, let's be confident in this, that he who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.