How do you have faith in God?
You want to believe. Some days you do. Other days, God feels far away and your faith feels thin. How do you actually get more faith?
Faith is trusting God, believing He is who He says He is and will do what He says He’ll do, even when you can’t see it yet. “Faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). You don’t grow faith by forcing a feeling. It grows by hearing God’s Word (“faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ,” Romans 10:17) and by taking steps of trust and watching Him come through. In plain words: faith is like a muscle. It grows when you feed it with Scripture and use it.
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“Help my unbelief!”
A desperate father brought his son to Jesus. The disciples hadn’t been able to help. The father said, “If You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus said, “If You can? All things are possible to him who believes!” The father cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” And Jesus healed his son (Mark 9:21–27). His faith was mixed with doubt, and Jesus didn’t turn him away. He answered him.
Faith isn’t the absence of doubt
Doubt is a question; unbelief is a decision. You can bring your doubts to God, like the father did, and like Thomas did (John 20:24–29). What matters is that you bring them to Him.
How to grow your faith
1. Get in the Word daily. Faith comes from hearing it (Romans 10:17).
2. Remember what God has done. Write down answered prayers. Israel built stone memorials so they wouldn’t forget (Joshua 4:6–7).
3. Pray honestly, even “help my unbelief.”
4. Take one step of obedience. Faith grows when you act on it (James 2:17).
5. Stay around people of faith. Faith is contagious.
You don’t need big faith
Jesus said faith the size of a mustard seed, one of the smallest seeds there is, can move mountains (Matthew 17:20). What matters is not how big your faith is, but how big your God is.
What the Bible says
- 01
What faith is.
Hebrews 11:1, 6 - 02
Faith comes by hearing.
“Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”
Romans 10:17 - 03
Help my unbelief.
“Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been with him?” “From childhood,” he said. “It often throws him into the fire or into the water, trying to kill him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” “If You can?” echoed Jesus. “All things are possible to him who believes!” Immediately the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!” When Jesus saw that a crowd had come running, He rebuked the unclean spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” He said, “I command you to come out and never enter him again.” After shrieking and convulsing him violently, the spirit came out. The boy became like a corpse, so that many said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.”
Mark 9:21–27 - 04
A mustard seed.
““Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.””
Matthew 17:20 - 05
Trust in the LORD.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5–6 - 06
Ask in faith.
“Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”
James 1:5–6
Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.
Start a list today of five times God has come through for you. Read it the next time your faith feels thin.
Common questions
Is doubt a sin?
Doubt itself isn’t a sin. Bring it to God honestly. Refusing to believe after God has shown you the truth is different.
Why doesn’t my faith seem to work?
Faith isn’t a force that makes God do what we want. It’s trust in Him, including His timing and His answers.
Can faith grow quickly?
Sometimes it leaps after an answered prayer. More often it grows steadily, day by day, in the Word.
Read it with a guide.
Become’s study Bible explains every chapter in plain language, with a reading plan that starts in John and walks you through the whole story, in your language.