How do I make my faith stronger?

Question

This is a question for fellow believers. I'm looking for ways on how to make my faith in the Lord stronger. I believe that he could get me through everything but I want to be closer to God. How do I do it? I'm already trying to spend more one on one time with God, just thinking to God about what I want and what's going on with my life right now, and stuff like that. And reading the Bible and praying, I thank him for everything too, for making me so fortunate. But I want to feel love and joy and peace and everything the Lord has to offer, how can I make my realtionship and my faith stronger with God? I don't want to feel empty anymore, I want to feel the Spirit of Lord.

Oh, and by the way, I'm pentecostal.

PLEASE NO IMMATURE ANSWERS!
I didn't come here to be made fun of.

Answer 1

One of your problems (and it's characteristic of pentacostals) is that you think you have to "feel" the Lord in order to be close to him. Being a Christian isn't about "feeling" anything; it's about "being" a child of God. You become a child of God through an act of the will, not by generating an emotion.

As you train your mind, your emotions will follow. I would spend time in the Bible, especially the Gospels, learning how Jesus lived and reacted to situations around him. As you do this you'll begin to naturally think more like Jesus thought. Right thoughts lead to right attitudes and actions.

Answer 2

Your Desire to sense more of the presence of God,Is Good,You know who has put that Longing for more of Him? The Holy Spirit,that is part of His Work;We are at the place now,Where it will take this closeness to be effective in this End of Church Age,We will stand on our on Faith,Our Spouse can only cover Her Self.To get the Intimatency with The Lord is get alone with Him in Prayer;
Great Question You ask; When you exercise the Faith You have it Strengthens,Just like working out in Physical Builds Muscle; You will recieve all kinds of advise from those that don"t have a Clue as to what You are talking about on this site.Listen to God,in Prayer and Bible study; I am also a Believer & Pentecostal Yes

Answer 3

You speak of spending a lot of time with God, praying and reading the Bible etc, yet you say at the end that you don't want to feel empty anymore, and that you want to feel the Spirit of the Lord.

Lets start with time. Spending time thinking to God about what you want. Maybe if you stopped for a moment, and tried to consider what God wants instead. Maybe God would like you to be still, stop talking, and listen instead. You see, spending time only reinforces your situation, and the thoughts and images that fill your mind are getting in the way.

You 'feel empty', which seems a paradox because your mind is so full of thoughts and wants and desires. The emptiness you feel is the distance, the protective barrier that you surround your self with. Like the rich young man in Matthew 19:16-24, you are being called by God, but you need to give up your wealth. But this wealth is the possession you have made of your religious life, and the more that you want to add to it.

When Jesus said "Blessed are the poor in spirit:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matt 5:3, I believe he was speaking of those who do not take pride in their faith, but rather realize that God wants to fill their emptiness with his love. Therefore welcome the emptiness, and risk giving up your spiritual possessions, so that God will make you rich.

Answer 4

"Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Rom. 10:17 You are on the right track! An intimate relationship with God is a must. Do you know that in order to digest the word you must first hear it and digest it, allow it to flow thru your spirit. How?? By praying and fasting. In James 5:16 it tells us that theeffective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Continue to commune with Him and He will commune with you. And above all else have you received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? This is something that if you haven't asked for it then you should... Ask and ye shall receive. Remember that you MUST ask the Father for what yopu want specifically He is a perfect gentleman and will never force anything upon you. Just ask Him. He will answer you.

Answer 5

Read the Bible more, Pray more. Seek the Lord with all your heart. Make him number 1 . The joy comes from knowing that you are saved by the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life . But be prepared for persecution and tribulation as well.

2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Be stong and your faith will increase as you mature in Christ.
God bless Cap'n Arlo

Answer 6

GALATIANS gives the direction needed if one will take the Scriptures as they are meant to be taken.
--You ask for more joy, peace, love--Here is the source:
(Galatians 5:22-23) “22 On the other hand, the fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, 23 mildness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

--NOW BY FOLLOWING Jesus instruction and asking for more holy spirit(God's active force) and praying to God in Jesus name , and our beliefs and conduct is in line with God's word , we would get greater faith!
(Luke 11:11-13) “11 Indeed, which father is there among YOU who, if his son asks for a fish, will perhaps hand him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he also asks for an egg, will hand him a scorpion? 13 Therefore, if YOU, although being wicked, know how to give good gifts to YOUR children, how much more so will the Father in heaven give holy spirit to those asking him!””
--THE APOSTLES of Christ asked Jesus how they could obtain greater faith, for at times they were very weak in faith in promises Jesus made and prophecies in Jehovah God's word:

(Luke 17:5-6) “. . .Now the apostles said to the Lord: “Give us more faith.” 6 Then the Lord said: “If YOU had faith the size of a mustard grain, YOU would say to this black mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea!’ and it would obey YOU.”

--Whether you are pentecostal or any other religion should not make a difference in following Jesus instructions!
--Religion is not the source of holy spirit !Jehovah God through his sons name is!
(1 Timothy 2:5-6) “. . .For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus, .

Answer 7

Operation of the gifts of the spirit but there's a price of studying seeking his will and understanding how and what each one is ....

What a falsity it is when you have hands laid on you and are expected to receive the gift of speaking in toungs...Or some people who prophesy out of the flesh...You must be careful and have a very strong relationship with God so you don't abuse what He blesses you with....



People have misconceptions about the gifts and their use .
You can't just use your gift or gifts for just any situation because you will find yourself in trouble...It has to be done mannerly and in God's timing or will ...I learned some hard lessons in that area I was also involved in Pentecostal churches where the gifts just run wild and people get hurt. And you know what that can cause....

More dependence on God is always a faith booster and I am not talking about name it and claim it kind of actions but just simply more reliance on him for daily life situations...Becoming religious and austere I see as a real problem in the church as we know it today ..Power seems to make some Christians controlling and domineering..

Answer 8

It seems he's calling a lot of people to spend more time from him, he's called me to and I have friends asking similar questions as you are. I find I feel closest to him when I take time to worship. I put on an internet praise station like praiseonfire.com (which has been having problems lately) and pray and sing to him. Fasting also helps.

But as for stronger faith... Ask him to make your faith stronger. You'll find yourself going through difficult situations most likely, but it will be worth it in the end when your faith is strengthened. God bless...

Answer 9

Your world can not be divided with God.

I threw my t.v. off the side of a mountain 25 years ago. I have one now, but it only gets a Christian Station.

Also built an altar to pray at.

It has artifacts on it, like a menorah (7 candles) to remind me of Jesus, the light of the world.

An open Bible, which I read daily.

An incense burner, represents Christ's intercession between earth and the Father.

Vase with a white lilly--Jesus is the lilly of the valley.

Small communion glasses and plate for bread--yes, we eat Jesus' flesh and blood and He assimilates and nourishes our body.

A cross, represents Jesus great sacrifice for us.

And a prayer list is a must if you can't remember who you need pray for.

On the wall above this is a picture/fountain with a water pump. This represents the water that we never thirst, the Holy Spirit working in our lives.

Also, Chic, I carry literature and invite strangers to visit a site that proves Jesus is the Messiah, in a hidden Bible code at http://abiblecode.tripod.com

This has worked for me and my wife and we have now spent several years together most of the time in the mission field.

Hope to meet you in the Kingdom, Chic.

Blessings, Balaam

Answer 10

I have spent many hours in worship just soaking in the presence of God.For me this practice has been so liberating.I begin to get really freed up in areas that I struggled with,maybe you could ask some people to come over your place and just worship god together.Be blessed and loved,just ask God to give you what you want.His desire is to give you great faith,He said it only takes the faith of the size of a mustard seed.You will get what you ask for,God loves you so much.