What My Daughter Taught Me about Faith

I believe most of us have heard the Bible verses that say ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, give and it will be given back to you overflowing. The Bible says if you believe with even the smallest amount of faith without doubt, what you believe for shall come to pass. That was a combination of two verses one talking about faith as small as a mustard seed, and the other when Jesus talks about how faith can move a mountain.

Ok, but how many people have actually seen this work? Is there a formula, a structure, or something we are missing? How is it that some have seen these principals work, some have it work daily in their lives, and others have seen it work only once or twice in their lifetime. How is it that people who reject God can have what they believe for without it seeming to have to work for it?

In my earlier years, I have seen some of God’s principals actually work in my life. Actually I combined the 100 fold principal where God said you will reap what you sow 30, 60, or 100 fold, and the principal of the widow’s mite. I was that poor back then. At the time we had a guest speaker come in, and talk about God’s laws and how he wants to bless us. My husband was away, and I only had 90 cents to my name, which also happened to be in my pocket. I put all 90 cents in the offering basket that night. The next day my husband came home. He was flat broke also. We decided just to start walking around town. People started to come up to us and say God told me to give this to you. We ended up collecting enough $20’s and $10’s that by the time we got back to the church that night we had $90.

Why couldn’t I grab on to it back then? Instead of saying hey this really works, God is faithful, I’m going to put all my trust in him, and give him the $90 we just collected and let it grow again. Well I didn’t, and lived in poverty for a long time. We are a better off now, but still struggling. I keep thinking to myself why couldn’t I just trust in God? I had even a hard time trusting him with my tithe, and that says a lot to someone who witnessed a miracle.

As the years go by I hear and read a little about positive thinking and that it was new age junk. I read about how the name it claim it was all false, and the 100 fold principal was garbage. God doesn’t work that way, and if you get into that you will be getting into that new age devil stuff. You want to stay away from it. Then I see the secret online, and wonder why this is all working out for them. These people who replace God with the universe and many don’t even believe in the Bible. It sounds too much new age stuff to even consider. Yet, I saw God’s principals underlying everything. I know God is no respecter of persons. I know the Bible says the power of life and death is in the tongue.

I dug into it, and found the underlying basic principals believe without doubt, speak forth the positive, ask for what you want, and give. Those are the same underlying principals God sets forth in his word. We are to believe without doubt, ask and we will receive, give

and it shall be given back to you, and yes to speak positive to bring life and not death to the situation at hand whether it is health, spiritual, relationship, or finances. For example, when you are sick, you claim out loud God’s healing and that you are healed. Yea, but they also call that name it and claim it. The name it and claim it preachers also preach those same Biblical principals. They also say to be specific in what you want. I remember once that I was in need of food, and asked God for food. Oh no, I wasn’t going to name it and claim it, be specific, and get into what others think of as wrong. I was going to believe him for food. What happened, I got food. I got a lot of food I didn’t like, and had to force myself to eat. At least my husband and girls liked most of the canned beans that were given to us. There was some other canned stuff that we ended up giving to someone else. The next time I asked for what I wanted, and basically got what I wanted. There must be something there also.

Later, I applied the principals to what I wanted, which was to move into a two story house with a decent size kitchen, 4 bedrooms, dining room, kitchen, and a first floor laundry. A few months later it became possible for us to apply for a mortgage. We started to look. I got exactly what I asked for. I did forget to mention size, and location. I got a small house where the fourth bedroom is on the ground floor, which was converted from a garage to a bedroom. It is along a busy street where you can not walk safely along the road, and there are no sidewalks. It worked.

Yet, I made excuses. I kept listing to others and convinced myself that applying those principals to my life was like practicing New Age religion or some occult thing. I felt like I was doing something wrong. I was reminded by my pastor to not go by what I feel, but what the word of God says. I guess I needed another lesson. I believe the word of God, but was hesitant to practice that part of it. Only ask and place my faith on for what I needed, and only when I really needed it.

Then God through my daughter humbles me. We went to Kennywood amusement park this year. Everyone loved it. She wanted to go again. She never told me, and besides she knew we didn’t have the money to do so. She knew to have faith, the power of life and death is in the tongue, all she has to do is ask. For a long time she wanted to set up a lemonade stand, but we couldn’t where we lived. The idea dwindled, and got left behind. During the summer, she showed more courage than I ever could have. She wrote her own music, and wanted to play her flute in front of everyone at church. I had all the excuses of why she shouldn’t, until the thought of why not came into my mind. She stood up there and played solo for her dad, and the rest of the dad’s there.

I guess that was my first lesson, why not? Why can’t my daughter do something that she wants to do that will bless others? She was good also, and only after a year of lessons from her band teacher at school. Everyone congratulated her. Then later on during the summer, she says she wants to sell some of her art work. One piece is very good, while the others are not as good. To encourage her to practice and learn more about drawing, I set up a website for her. The thought came to me; why not add it to a gallery? So I did.

She has not made any money, but she believes she will someday. If you like to see it here is the link http://www.art-3000.com/artist/?id=3265

At the end of summer, a couple of our friends asks us if we want to go to Kennywood, and they will pay our way in. We could go on the buddy day, since it came with their year passes, and they had coupons for the rest of our family. Yes, we got to go. It rained off and on, but the lines were short. She actually got me on the new Sky Rocket coaster, and the Areo 360, which goes completely upside down, and has you dangling there for a few seconds. Will she get me on them again, maybe the Sky Rocket next year. All I can say is that I at least rode the Areo 360, but won’t ride it again.

When we were leaving, she tells us that she prayed out loud to God that we all could go to Kennywood again this year. My husband teased that she should have prayed for a clear day. All I could think of was wow. Not only did God give her what she asked for in complete faith, but he gave her something she wanted and not necessarily needed. Then to prove a point, I was reminded that we were to go to Kennywood on the same day as a pool party she was suppose to go to. Our friends said they initially got the date mixed up, and we actually went to Kennywood the day before the pool party. She was able to go to both.

The next day my daughter said mom I know I have been praying about Kennywood, but I never expected it to happen like that. I looked at her a little puzzled. She told me that she expected to earn money from selling lemonade to go to Kennywood. After she realized that she wouldn’t be doing the lemonade stand, she cut back on her praying. She kept saying and believing it almost everyday. Right then and there I remembered what my pastor said that past Sunday. God will give you what you ask for, but not always necessarily in the package you think it is going to come in. Don’t reject what is being given just because the package is not right.

Why reject a part of God’s word just because it was presented better in a non-Christian manor? Why reject God’s words just because some people haven’t grasped on to that part as of yet? Why not follow my daughters lead? Why not believe God for not only what I need, but also what I want? God showed me through her that his word still works. That I received all the blessings I did during my life, because I had faith to receive those blessings. I didn’t reject the blessings because it didn’t happen the way I thought it would, or that it wasn’t quite what I expected or wanted. That during those times, I was seeking God diligently, giving tithe, and did not have my back towards him. She reminded me that I have to have faith without doubt just like she did and still does.