Luke 17:5-6

Increase our faith

Increased faith prayed for

1.

Observe, that faith is susceptible of being increased.

2. There are important reasons why an increase of faith should be desired,

(1) An increase of faith is connected with an increase of holiness.

(2) The increase of faith is connected with the increase of comfort.

(3) The increase of faith is connected with the increase of usefulness. (The Preachers’ Treasury.)

Prayer for increase of faith

I. THE DISCIPLES OF CHRIST POSSESS FAITH. There can be no increase where there is no possession.

II. AN INCREASE OF FAITH IS POSSIBLE. This will appear from--

1. The power and goodness of its Author.

2. The progressive nature of religion.

3. The admonitions of the Bible.

4. The experience of the saints.

III. AN INCREASE OF FAITH IS GREATLY TO BE DESIRED. We infer this--

1. From its nature. It is a Divine gift, and its existence is attributed to the operation of God (Colossians 2:12). That which God works in us must be desirable: as He is an infinitely good Being, His works must necessarily bear a resemblance to Himself.

2. From its effects. These refer--

(1) To our own personal salvation. We are justified by faith--saved by faith-Christ dwells in our hearts by faith--we stand by faith--live by faith--Walk by faith--and have boldness of access to God by faith.

(2) To the victories we gain over our enemies. By the shield of faith we quench the fiery darts, etc. (Ephesians 6:16). We conquer the world by 1 John 5:4). The ancient worthies by faith “subdued kingdoms,” Hebrews 11:33).

(3) To the moral influence of our example.

IV. MEANS SHOULD BE USED TO SECURE AN INCREASE OF FAITH. To accomplish this object--

1. Study the character of its Author. Meditate on the power, wisdom, and goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Think meanly of the Saviour, and you will have little confidence in Him; but think greatly and highly of Him, and you will trust in Him heartily, and believe in Him fully.

2. Get a more extensive acquaintance with the promises of God.

3. Be on your guard against everything that will deaden or damp the ardour of your faith. Carnal company, worldly cares, spiritual supineness, filthy and foolish conversation--all tend to sap the foundation of your faith, and destroy your dependence upon God.

In conclusion, we address a word--

1. To those who have no faith.

2. To those whose faith has declined.

3. To those whose faith remains in full vigour.

(Theological Sketchbook.)

Prayer for more faith

A prayer adapted to every part of the Christian life.

I. CONSIDER THE GENERAL IMPORT OF THE PRAYER: “LORD, INCREASE OUR FAITH.”

1. Faith has respect to revealed truth as its immediate object; and in the New Testament it more especially relates to Christ as the substance of all the promises.

2. In praying for an increase of this principle, the apostles acknowledged that their faith was weak.

3. In praying for more faith, they also acknowledged their own insufficiency to produce it (Ephesians 2:8; Philippians 2:13).

4. In directing their prayer to Christ, they virtually acknowledge His Divinity.

5. This prayer might in some measure be answered at the time, but was more especially so after our Lord’s ascension.

II. THE REASONS WHICH RENDER THIS PRAYER SUITABLE TO ALL CHRISTIANS. If we are truly the followers of Christ, yet our faith is weak at best, and needs to be increased, and that for various reasons--

1. On account of its influence in obtaining other spiritual blessings, for they are bestowed according to the measure of faith.

2. Its influences under dark and trying providences--Nothing but faith can sustain us under them (Psalms 97:2).

3. Its influence on the deep mysteries of Divine truth, which faith only can receive and apply.

4. The influence of faith on our life and conduct renders this prayer peculiarly suitable and ira portant.

5. Our spiritual enjoyments, as they are derived wholly from the promises, are proportioned to the degree of faith.

6. Its importance in the hour of death renders it unspeakably desirable. (Theological Sketchbook.)

The increase of faith

I. THE NATURE OF FAITH. An influential belief in the testimony of God. This necessarily implies in all cases the absence of all indifference and hostility to the truth which is its object, and also a state of heart or moral sensibility which is adapted to receive its appropriate influence. It is easy to see what the character must be, formed by the power of such a principle. Holiness, perfect holiness in man, in all its peace and hopes and joys, is nothing more nor less than the truths of the gospel carried into effect by faith. Let there be the impress of the gospel on the heart and life, and what dignity and perfection of character--what noble superiority to the vanities of the world--what lofty conceptions of God and the things of a future world--what a resemblance to the Son of God would be furnished by such a man I Such is the nature of faith.

II. THE MEANS OF ITS EXISTENCE.

1. Prayer. The suppliant at God’s throne is surrounded by Divine realities. Nor is there a spot on earth where the tendencies of the heart to depart from God are more effectually counteracted, and where the soul comes in more direct contact with the objects of faith, than the closet. Prayer directly leads to the mortifying of unbelief in its very root and element, by opening a direct intercourse with heaven.

2. Our faith may be increased by examining the evidence of Divine truth. God always deals with us as intelligent beings.

3. To the same end we must cherish a deep and an abiding sense of the mean and degrading nature of earthly things.

4. Closely connected with this subject is the kindred one of keeping death and eternity continually in view.

5. Another means of increasing faith is its repeated exercise, in retirement and meditation, as well as in the business of life.

6. Important to the same end are just views of the truth and faithfulness of God. God has given to His people exceeding great and precious promises. The only ultimate foundation on which faith can rest in these promises is the unchangeable truth of God.

III. CONSIDER THE DESIRABLENESS OF INCREASING OUR FAITH. This appears--

1. From the character it gives. All the defects and blemishes of Christian character may be traced to the want or the weakness of faith as their cause. It is through the imperfection of this principle that the character of man is formed so much by the influence of objects that here surround him. Every man is what his object is.

2. From the consolations which faith imparts. It is not only the prerogative of faith that it adds to our peace and our joys in the prosperous scenes of life. Its power is still more triumphant in scenes of affliction and trial. To the eye of faith every event has a tendency and an aim.

3. From the glory for which it prepares. Preparation for the glory that shall hereafter be revealed must be begun in this world. It must be begun in that character, which is the only true appropriate preparation for the services and joys of heaven. If the character be formed here by the exclusive influence of the objects of sense, if all the desires and affections be confined to these, there can be nothing in the world of spirits to meet and satisfy a single desire of the soul. The character, then, must be formed by other objects--the desires and affections of the soul must be fixed on things above--it must thus become capable of heavenly joys, or in vain were it admitted into heaven itself. But it is by faith, and by faith only, that the influence of these Divine and glorious realities can be felt in our present state. (N. W. Taylor, D. D.)

The necessity of increased faith

I. THE OBJECT OF THE APOSTLES’ SOLICITUDE. Their “faith.”

1. We ought, my friends, to be extremely careful of our faith--both of its rightness and of its strength, first of all--when we consider the position which faith occupies in salvation. Faith is the salvation-grace. We are not saved by love; but we are saved by grace, and we are saved by faith. We are not saved by courage, we are not saved by patience; but we are saved by faith. That is to say, God gives His salvation to faith and not to any other virtue.

2. Be anxious about your faith, for all your graces hang upon it. Faith is the root-grace: all other virtues and graces spring from it.

3. Take heed of your faith, because Christ thinks much of it.

4. Next, Christian, take good care of thy faith, for recollect faith is the only way whereby thou canst obtain blessings. It is said of Midas, that he had the power to turn everything into gold by the touch of his hand; and it is true of faith--it can turn everything into gold, but destroy faith, we have lost our all; we are miserably poor because we can hold no fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

5. Next, my friends, take care of your faith perpetually, because of your enemies; for if you do not want faith when you are With friends, you will require it when you have to deal with your foes. Faith has quenched the violence of the flames, shut the mouths of lions, and out of weak hess it has made us strong. It has overcome more enemies than the whole host of conquerors. Tell me not of the victories of Wellington; mention not the battles of Napoleon; tell me of what faith has done! Oh! if we should erect a monument to the honour of faith, what various names should we carve on the mighty pedestal!

6. And now for a sixth reason. Take care of your faith, because otherwise you cannot well perform your duty. Faith is the foot of the soul by which it can march along the road of the commandments. Love can make the feet move more swiftly, but faith is the foot which carries the soul. Faith is the oil enabling the wheels of holy devotion and of earnest piety to move well, but without faith the wheels are taken from the chariot, and we drag along heavily. With faith I can do all things, without faith I shall neither have the inclination nor the power to do anything in the service of God.

7. Take care of your faith, my friends, for it is very often so weak that it demands all your attention.

II. THE HEART’S DESIRE OF THE APOSTLES. They did not say, “Lord, keep our faith alive: Lord, sustain it as it is at present,” but “Increase our faith,” For they knew very well that it is only by increase that the Christian keeps alive at all. Napoleon once said, “I must fight battles, and I must win them; conquest has made me what I am, and conquest must maintain me.” And it is so with the Christian. It is not yesterday’s battle that will save me to-day; I must be going onwards.

1. “Increase our faith” in its extent--the extent of what it will receive. Increase my faith and help me to believe a little more. I believe I have only just begun to learn the A B C of the Scriptures yet, and will constantly cry to the Lord, “Increase my faith,” that I may know more and believe more, and understand Thy Word far better. “Increase my faith” in its extent.

2. “Increase my faith” in its intensity. Faith needs to be increased in its power as well as in its extent. We do not wish to act as some do with a river, when they break the banks, to let it spread over the pasture, and so make it shallower; but we wish, while it increases in surface, that it may increase likewise in its depth.

III. THE PERSON TO WHOM THE APOSTLES ADDRESSED THEIR PRAYER. The Lord. They went to the right Person. Let us do the same. (C. H.Spurgeon.)

Praying for an increase of faith

I. WE SHOULD USE THIS PRAYER FOR THE INCREASE OF SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE. Let any Christian examine his own heart and he will see how sadly he needs this, how narrow is the limit of his knowledge of Christ, how circumscribed his views of His love, His sympathy, His compassion, His excellency; how mean his apprehension of His power and majesty and present glory. The excellency of Christ can only be communicated now to the soul by the exercise of faith.

II. And not only for the enlargement of spiritual knowledge, but for ESTABLISHMENT IN GRACE as well should this prayer be used. That we may be established in the simplicity and fulness of the gospel. The fulfilment of this prayer will bring this to pass; it is included in the gift of increased faith. Increase of faith brings clear views of the mercy of the gospel, it corrects the natural uprisings of pride in our hearts, it checks the carnal reasonings of our minds, it convinces of the absolute truth of all that the Bible teaches about our need of the gospel. It will lead to the discovery of error, the detection of sophistry, the avoidance of unscriptural teaching, however specious it may be.

III. This prayer should also be used in order THAT OUR PERCEPTION OF SATAN’S TEMPTATIONS MAY BE CLEAR. It is in proportion as our faith is increased, that “we are not ignorant of his devices.” (H. M. Baker.)

The increase of faith

That “faith” is “a gift of God”--as much a “gift” as any other sovereign act of His power--I need not stay to prove. We have to do this morning with another thought--that the growth and the “increase” of “faith,” at every successive stage, is a distinct act of Almighty power. We know, indeed, that everything which is of God has in it essential tendency, nay, an absolute necessity in itself to grow. If you do not wilfully check the grace of God that is in you, that grace will, and must, in obedience to the law of its being, increase. We lay it down, then, as a certainty that “faith” is a thing of degrees. One believer never reaches the same degree in this life as another. Each believer is in different states of belief, at different periods of his own life. St. Paul speaks of a brother who is “weak in the faith”--St. Stephen and St. Barnabas are commended as men “full of faith.” But it is easy for us to see traces of “increase of faith” in the lives of the apostles themselves. Have not we seen progress in the mind of the St. Peter in the Gospels and the St. Peter in the Epistles? In St. John also, from the time when he could call fire from heaven, to the hour when he could stand so meekly at the cross’s foot? You will see the same in St. Paul’s mind if you compare what he says of himself in his Epistles to the Romans and the Corinthians, which were his early Epistles, with his triumphant assurance in his Epistles to Timothy, which were his last Epistles. If, then, “faith” be a thing capable of degrees, every man must be responsible for the measure of his attainment of that grace in the sight of God. There are various “degrees of faith” in the world; but they are all placed in their various degrees with distinct design. It is intended, in the Divine economy of God’s Church, that there should be “degrees of faith,” to answer His purpose; but that eternal purpose Of God is still consistent with man’s responsibility in the matter. The various degrees make that beautiful variety, out of which God brings His own unity. They give occasion for kind judgment, and Christian forbearance, and helpfulness one to another, seeing that the man of “much faith” must not despise, but must recognize as a brother, and help on, the man who is said to be a man of “little faith.” One man has “faith” sufficient to lead him to entire separation from the world, and to undergo great mortification--another has not got so far. Let the halting, lingering one--the soul that still keeps too much in this world--remember what the apostle says, that it is “faith” which “overcomes the world,” and therefore let him pray, “Lord, increase my faith.” One can carry all mysteries, and liken mysteries--another loses his “ faith” when he comes to mysteries. But he who knows his own heart best, that man knows most how fitting the supplication is, everywhere, “Lord, increase my faith.” There are three reasons here why it is important to ask this petition. If any one of you is without any promised blessing of God, it is simply because he has not “faith” about the matter. Again, God has established a direct proportion between a man’s faith and a man’s success: “according to your faith be it unto you.” And, once more, remember, there are degrees in heaven; and, according as we reach here “in faith” we shall reach there “in glory.” “Lord, increase our faith!” The man simply says it, and there comes over his mind such a sudden sense of God’s amazing love to him, in the redemption of his soul, that everything else looks perfectly insignificant, in the thought of his own acceptance with God. “Lord, increase our faith!”--and we have such communion with things unseen, that death has no power. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)

The victorious power of faith

Men are just like the disciples. They hear religion preached; they believe the things that are said; and at times the truth glances through the exterior coating and strikes their moral sense. The ideal of truth presented to them seems beautiful and sweet. In a white light it is to them. Thousands and thousands of men there are who hear the gospel preached every Sunday, and think there is nothing more beautiful than meekness, nothing more beautiful than humility, as they are presented to them. These are excellent qualities in their estimation. They believe in love. They believe in everything that is required in a true Christian character. It meets their approval. Their reason approves it. Their judgment approves it. Their taste approves it. Their moral sentiments approve it. And yet, when they ask themselves, “How shall I practise it?” they fall off instantly, and say, “It is not possible for me. I never can do it in the world.” Take gentleness. Here is a great rude-footed, coarse-handed man, gruff and impetuous, and careless of everybody, who sits and hears a discourse on the duty of being gentle; and as the various figures and illustrations are presented, he says, “Oh, how beautiful it is to be gentle!” But the moment he gets out of the church, he thinks, “The idea of my being gentle! I gentle? I gentle? Somebody else must do that part of religion. I never can. It is not my nature to be gentle.” Men have an ideal of what is right; and they believe in the possibility of its realization somewhere; but they do not think they are called to that thing. They do not believe it is possible for them. There are avaricious men, I suppose, to whom, on hearing a discourse on benevolence in a church, it really shines, and who say, “Oh, this benevolence, though it is well-nigh impossible--how beautiful it is!” But when it begins to come home to them, and the question is, “Will you, from this time forth, order your life according to the law of benevolence?” they fall off from that and say, “I cannot; it is impossible.” And if Christ were present and such men were under the influence of His teaching, they would turn to Him and say, “Lord, if this is true, it is true, and I must conform to it; but you must increase my faith. I must have some higher power. I cannot do it without.” And Christ would encourage them, and say (not rebukingly, as it seems in the letter, but very comfortingly), “Do not think it is so hard. It is difficult, but not so difficult as you suppose. Do not think it to be so impossible that I must work a miracle for you before you can accomplish it.” If you have faith, if you rouse up those spiritual elements that are in you, if you bring them under the illumination of God’s own soul, and they are inspired by the Divine influence, there is that power in you by which you can subdue all your lower nature, and can gain victories over every single appetite and passion, and every single evil inclination and bad habit. Let the better nature in man once more come into communion with God, and it is mightier than the worse nature in man, and can subdue it. Yen will fail of the secret and real spirit of this passage, if you do not consider its meaning as not only an interpretation, but as an interpretation which is designed to give courage and hope and cheer to those who desire to break away from bad tendencies and traits, and to rise, by a true growth, into the higher forms of Christian experience. Let us consider, then, the practical aspect of this matter. When a strong nature is snatched from worldliness, and begins to live a Christian life, what are the elements of his experience, reduced to some sort of philosophical expression? First, the soul is brought into the conscious presence, and under the recognized power, of the Divine nature. This is with more or less distinctness in different individuals. Consider how men are brought to a religious life. One man has been a very worldly and careless man, until, in the universal whirl of affairs, a slap of bankruptcy, like the stroke of waves against the side of a ship, smashes into his concerns, and he founders. He saves himself, but all his property goes to the bottom. And there he is, humbled, crushed, mortified. And it is a very solemn thing to him. But he never had any preaching before that gave him such a sense of the unsatisfactoriness of this life. Others come into a religious life by the power of sympathy. They are drawn toward it by personal influence. They go into it because their companions are going in. In a hundred such ways as these God’s providence brings people into the beginnings of a Christian life. But when a man has once come into it, his very first experience, usually, whether he be exactly conscious of it or not, is the thought that he is brought into the presence of a higher Being--a higher Spirit--than he has been wont to think was near him. God begins to mean something to him. This sense of God’s presence is that which is the beginning of faith in him. It opens the door for the Divine power to inflame his soul; that is, for the Divine mind to give strength and inspiration to the nobler and higher part of his mind--to his reason; to his whole moral nature; to that which is the best and highest in him. By the enlarging, by the education, by the inspiration of a man’s nature, in this direction, the beginnings of victory are planted. And now, all the forces of a man’s nature, and all the foregoing habits of his life, beginning here, will soon be so changed as to come into agreement with his higher feelings which will be excited by the inshining of God’s soul. Men think it is mysterious; but it is not mysterious. Take a person of some degree of sensibility--a young woman, for instance--who has been living in a vicious circle of people. Her father and mother--emigrants--died on landing. She was of good stock, and had strong moral instincts; but she was a vagrant child, and was soon swept into the swirl of poverty and vice. Although too young to become herself vicious, yet she learned to lie, and steal, and swear--with a certain inward compunction--until by and by some kind nature brought her out of the street, and out of the den, and into the asylum. And then, speedily, some childless Christian woman, wanting to adopt a child, sees her, and likes her face and make, and brings her home to her house. This is almost the first time she has had any direct commerce with real truth and real refinement; and at first she has an impulse of gratitude, and admiration, and wonder; and in the main she is inspired by a sense of gladness and of thankfulness to her benefactress. But as she lives from day to day, she does not get over all her bad tendencies. Because she has come to live with and to be the daughter of this woman, she does not get over the love of lying, and tricks, and dirtiness, and meanness, and littleness. The evil does not die in an instant from her nature. Yet there is the beginning of that in her which will by and by overcome it. There is in her a vague, uninterpreted sense of something higher and better than she has known before. And it is all embodied in her benefactress. She hears her sing, and hears her talk, and sees what kindnesses she does to others, and how she denies herself. And if she be, as I have supposed her to be, a child of strong, original moral nature, she will, in the course of a year, be almost free from the taint of corruption; almost free from deceits; almost free from vices. And it will be the expulsive power of new love in her soul that will have driven out all this vermin brood of passions. As long as she is in the presence of this benefactress, she will feel streaming in upon her nature those influences which wake up her higher faculties, and give them power over her lower faculties. When men are brought into the Christian life, and they begin to dome into communion with God, the higher part of their nature receives such a stimulus that it has power to nominate the lower part--to control pride; to hold in restraint deceits; to make men gentle, and mild, and sweet, and forgiving, and noble, and ennobling. The direct influence which the spirit of God has upon the human soul, is to develop the good and expel the evil tendencies that are in it. There will be a change in our outward conformities to society; to institutions; to new duties. There will be the acceptance of standards of morality which before we have not accepted. But important as these things are, they are but auxiliaries. There is this one work which the new life begins to accomplish--namely, the readjustment of the forces of the soul. It changes the emphasis. When, therefore, a man enters into a Christian life, not only does he come into communion with God, but his nature is newly directed. He begins to make the upper, the truly spiritual, the love-bearing elements in him dominate over the others. No man can change his faculties, any more than he can change his bodily organization; and yet, his disposition may be changed! The Lord says, “If you have faith as a grain of mustard-seed, you can say to this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the roots, and cast into the sea.” Hard as it is to transplant the tree of your soul, difficult as it is to sever the roots that hold it down, the Master says, “There is power to do it.” However many faults you may have, that branch their roots out in every direction, and difficult as it is to transplant them by the ordinary instrumentalities; nevertheless, faith in the soul will give you power to pluck them up by the roots, and east them from you, or transplant them to better soil, where they will grow to a better purpose. I preach, not simply a free gospel, but a victorious gospel. I preach a gospel that has been full of Victories and noble achievements, but that has not yet begun to show what its full power and what all its fruits of victory are to be. No one, then, who has been trying to overcome his faults, need despair. (H. W. Beecher.)

Prayer for increase of faith

Consider the increase of faith as it regards its principle. Faith may, in one respect, be considered as a principle of grace in religion. There is a difference, you know, between the faculties which are natural and a principle of religion--such as faith, or love, or justice, or rectitude. The faculties, of course, would grow spontaneously and naturally, though they may be encumbered by much ignorance and want of tuition; yet that circumstance will not extinguish the faculties, and instruction and tuition cannot raise them above their proper and natural level. This, however, is not the case with religious principle: it may exist or it may not exist, just according to circumstances; and it may exist, unquestionably, in different degrees of vigour and power, in the very same person, under different circumstances and at different periods of life.

1. Faith, as a principle, must have means of existence. But that faith is, in one view of the case, the fruit of teaching, is evident from this single fact--it rests, you know, upon knowledge: and it rests upon knowledge notthe growth of the understanding and the judgment in their natural exercise, but knowledge communicated to the soul by the teaching of the Spirit in the revelations of God. Then, if the teaching, brethren, on which faith rests is imperfect, of course the faith itself must be feeble and imperfect. There is one view, indeed, in which the truth on which faith terminates, never can be supposed to be obscure, or little, or imperfect at all, but another in which it may. The first case to which I refer--I mean the first mode of instruction--is that which is communicated simply from the Bible; and the second case to which I refer is that of the ministry. But it is evident that you may have a very clear statement of the truth; it may be fully exhibited--exhibited in all its just proportions, and yet, at the same time, there maybe an indisposition on the part of the hearer, or the reader, to receive that truth which is thus proposed. There are two parts here: there is the truth as it is proposed to us, and the recipient of the truth. Now, if the objects of faith are ever so clearly and ever so fully exhibited; if God, in the exercise of His grace and mercy--Christ, in His Divine and atoning character--and you do not receive these truths, it follows that you are destitute of faith; and, if you receive these truths but partially, you can have but a very partial and feeble faith. I think the reason why faith is feeble, in the sense to which I have referred, and from this particular cause, is not so much the fault of the understanding, as the fault of the heart--it is not an intellectual, but it is a moral cause. The Bible does not speak of the head of unbelief wickedly departing from the living God, but it speaks of the heart of unbelief wickedly departing from God. There may be an indisposition in our hearts to receive the truth. Then here is the grand cause, I think, why teaching, which is in itself adequate and perfect and true, produces very little faith through an indisposition on the part of the hearer of the truth to receive it--and its fruits cannot consequently be borne. Faith may be considered as a principle, in another view of the subject, as the fruit and consequence of persuasion and of promise; but then the promise may be imperfectly exhibited to us, or it may be imperfectly entertained by us, and consequently, the faith which rests on promise will be feeble on these accounts. If you seek the fulfilment of the promises of God on any particular point, seeking a fitness in yourselves for their fulfilment, and take your fitness to the promises, you may be assured of this--it will not be accomplished; but if you look to Christ, and His merit, and His intercession, and expect the fulfilment of the promises of God in the fitness of the Saviour’s merit, then you may receive those promises in all their fulness. When a mistake, respecting the accomplishment of any promise of God is entertained--respecting the mode of its fulfilment, the mistake generally refers to the sovereignty of God; and we are expecting, I think, from the sovereignty of God just what God expects from our own faith. I do not here speak of faith as a moral fitness; no, but as something else--simple trust in the grace and promised provisions of the gospel. There is connection between the fulfilment of the promise on the part of God and the exercise of faith on the part of the sinner. I shall not stop to reason why it is so in the gospel: we find it is there. Oar Saviour could not do, in certain circumstances, many mighty works, because of the unbelief of the people: our Saviour cannot do now for us any of those great and mighty works which He hath promised lie will do, because of our unbelief. Here is God, in all the fulness and plenitude of His affection--here is the Saviour, in all the infinitude of His merit--here is the promise of life, in all its length and breadth, standing out to our view, exciting our confidence, winning our faith; but, after all, so little is that faith, that we can receive but little; and God cannot, in the sovereignty of His mercy, accomplish what He is infinitely willing to do. Faith, as a principle, in another view of the case, may be considered as the Holy Spirit’s influence; but then, that spiritual influence may be but imperfectly submitted to on our part; and if so, then of course our faith will be weak. For, as faith is a religious principle, and a very high religious principle, of difficult exercise and difficult existence, it will follow, that it can only be exercised by the agency and the power of the Spirit of God resting upon the soul. If I could be a believer naturally, I could be a Christian naturally--I could be saved naturally, I could attain to holiness naturally--I could enjoy the highest holiness and felicity naturally. I should not be a dependent creature at all, if I could believe naturally. No; it is by various manifestations and--if you will allow the expression, I use it in an innocent way--various impulses of the Spirit of God on the mind, by which we are led to believe. The power to believe is communicated by spiritual agency and influence; the act of believing is the act of the person who receives that influence. I think that the power of faith may exist, and yet not be exercised, or, if exercised at all, exercised very improperly; just as the power and volition of the limbs are distinct one from the other. I may have the power of volition, and yet I may sit perfectly still at the same time. I may not exercise the power I possess, or I may exercise it. You know there is a difference between a moral agent and a necessary agent. A necessary agent will perform his actions necessarily. The inferior animals, who are destitute of reason, of judgment, of will, of choice, why, of course, they are just what they are by the instincts and impulses of nature, over which they have no control at all. But this cannot be said of man: man, in any circumstances, must be considered a moral agent; therefore the influences of the Spirit of grace are communicated, you will perceive, to aid our infirmities and give us power to believe; but the power may exist, and yet the act may not exist. Is it not true that many minds are visited by the Spirit of God with His illuminations and spiritual influences, and yet faith is never put forth, so to speak, in any saving form? For if saving faith grows out of spiritual influence, it will follow that the presence of that spiritual influence is necessary, in order to the exercise of faith; and one of the great reasons why our faith is so feeble--why we are rather shut up in the darkness of unbelief so often--is, thatwe do not lay our hearts open to that spiritual influence which is promised and which is vouchsafed to us. “Increase our faith.” This is the prayer of the text, that God would increase our faith; and if faith cometh by teaching--cometh from the promise of God--cometh from the spiritual influence, let us receive the teaching simply--let us receive the promise as it is exhibited in the Word--let us lay our hearts open to the influence of the Spirit of God; and that faith which appears a timid, feeble, cowardly thing, in our experience, will grow and increase till it comes to be mighty and powerful.

2. I remark that the exercises of faith may not be equal to the occasion calling for those exercises; and under these circumstances the faith will be felt as feeble, and the person possessing it, as needing influence. Allow me to remark here, that many of the duties of religion are, properly speaking, duties of faith. But the duty depending on us, on the part of religion, or, if you please, on the part of God, may be greater than the faith; and if it be, then, of course, feebleness will be felt on the part of the Christian who has to do the duty. Those duties which I call duties of faith may vary; and, in passing from one class of duties to another, the Christian may feel that his faith and his grace, which were adequate and sufficient for the duties of one state, are found not to be adequate or sufficient for the duties of another state. Now I think this is often felt. For instance, Abraham, the father of the faithful and the friend of God, dwelling in patriarchal simplicity in the bosom of a happy family--in sweet, hallowed, and sublime communion with God, having received the accomplishment of the covenant blessings promised to him at various times and in various circumstances; and Abraham, offering his son Isaac, appears in very different circumstances. The faith which was found sufficient for one circumstance, would not be sufficient for the other. Jacob, dwelling in the land of promise, in the midst of smiling fields, luxuriant corn, bleating flocks, flowing streams, and a smiling sky; and Jacob, dwelling in the midst of famine, in the death of his flocks, in the loss of Joseph his son, would be a man in very different circumstances. The faith which would support Jacob’s mind when his family was entire and happy would scarcely support Jacob’s mind when his favourite son was gone. Is it not just so now? Here is the Christian youth, living in the bosom of his family, cheered on in his piety by the advice, counsels, and prayers of his parents, all zealous to make him happy, to make him secure, to make him useful, to make him honourable: and the Christian youth goes out into the world, to meet its buffetings, its toils, its anxieties, its frowns. There is a great difference between that youth dwelling in the bosom of a happy family, and that man in the midst of the blighting crosses of the world. The patience which would preserve that youth, scarcely will preserve that man; the faith which would soothe and make his soul happy in favourable circumstances, will scarcely make him happy in the midst of unfavourable. And submissiveness to the crosses of life must be sustained by faith; but the burden, you know, may be greater than the faith, and if it is found to be so, whatever our strength may be in other circumstances, still you will find yourselves feeble then. I think there is more difficulty--much more difficulty--in attaining to a quiet, resigned, patient spirit, in the midst of the troubles of life, than there is in the discharge of the active duties of life. The faith which enables a man to pass the common road of life in peace and happiness will scarcely be sufficient to enable him to pass the valley and shadow of death without fear. We must feel the touch of affliction, and the touch of death; and, perhaps, the prayer of the text may be very appropriate to us when we change circumstances, and we may have to pray, “Lord, increase our faith!”

3. And let me, thirdly and finally, remark that the accidents to which our religious feelings and experience may be exposed, in this state of probation and trial, may tend to weaken faith, and make the prayer of the text necessary--“Lord, increase our faith!” The privilege of justification may not be forfeited by the loss, we think, of many of its attendant and accompanying privileges and joys. A man may retain his acceptance with God, and yet he may lose very much of that comfort, peace, joy, love, and those excesses of feelings which he enjoyed before; for all these blessings flow from God, and are immutable, in that respect, above all accident; yet, let it be remembered, that, the recipient of the whole is the human heart; and if these blessings are to dwell in a sorrowful soul, they will receive some tint, some colouring, I think, from the character of the soul receiving them. Now the difficulty of attaining confidence in God, in the decay of our spiritual joys, will be evident from this fact. There will be a great difficulty in maintaining that kind of faith in the promised provisions of the grace and love of God, the death of Christ, and so on, necessary even to preserve and keep the soul in spiritual life. Now, I say, the difficulty of maintaining a firm, unshaken trust in God, in the midst of this wreck, though necessary, is very difficult. How often is it that the Christian feels like a timid seaman, when the ship in which he first sails begins to rock, and the elements to howl, and the waves to dash I Fears arise, though the storm makes it necessary that he should have more confidence, more courage, fortitude, calmness, than before. Yet so it is with Christian life. It is extremely difficult to maintain confidence in the midst of the storm, though that confidence is more necessary, and I dare say you will feel the necessity of offering the prayer of the text, “Lord, increase our faith!” (J. Dixon, D. D.)

Increased faith the strength of peace principles

It was not for the sake of working miracles that the apostles sought increased faith; it was not in order to bear their present or future trials; neither was it to enable them to receive some mysterious article of the faith; but their prayer referred to a common everyday duty enjoined by the gospel--the forgiving those who do us wrong.

I. LET US CONSIDER THE PRAYER ITSELF. Notice what this prayer confesses.

1. It confesses that they had faith.

2. It confesses that while they had faith, they had not enough of it.

3. That they could not increase their own faith.

4. That the Lord Jesus can increase faith.

II. I want to show now THE INCREASE OF FAITH BEARS UPON OUR POWER TO FORGIVE OTHERS.

1. Faith increases our confidence in Jesus, so that we shall not suspect Him of setting us an impracticable task.

2. Between faith and forgiveness a very close connection will be seen if we inquire what is the foundation of faith. The mercy of God.

3. The joy of faith is a wonderful help to forgiveness.

4. A spirit of rest is created by faith, which greatly aids the gentle spirit.

5. Faith, when it is strong, has a high expectancy about it, which helps it to bear with the assaults of men of the world. A man readily puts up with the inconvenience of the present, when he has great joys in store for the future.

III. Notice HOW THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ANSWERED THE PRAYER FOR INCREASED FAITH.

1. By assuring them that faith can do anything.

2. By teaching them humility. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

An increase of faith

I. WE PRAY FOR AN INCREASE OF FAITH ALSO THAT ITS OBJECT MAY BECOME MORE REAL. We hold spiritual things too loosely.

II. AN INCREASE OF FAITH WILL MAKE THE GOSPEL A GREATER POWER IN OUR LIFE. We are tried by various circumstances, and tempted by the world, the flesh, and the devil. When we see Abraham on Moriah, Job on the top of the heap, Hezekiah on a bed of sickness, Jeremiah in the dungeon, the three Hebrew youths before Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel in the den, Paul fighting with wild beasts at Ephesus, and the martyrs in the flames, faith demonstrates the power and grace of God. Has it occurred to you that trials and temptations are the best occasions to show Christ to the world? In the instances we have named, as well as in thousands of others, God’s glory shone brighter than in the temple strain, or the worship of the synagogue.

III. WE NEED A STRONGER FAITH TO PREPARE US FOR THE UNKNOWN FUTURE. (The Weekly Pulpit.)

Only God can increase faith

Faith is not a weed to grow upon every dunghill, without care or culture: it is a plant of heavenly growth, and requires Divine watching and watering, (C. H. Spurgeon.)