The Hard Type of Faith

Biblically, there are two types of faith. One is to be able to trust God for miracles (Matthew 8:10; Mark 5:34; Luke 17:19). But there is also the faith that trusts God even it there is no immediate miracle (Hebrews 11:13-16; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Proverbs 3:5,6). For we are frequently told to wait upon the Lord for the fulfillment of His promises (Isaiah 40:31; Psalms 37:7; 123:2). I find that this second kind of faith is even harder than the first. And I have often found that when we first put our faith in Christ is when we see our most obvious and blatant answers to prayer. I have a theory, though I cannot prove it Biblically, that God wants to encourage us to be those who trust in Him even in adverse circumstances. Therefore, as we grow older in the faith, we often see fewer immediate answers to our requests. God wants us to trust Him even if He does not instantly deal with the situation. I cannot be dogmatic about this, but I do believe God wants us to have both types of faith. And I know that those who trust Him through afflictions will grow in Him (2 Corinthians 4:17,18; James 1:2-4; Romans 5:3-5).