"Have the Faith of God: When You Pray!" Parts 3-1c-1 & 3-1c-2 August 10, 2014

[Rev. Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks, PsyD]

a. Definition of the Word “Believe” – Part 3-1c-1: Here is Vitali Zagorodnov’s definition of the word "Believe" from his article “What does it mean to believe and how do you know when you do?”:

1. The verb “to believe” is closely related to the noun “faith”; basically “to believe”=”to have faith”

2. At the heart of the meaning is the idea of certainty. So, to believe means to be very certain about something. This is in contrast with modern  English meaning, which can range from certainty to a guess, as in “I believe there will be good weather tomorrow”.

3. As a logical consequence of 2), having certainty about something often results in action, as you put your trust in it.

4. The degree of certainty may vary, e.g. you can have little faith or faith to move mountains.

Vitali stated: “the Christians, in particular, are called to believe (have absolute certainty) in the gospel. For a Christian, every trace of unnatural behavior should be a sign that he does not believe the gospel nearly as much as he might think. How to change? Admitting this unpleasant truth should be the first step. In the words of boy’s father from Mark 9:24, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” And He will help.” (Click here to read Vitali ’s complete article).

b. Definition of the Word “Believe” – Part 3-1c-2: This is what glimpsesofgrace.org said in their article “What Does It Mean to ‘Beli eve’?” about “believe” from Genesis 15:6:

“The Hebrew word “believe” is in the Hebrew hithpael stem. This means that it is causative. God caused Abram to believe. God gave Abraham the faith to believe. The faith that Abram exercised was not a work of his flesh. It was not produced by his humanness. In order to receive righteousness from God today, we are to trust Jesus Christ. We are to believe in Him exactly the same way that Abraham believed in Him. God will give you the faith to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, right now!”

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God bless,

Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks

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