How to Have Childlike Faith
by Frank King 7/18/2011 / Christian Living
Recently, I was preaching at one of our local churches. At the end of the service and as everyone was leaving, a lady walked up front to me and asked, "How do you get childlike faith?" I was somewhat taken aback by her question because that's not what I had been preaching on that day. On the other hand, Jesus said, "Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). So the lady's question was certainly relevant.
I am sure that she is not the only one who has asked that question so I decided to address it in this article. Mainly, I told her that it's rather ironic, but we must first grow up to become as little children. Let me explain. You see, when a person first becomes a Christian, he knows very little about how to exercise faith in God. Not knowing what to do, he does what he knows.
When I first became a Christian, for instance, I studied the Bible, scrutinizing every Word. Not because I was trying to find something wrong with the Bible, but it was because I was an engineer, and engineers are known to be sticklers for detail. As I studied the Bible, I subjected what I read to human logic, and I always adding one plus one to see if I got two. With time, I learned that what God says does not always jibe with logic, and sometimes when you add one plus one you will not get two for the answer. This realization was a sign that I was growing as a Christian, and in the process, I was developing childlike faith.
Childlike faith requires that I understand what the Bible is saying to me, but it does not require that I understand how God will fulfill His promises. To illustrate this point, let's say you have a three-year-old son, and also that you have been laid off from work the past six months. Now your son's birthday is coming up next month. So you ask him what he wants for his birthday, and he tells you. You don't know how you will, but you promise him that you will get it for him. Your son is ecstatic because you have promised him that you will get him that prized gift.
He does not consider that you don't go to work like you used to. He understands what you promised, but he does not understand how you will fulfill the promise. He doesn't try to. He has a simple faith in you that you will do whatever it is that you have promised. It's the same kind of childlike faith that we must have in God. We are not born with that kind of simple faith in Him. It is not incidental to our relationship with Him. Rather, we must first grow up and become like little children before we can have strong but simple faith in God.
Copyright 2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.
Frank King is a former church pastor. He is currently an evangelist and an author. Frank holds a Master of Theology degree. Through the grace of God, Frank has been blessed to cross cultural lines in his preaching. Website: http://www.efrankking.com
Blog: http://wwwefrankking.blogspot.com/
