Faith (Part I)

Of Conviction:

About 2 weeks ago, we, being the Christians in Section 4, prayed for the friend of our section mate who was involved in a severe accident and pronounced brain dead.

"You must believe for it to happen," said one of my friends, who was leading the prayer. That line just struck me there and then. Such simple words, yet such a profound meaning. All too often, I fall for the trap of walking in the shadow of doubt. I say prayers and make petitions without conviction, without much belief -- a non expectant faith. Yet increasingly, I find this a burden and to be honest, a prayer without conviction is not much more than a wishlist. Let me give an example:

During the first week of my NS, I was afflicted by a rather severe abrasion which hindered my movement. So in my free time, I thought to myself, "Why not claim the gift of healing?" And so I began praying over my wound. Yet all this while I was thinking in my mind, "What if nothing happens? Am I capable?" And so I chickened out. Out of fear I asked for the injury to heal faster rather than heal completely. Lo and behold, the pain disappeared almost immediately and the swelling reduced somewhat. But the abrasion still remained. What could have been a complete recovery turned out instead to be a temporary respite. And all because of a minute of doubt. 

In the Gospels, Jesus cured many a people of their ailments. But the central theme of these miracles has always revolved around one thing -- "Get up, your faith has saved you." 

If we are to claim the promises of our God, the very core of our faith must be a sturdy, rock-hard conviction... It is that belief that God will hear and answer your prayer -- that steady belief will bring you through the greatest of trials, speaking of which I will attempt to discuss the next time I blog, hopefully tomorrow.. =)

And if you are curious, I prayed over the wound a second time the next day... And true enough it did heal completely, instantly. Personally speaking I'm fairly bowled over; I can't even believe it myself =P. But praise GOD for it anyways! =D