In general, a faith person is someone who lives and walks by faith and not by sight. In other words a faith person is someone who lives by the promises of the Word and not by the five physical senses. A faith person is someone who rejects the values and principles of the World in order to follow the Word of God even when it seems to his or her disadvantage. A faith person has developed their faith into an active force that rises far above passive belief.

Now there're several characteristics of life that are common among Believers who're actually living by active faith. The outward things we can see are that they're joyful and peaceful people, seemingly in victory all the time, continuously manifesting the blessing and favor of God. But behind those outward attributes there are a number of spiritual activities going on that we don't necessarily see that work to produce their strong faith and victory. Following are the key examples of these spiritual activities. If you do them, it's GUARANTEED you WILL produce victory in your own life.

1. Faith people study the Word of God. No matter how much our flesh wants it to be otherwise, a faith person is compelled to study the Word and grow in knowledge. This is the basic requirement. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Faith people often rise early in the morning at personal sacrifice sowing their time into the study of the Word in order to develop their faith and receive the related benefits. They spend hours going over scriptures and waiting for God to help them understand through the revelation of the Holy Spirit. They even turn off their TV sets in the evening so they can be in the Word. And even Believers who are already mature in strong faith continue to study the Word and continue to receive new revelation.
2. Faith people know and understand the promises of God. The Bible is full of the promises that God has made to His people. The Laws of Prosperity are just one example. But to cause those promises to bear fruit in our lives we have to first find out what they are so we can do something with them. That knowledge comes from constant study of the Word because that's the only place you can find them. Too many Christians are falling short on seeing the promises of God manifested in their lives because they don't know those promises and the few they may be familiar with they don't know how to activate.
3. Faith people live their lives in agreement with the Word. To live in agreement with the Word means to line up one's life with anything and everything that can be found there. In other words, a faith person must also be a Word person. The faith person meditates on the Word constantly because he/she knows it will produce success in life (Joshua 1:8). If the Word says we should do some particular thing or not do it, the faith person is trying to be obedient. The faith person knows that to walk in disagreement with the Word, which is to live by the flesh, is to open the door to the consequences of a curse that Jesus already overcame (Galatians 3:13).
4. Faith people ask specifically for what they want. Faith people know that a Believer has to be specific with God. They know that the Bible says that we do not have because we do not ask (James 4:2) and they know we can have whatever we ask for in faith (Mark 11:23-24). But they're careful to put the Kingdom of God first in their asking so they don't ask for things from wrong motives (James 4:3). Faith people ask specifically and then stand on the Word in faith believing that their prayers will be answered in due course.
5. Faith people believe they can have what they say. Faith people speak out what they've asked for as though they already have it. They do this because the Word of God tells them to (Mark 11:23-24). They believe they have received the answer by the Spirit even though what they have asked for hasn't manifested yet in the natural. Remember what's real for the faith person is what cannot be seen (2 Corinthians 4:18).
6. Faith people are trying to fulfill the love commandments. A person of active faith realizes that to receive what they ask for they must walk in love (John 15:7-10). Jesus left behind two commandments: to love God and to love one another including our enemies (Matthew 22:36-40) and then He said that all the principles of life in the Kingdom of God are dependent on these two commandments. In other words, a person of faith knows they can't walk in the flesh neglecting God and treating other people badly and expect to have their requests answered. In fact, the bible makes it clear that without love, and that's the "agape" God-kind of love, "we are nothing" even if we have a faith strong enough to move mountains (1 Corinthians 13:2).
7. Faith people pray in the Spirit. People of faith pray privately but frequently in the Spirit (in tongues) because they know that the Word of God says we build up our faith that way (Jude 20). The stronger our faith is the closer we can come to being able to perform the works that Jesus did.
8. Faith people wait for the Word to manifest in their lives. Being a faith person involves a lot of waiting. But that's what faith is all about. If everything came immediately, little faith would be involved and we wouldn't have to trust God. Faith people are willing to wait and they don't give up (Luke 18:1) believing that God will deliver on what they have requested. Abraham waited 25 years for the promises of God to manifest in his life but eventually they did just as they will for any Believer who will stand waiting in faith.
9. Faith people confess (verbally agree with) what they're believing God for. While they wait, a faith person only confesses (speaks in agreement) verbally what the Word says instead of what is sensed in the natural. They walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). For example, since the Bible says we were healed by the wounds of Christ (1 Peter 2:24), you won't hear faith people confess (say) they're sick. They may have some symptoms but they won't agree with actually "having" the sickness and they believe their prayers of faith will cause the symptoms to depart even if by medical attention so they can regain outward agreement with the Word. They confess they're debt free (Romans 13:8) even though they have credit card bills to pay. They're not denying reality because for the faith person true reality only exists in what they cannot see.
10. Faith people are content while they wait and trust in the Word. While they wait for the promises of God to manifest, faith people don't complain to God or to others about the lack of manifestation in their lives. The Bible tells us to be content with whatever our circumstances are (Philippians 4:11) and to be content with what we already have (Hebrews 13:5). Instead of complaining about what they don't have, faith people are confessing that they already possess what they are believing God for. They have taken ownership over God's promises even though they can't see them yet in the natural.

Faith people know that without faith it's impossible to please God. And so Believers with mature and active faith are always looking for opportunities to attach their faith to everything that confronts them: every action, every decision, every word spoken and every opportunity in whatever manner it presents itself. The ACTIVE faith depicted in this series of articles is the type of faith our biblical patriarchs had that produced great feats of courage, accomplishment, wisdom, and success. But every Believer has within them the faith of Christ; the Holy Spirit placed it there and by the faith of Christ, the Christian is equipped to perform far greater works of faith than any of the Bible patriarchs including those of Jesus (John 14:12) even in HARD TIMES.

Thanks for reading PLN today and we'll be looking for you again in three weeks on June 26. In the meantime, may God overwhelm you with the fullness of His love and spiritual blessing!

If you've never invited Jesus to be the Lord of your life, you can do so today just by saying the following simple prayer:

Jesus I believe in you and I believe that God raised you from the dead. I receive forgiveness for my sins and I ask you to come into my life today. I receive you as my Lord and Savior.

If you were sincere as you prayed this prayer, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation, a totally new species recreated in His image. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith-based, bible-teaching church where you can be equipped to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God.

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