By Ravi Zacharias

We may be familiar with the concept that faith in God results in works—but we often forget that the reverse is also true.

One of the fundamental distinctives of the Hebrew way of thinking that we find in the Scriptures is the understanding that the knowledge of truth comes by obedience. Christians regard faith as “belief” or “trust,” as the Greek word in the New Testament is often translated. And yet, the word for “faith” in the Old Testament is rendered as “faithfulness,” suggesting that obedience builds and strengthens one’s faith. A classic demonstration of this principle can be seen in the encounter between God and Moses. When Moses demanded proof that God had indeed called him, God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain” (Exodus 3:12). The proof of God’s call was after the obedience, not before.

Similarly, Ezekiel, Hosea, and Jonah did not feel like doing what God had asked them to do and questioned Him. In fact, every heartbeat within them was impelling them to do otherwise. Yet God said they were to obey. The remedy was not to do because they felt like doing it, but just to do and their faith would be strengthened.

There are several other instances in the Bible of this urgent struggle to achieve confidence in the wisdom and will of God, even under the impending shadow of death. Think of the prophet Daniel’s three friends Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego facing King Nebuchadnezzar’s very real threat to toss them into a fiery furnace if they did not bend to his authority. He was not a charitable man, but they refused to disavow their commitment to God, boldly declaring: “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18). God honored their faith, and in his mercy, delivered them even after they were thrown into the fire. They, in turn, experienced the triumph of faith when they stood their ground.

Being aligned with God’s will is no light matter. Nebuchadnezzar had plundered Jerusalem and its temple and took the Jewish people into captivity. He ordered Shadrach, Meschach, Abednego, and Daniel to be instructed in the Babylonian language and philosophy for three years, preparing them to serve in his kingdom. Yet although Daniel and his friends were subjected to a foreign culture, they held to three principles that allowed them to stand against the powerful forces of their day. They drew a line of resistance, a line of dependence, and a line of confidence in God. They resisted the temptation to accommodate themselves to the pagan culture of Babylon. They depended upon God and knew where knowledge and education ended, and where trust and wisdom in God began. And they had confidence that God alone is judge—even as Daniel’s own name indicates. (“Daniel” means “God is my judge.”)

What happened as a result of their obedience to God? Three pagan kings crossed over from their side over onto God’s side. Three pagan kings prayed to the God of Heaven by the time the Book of Daniel ends. The kings steeped them in Babylonian philosophy and tried to change their names and worldview. But, God’s faithful servants ended up changing the kings’ allegiances and identities.

“Sometimes we lose our ability to sense God or see Him at work because we choose not to obey Him. The inherent danger within all of us is that no matter what God does, we may wish He had done it differently. The gift of faith is precisely what makes it possible for us to accept that God works in his own way (which is not always our way), in his own time, and for his purpose.”

Can it still happen? Yes, it can. Certainly it is sometimes easier to resist God’s will than to have faith and confidence in God and in his specific purpose for each one of us. But from the halls of Washington to the boardrooms of Singapore, God is still at work among his people—especially through those who pray.

Prayer teaches us faith and prayer is hard work. It is not a guarantor of getting what we want or a substitute for action. Rather, it undergirds our action with the strength that makes the difference. Faith is that sublime dependence upon God that even though we may not get what we want, we know and love the One who denies us for his good reason and for our ultimate good. It is the assurance that our Lord superintends our lives in our needs and our dependencies, in our successes and accomplishments. The most significant relationships in life are based on this kind of faith. Such faith faces the defeat of desire with the victory of certainty in the One who is in control.

I would suggest that sometimes we lose our ability to sense God or see Him at work because we choose not to obey Him. The inherent danger within all of us is that no matter what God does, we may wish He had done it differently. The gift of faith is precisely what makes it possible for us to accept that God works in his own way (which is not always our way), in his own time, and for his purpose. It is for us to put aside our doubts and fall in line with God’s purpose, always looking forward and waiting patiently for the last link to fall into place. Such are the glorious lessons of faith itself. We do, we obey, we yield, we submit to God even when our natural inclination wants to drag us in the opposite direction.

Only through exercising this kind of faith can the moment be accepted and understood as a small portion of a bigger story. For some of us that individual story may entail a journey that may be long and hard and arduous, but it will be accomplished one moment at a time, one day at a time, each moment and day undergirded by the strength of the indwelling presence of God. Surely, we can rest in Him, confident like Daniel and his friends that the God we serve is able to deliver us—and He will deliver us. True faith depends not only on God’s power but also on his wisdom. The world may caricature it by misunderstanding it. GK Chesterton was right when he said, “Faith is always at a disadvantage; it is a perpetually defeated thing which survives all its conquerors.”