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faith that enables the work of God to be done through us effectively. “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:26). We do not work to get faith. That kind of striving is anti-productive. But we do work to grow it, as faith grows with use. Everyone has been given a measure of faith. What we do with what we have determines how well we do in maturing as disciples of Jesus.
    One additional insight on faith as learned from the world of exercise and fitness is the fact that sometimes we reach plateaus in our development. When a muscle reaches a plateau in its development, it needs to be shocked into growth. That can be done a number of different ways. One involves working the same muscle with a different exercise, hitting it from a different angle. Sometimes our faith becomes stagnant because we get stuck in a routine. In our walks with Christ we get accustomed to doing things a certain way. Yesterday’s exercise that shocked our systems into great growth has become today’s routine. In all the miracles of Jesus recorded in Scriptures, not one of them was done the same way as the previous one.
    Prayer
    Father, I believe You. I trust You. While I love the lessons of yesterday, I do not want them to confine me to a routine or formula. That is why I ask You to give me grace to hear Your voice always. It is my life. I always want to know what You are saying and what You are doing so I do not become stagnant in my faith. Thank You in advance for this answer to prayer.
    Confession
    I am a person of faith. I was born to believe God. Because of this, there is no need for me ever to become stagnant in my faith. I have set my heart to glorify Him by depending on His voice for my life.

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Hope
    Sometimes instead of answering our prayer, God gives us a promise.
    W e often treat prayer as though we are using a vending machine: We put in our requests, and, if we are lucky, we get the answers we want. We pray and God responds. While there is truth in that idea, it does not give the whole picture. Not by any means. Prayer is an expression of a relationship. It is the interaction of the Creator with His creation, bringing us into our eternal purpose. It is the school of God, training His people to rule and reign with Christ. Just knowing this simple principle gives hope for our entire walk with the Lord.
    It is in God’s nature to answer prayer. He loves satisfying the cries of our hearts. He is a father—the ultimate Father. Prayer represents the partnership between Him and those made in His likeness. But His heart’s desire for us is much greater than answering our requests to be able to pay the electric bill or whatever it is that we are praying for. His desire to build people into His likeness through the proper use of His authority and power takes center stage as everything God does is unto this end—people who represent Him well, accurately.
    A huge part of God’s intention for us is to get us to live responsibly. That, of course, includes living righteously and not unto ourselves. But it is more. Living responsibly is to live with divine responsibility. It is to do as Jesus would do if He were in our shoes. But even that needs clarification because it is what Jesus—as the resurrected, ascended and glorified One—would do if He were in our shoes. The life of the believer is to illustrate the power and purpose of the resurrection over every enemy of humanity.
    Our roles differ in the various seasons of our lives. In one moment, our job might be simply to stand by and see what God accomplishes for us. But then that changes, and we must become aware of the change. Instead of watching Him work, we work. But our work is not independent of Him. Quite the opposite. He works through us.
    He arms us with purpose by giving us a promise instead of the answer. That way, we are forced to learn how to believe Him before the answer comes and then learn how to exercise His will in the circumstances that are contrary to the given promise. This is