If you’re done living an average life, it’s time to trade average faith for the kind that brings extraordinary results. It’s time to develop an uncommon faith!
When you were a child, did you ever aspire to grow up and be average? Did you dream of just getting by and living a so-so life? Hopefully not! You weren’t created to pursue ordinary—you were created to win. To live a life with boldness and confidence to believe for the extraordinary, you need one thing—an uncommon faith.
The promises of God, when you put them all together, are the recipe for an extraordinary life—far beyond what anyone in the world would ever hope for or imagine. He has them all stored up for you, and He’s already given you the key—faith. Not just average faith, but the kind of faith that believes it and takes it.
You can’t live an extraordinary life if you aren’t even expecting it. Average faith says, “I hope I can make my monthly payments.” An uncommon faith says, “God, I believe I’ll pay the whole thing off!”
Joel Osteen defines it this way: “An uncommon faith is radical faith and radical faith gets radical results.”
When you believe for things with an uncommon faith, people might say, “Who do you think you are?” You answer back, “A child of the Most High God!”
If you want to see God amaze you with His goodness, it’s time to go one step further than average faith, and come over into an uncommon faith. We know faith pleases God, so the more developed your faith, the more pleasing it is to Him.
Maybe you’ve been stuck in average faith all your life. It’s time to make a change! It’s not time to hold back. The Bible says, “Don’t hold back—you’re not going to come up short” (Isaiah 54:4, MSG). It’s time to go for it—go for everything God has for you. You will experience uncommon breakthroughs, victories, promotions, blessings, favor, advancement, joy, peace and prosperity.
The question is—are you willing to do what it takes to develop an uncommon faith? To develop an uncommon faith, you’re going to have to do some uncommon things. Here are 7 ways to develop an uncommon faith in your life.
Step No. 1: Receive Jesus as the Developer of Your Faith
“Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection].” –Hebrews 12:2 (AMPC)
If you want to develop an uncommon faith, this is where you start: Look away from all that will distract you and focus on Jesus. That’s what Hezekiah did when he was facing death. The Bible tells us, “Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the Lord” (Isaiah 38:2, KJV). Why is this important? He turned away from the world, from people, from his own feelings, from his suffering, from sympathizing friends and relatives. When he turned to the wall, he could only see God. And he received what he asked!
When you’re facing a trial, a lot of things will try to get your attention and draw you away from your stand of faith—to keep you focused on the natural. That’s why Jesus is the developer—or trainer—of our faith. He wants to help us keep our eyes on Him and not be distracted by the world.
Every time we put our faith on the line by believing His Word, we can expect Him to develop our faith. Expect Him to develop your faith every time you put your faith on the line. When you stand for healing, you’re exercising your faith—putting it on the line. Trust Him to bring your faith to maturity. The word finisher in the Greek means “one who raises the level of faith to its perfection by setting the highest example of faith.” That’s Jesus. Look to Him.
Learn more about How to Allow Jesus to Finish Your Faith here.
Step No. 2: Make the Word of God Final Authority
“My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them,
and health to all their flesh.” –Proverbs 4:20-22 (NKJV)
It’s easy to run to the world when a problem arises. When you feel a symptom in your body, the first thing you might think of is to run to the doctor or jump on the internet and research it until you’re scared silly. But that isn’t God’s way. There’s a place for medical care, but we can’t receive into our spirits everything that is spoken over us.
When you’re facing a situation in your health, your finances, a relationship or a work situation, you need to ask yourself one thing: “What does God’s Word say about my situation?” Then say, “THAT is THE FINAL WORD!”
To give the Word of God first place means you go to the Word on any situation or circumstance you’re facing and find out what God says about it first—before friends, family, the internet. It means His Word is the last word in any situation.
When you train toward developing an uncommon faith, you don’t operate like the world. You don’t even operate like most Christians. That’s how you become uncommon. The stronger you build your faith, the more able you are to face anything down and subdue it. You take the Scriptures, you stand on them, and you refuse to move.
Step No. 3: Continually Feed on the Word
“People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” –Matthew 4:4 (NLT)
Your physical body was not made to live on one meal per week. Your spirit is the same. Just as your physical strength will dwindle, so will your spiritual strength. When a trial comes, weak faith will do you no good. You need a strong spirit to respond with boldness and faith-filled power.
The Word of God is faith food for your spirit. It keeps your faith strong and ready for anything. Pastor George Pearsons’ version of Romans 10:17 is “Faith comes by feeding, and feeding on The WORD of God.”
The Word of God is as necessary to your life as food. When you continually feed on the Word, you are depositing into your spirit, and it builds a reserve. You can’t wait until a crisis comes to try to develop your faith—you need a fresh supply, so it will be on the tip of your tongue. You won’t hesitate—you’ll speak boldly over your situation and be confident that it is handled.
Step No. 4: Meditate on the Word
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” –Joshua 1:8 (NKJV)
Maybe you’re asking, What’s the difference between feeding on the Word and meditating on the Word?
Feeding on the Word is reading and learning what God has to say. Meditating is spending time thinking about it and thinking about it, and then applying the Word to your situation.
Faith begins where the will of God is known. You can’t have faith in His Word if you don’t know what His Word says. Once you know the will of God and have spent time meditating on the Word, you can apply it by taking authority over your life.
Applying the Word of God to your situation will become second nature when you have immersed yourself in faith. The best way to learn faith is the same way you learn a foreign language—total immersion. When you immerse yourself in an atmosphere of faith and let it be the only language you speak—it will be your first line of defense in any situation.
Step No. 5: Act on the Word
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” –James 1:22 (NKJV)
You know what the Word says, you meditate on it by applying it to your situation, then you act on it by putting your faith on the line. One way we act on the Word is to speak it. Faith grows when God’s Word becomes a vital part of your daily speech.
Pastor Terri Copeland Pearsons says, “If your mouth will feed your heart faith when you don’t need it, your heart will feed your mouth faith when you do need it.”
Another way we act on the Word of God is to take dominion. In the beginning, God gave us dominion over the earth and everything in it (Genesis 1:28). Jesus’ victory has given you authority and dominion over all the works of the enemy (Luke 10:19). (Satan doesn’t want you to know that or feel confident in it, but you can!)
What does it mean to take dominion? If something gets out of line—you put it back. Don’t let your body or your finances tell you what to do. If they get out of line—take authority and put things back where they belong! The devil doesn’t control you. You are led by the Spirit and filled with the life of God.
In other words, as Jesse Duplantis says, “If you believe this, then you should live this, manifest this, operate in this and be this.”
Speak the Word, rebuke the devil and take authority over your life! That’s an uncommon faith—and that’s the life you’re meant to live.
Step No. 6: Pray in the Spirit
“Building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.” –Jude 20 (NKJV)
It’s really no secret—praying in tongues builds up our faith. God has given us everything we need to live in His Word, but the specifics of His plan must often come through prayer. Without it, we can even become unclear how to apply what God has already revealed to us through His Word.
The kind of prayer that will take you from where you are now to where you want to be is found in Ephesians 6:18, AMPC:
Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance, interceding in behalf of all the saints (God’s consecrated people).
Charismatics and Pentecostals use the phrase “praying in the spirit” in reference to praying in tongues. Praying in the spirit, in its most basic definition, is praying from your heart. It doesn’t take much Bible study to see that man is spirit (also called your heart), soul (the mind, will and emotions) and body. Proverbs 20:27 says the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly. It is in your spirit that God talks to you. In your heart, with your heart.
God doesn’t want head prayers that have no heart. Why? Because your heart is you. Your mind only belongs to you. Your heart is where faith is produced. In fact, all the forces of life flow out of your heart, not your head.
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23, KJV).
Your heart is where God meets you.
Watch Jesse Duplantis explain how an uncommon faith and the heart are connected:
Step No. 7: Continually Give God Praise
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” –Philippians 4:6 (KJV)
Praise and thanksgiving is what we do between the “amen” and “there it is” of our prayer. Praise encourages our faith. Praise is our affirmation of receiving what we have believed. “Praise God! Thank You, Lord! I believe I have it now by faith, in Jesus’ Name!”
Hope says, “I might have it someday.” An uncommon faith says, “If God’s Word says it is so, then it is so. An uncommon faith says, “I take it NOW” and “I have it NOW.” And when you believe you have it, you thank and praise God!
Most Christians wait until the answer has manifested in physical form before they thank God. But, when you believe you receive, then you begin to praise God for the answer. You thank God that it is done for you—before you even see it. And that is an uncommon faith.
It’s time to live in an uncommon faith! When you let Jesus develop your faith, feed and meditate on His Word, put it first place in your life, pray in the spirit, and give Him praise—you will develop an uncommon faith. Stop living in the land of average and come on over to extraordinary. It’s His will for your life!
Related Articles:
How to Allow Jesus to Finish Your Faith
What Is the True Meaning of Great Faith? Ministry Minute
How to Activate Fully Persuaded Faith
5 Characteristics of Bulldog Faith
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