Causative faith has been on my mind lately. Causative faith is the power that makes miracles happen. That kind of faith is needed to heal the sick, ward off destructive powers and change the outcome of a tragedy.

There are things that we can make happen by our own efforts, coupled with faith. For example, we have the faith that if we plant a garden, and take care of it properly, it will grow and produce what we planted. We have faith that if we follow a prescribed eating plan and exercise, we will change our body’s shape.

There are also things we cannot accomplish without the power of God. Jesus calmed the waves of the sea. Peter walked on water. Five thousand people were fed with five loaves of bread and two fish. Water was changed into wine. All of these miracles were brought about by causative faith.

Last article I wrote about the definition and power of faith. What I wrote helped me to understand the definition and power of faith more deeply, but as I pondered further, I realized that there are faith distracters, things that keep us from tapping into the tremendous power of causative faith.

Since faith is a belief, we must consider it an attitude of the mind. In other words, what happens in our mind is much more important than the circumstances surrounding our desires. What we believe is possible or impossible happens in our minds. Our perception has everything to do with what we believe. For example, if you see a garden hose in the garden that looks like a snake, you will have the same emotional reaction as if it were a real snake. Your heart will race as you catch your breath. When you realize that it is really a garden hose, you smile and even laugh at your fears. We create our own thoughts and perceptions by what we think about.

The scriptures say, “As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.” In other words, we are the sum total of what we think about. Our mind is like a huge field of fertile ground waiting to be planted. We can choose to plant whatever we want, and our mind will produce the fruit. If we can control what is planted and nurtured in our minds, we can start to use the power of faith.

Self-talk is the key to unlock the power or faith, or it is the lock that holds the door closed. It is easy to allow random thoughts to circle like an old phonograph record in our minds. We simply allow our mind to play one meaningless song after another. We see images and feel emotions about the things we think about.

Often we do not consider whether our thoughts are grounded in truth or blatant lies. We just let them play, thinking we are a prisoner to our own particular record.

God has given us the power of choice. Our self-talk is like a record playing in our minds. We can stop the record at any point and choose a different song. We can create our own song with our own words and emotions. What we allow to play on the turntable of our minds is our choice. This is where faith comes in.

If we truly desire to be blessed with a miracle, we have to control our thoughts and our actions to bring the miracles to pass. We cannot send negative thoughts into the universe and expect to get positive results. The Lord says, “Cast your bread upon the water and it will come back to you.” That is the way it is with negative and positive thoughts.

If we plant negative thoughts in our minds, negative experiences will grow and flourish. If we plant positive, faith-centered thoughts, we will reap the results.

In college, I wrote down a thought that has made a huge impact in my life. I do not remember who said it. “Dream oh youth; dream nobly and manfully and thy dreams shall by thy prophets.”

In simple terms, our thoughts are prophetic. If we expect people to treat us with dignity and respect, and give them the benefit of the doubt, they will treat us with respect. If we expect them to treat us poorly, we send a message in our demeanor that we expect to be treated poorly, and they follow our cue and treat us as we expect them to.

If we expect the Lord to answer our prayers, we will see the results. If we tell ourselves the heavens are closed, the heavens will be closed to us. It all depends on the messages we send into the universe. Faith has everything to do with it.

The scriptures tell us: “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (James 1: 8). In other words, we cannot have opposing viewpoints going on in our mind at the same time. We cannot outwardly say, “We believe,” and inwardly say, “It is not possible.” The stronger thought will always rule out. The stronger thought is usually the thought that shapes our actions. We will act on what we truly believe.

The idea of having an “eye single to the glory of God,” has a deeper meaning when we put it in the context of our thoughts. If we profess to love God, and go about destroying his work by breaking the commandments, or treating our fellow beings with contempt, we are hypocrites and “the truth is not in us.” We cannot serve two masters, as Christ says. “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.” (Matt. 6: 24).

We are, by our nature, compelled to choose sides. We cannot walk the tightrope very long before we fall into one camp or the other. We have to make a decision.

The trouble with most of us is that we do not make conscious decisions. We simply let our thoughts run wild. We live from day to day, allowing our lives to march toward the grave without taking any thought of how we might shape our destiny.

We watch movies that plant thoughts of anger and revenge in our hearts. We listen to music that excites our emotions about someone else’s love affairs. We listen to the gossip about our neighbor and believe the worst in our fellow beings.

If we look upward, it is usually in a time of crisis, and when the crisis is over, we continue on our way without a second thought. Mindless thoughts barrage the universe. No wonder we feel like we are on a roller coaster let loose from the track!

What does all this have to do with causative faith? Faith must come from conscious, decisive thought coupled with action. “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:20). The work we have to do is to make a decision. We have to decide whose side we are on and make a firm decision to stay there.

We have to decide what we want and act as though we expect to receive the desire of our hearts. We must choose what self-talk we allow to play on the phonograph or the CD player of our minds. Fear and faith are not compatible bedfellows. One kicks the other out. When we focus on the reasons why something is impossible, we will find evidence that we are correct. If we focus on the reasons why something is possible, all kinds of possibilities emerge.

If we desire to have a miracle performed in our lives, we have to expect that it will happen. If we are sick, and want to be healed, we have to avoid thinking about the pain and suffering and focus on every evidence of healing. We must visualize with a white-hot focus our body in health and vitality.

If we are looking for a job and have not been able to find one, we must ask God and believe that He will help us. We cannot sit in our overstuffed chairs and expect God to do the work. We have to be out there looking and be willing to take whatever God gives us until we can find exactly what we want. Our thoughts must ignore all the reasons why something cannot happen. It must entertain only the thoughts of why it can and will happen.

Of course, if we are asking God’s help, we cannot expect Him to help us in our deceptive enterprises. God is not the author of wickedness. He will help us as we turn to Him with righteous desires. How can we decide if our desires are righteous or not? Ask Him and expect Him to answer. Faith is a powerful God-given force that will help His children to become like Him. God is a God of love, and He will give us what we desire, if we ask in faith. PD