Recently a lady asked her friend, “Have you had a face lift?” Her reply was, “No, I had a faith lift.”

This statement really made me stop and think about how we, from time to time, need a faith lift. We need to be rejuvenated. We need to be restored.

People are so busy working, transporting their children or grandchildren to school and activities; even busy doing “church work”. No wonder we need to have our faith renewed.

So what can we do to renew our faith and be able to serve God more effectively? What steps should we take, and where do we begin?

We should begin on our knees. Prayer is the place of comfort and consolation. It is a private communication with the only one who can heal, comfort, forgive, and give us peace.

I met a wonderful woman last summer named Becky Blackmon. Becky has written a book that every woman should read. It is called, The Begging Place. It has some of the most practical information on prayer that I have ever read, and it is filled with wonderful examples from the Bible about prayer. This book will transform your prayer life, and it is the reason prayer is first on my list of getting a faith lift.

In I Thessalonians 5:17, Paul says, “Pray without ceasing” (KJV). That verse can keep the Christian in the right frame of mind for renewal if we allow it to govern our lives. If everything we do has been given prayerful consideration, based on the commands of the scripture, we will be obedient to what God wants us to do.

Even in the face of temptation or trials, we should ask for God’s guidance in our decisions. We can’t do what we want to do but what God’s word commands us to do.

Next we need to go to God’s word. The scripture will give us a renewed expression of our faith. The amazing thing is that every time I read a passage of scripture, no matter how many times I have read it before, I learn something new.

We cannot read the Bible to prove our own point of view. We have to read the Bible with an open mind and heart to discern what God is trying to tell us. More than once the scripture says, “…every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25 KJV). That is the attitude that is prevalent in our country today. God was not satisfied with that attitude in the Old Testament or the New Testament, and He will not be satisfied with that attitude today.

Step number three in our faith lift is to put into practice those things God commands us to do. Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 that there are ways in which we will be blessed if we do the things listed there. According to this sermon, our blessings will come if we are poor in spirit, if we mourn, are meek, hunger and thirst after righteousness, are merciful, are pure in hear, are peacemakers, persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and reviled by men.

Imagine what this world would be like if everyone lived like these few verses. Everyone would experience a faith lift, and it would show on our faces every day.

Step number four is to see our trials and temptations as a strengthening of our faith. We need to look at things the way Job did. After having everything taken from him, his reaction was, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong” (Job 1:21-22 NKJV).

Step five is to try to see ourselves as others see us. We need to be honest with ourselves and be willing to admit wrong attitudes, unkind words or actions, and even violations of God’s law. King David was able to do this when Nathan, the prophet, confronted him with a parable. Nathan showed him that he had sinned and needed to repent. And repent he did! He was willing to admit his sin, ask God’s forgiveness, and accept the punishment God delivered.

So, if you want a “faith lift”, you need to get on your knees, study God’s Word, practice doing what God commands us to do, use our trials and temptations to strengthen us, and learn to see ourselves as others see us.

–Sandra Oliver