2 Thessalonians 1:11 Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:
Believing faith should never be seen as our goal, but the beginning of a wonderful growth in the Divine nature we are made partakers of as believer. Faith is a wonderful and mysterious dimension of our Christian life.
Faith preserves and protects:
Jesus made an interesting statement about those who place their faith in Him (Jn 5:24). The Psalmist tells us that God will preserve the faithful (Psa 31:33). Paul tells us that above all else we are to take the shield of faith with us into the battle of spiritual forces (Eph 6:16). We must always keep in mind that it is not faith that does the actual keeping or fighting, but the One in Whom we have placed that faith. The writer of the song, “Faith is the Victory” tells us in the second stanza that God has set His banner over us, but he also tells us that the battle is not one of an armchair Christian, but a faithful soldier of the cross (Jn 13:35; 1 Jn 5:3). The saints that have gone on before and have fought this fight of faith are an encouragement to us (He 12:1-2). Their armor and ours is listed for us – our sword is the word of God (Heb 4:12). Our shield is faith which is able to protect from all the fiery darts of the enemy.
Faith protects from the enemy:
Faith quenches the fiery darts of the enemy, but what are those darts? Those darts come in the form of thoughts, suggestions, doubts, deceptions, etc. that are used to attack our very minds. Peter tells us to gird up the lions of our minds (1 Pet 1:13) and to be sober and vigilant (1 Pet 5:8). The idea is that we are in a battle for our spiritual life and we are to do these things in faith (Jam 4:7; 1 Pet 5:9). Once, again we must not think that it is faith that actually drives the enemy away, but faith in the One Who conquered death, hell and the devil. The third verse of the hymn portrays the attack portion of our battle. Our foe stands ready and his armies do not hesitate to attack us with well formulated plans. But, we are to onward to the fray nothing doubting, being sure to have the entirety of the armor on as we go.
When Israel conquered Jericho they marched around the city for seven days and on the seventh day they blew the trumpets and God crushed the walls and they went into the defenseless city and conquer red it. They had faith in what God said and in obedience they won the battle. Our battle of faith has the same Commander-in-Chief as they and our outcome will be the same. Paul says so we can withstand in the evil day and having done all then stand fast.
Power for effective prayer:
When Jesus told the disciples about faith as a grain of mustard seed, Jesus was not necessarily meaning its size, but the quality. Although a grain of mustard seed is very tiny, it has the power of the Creator inside it. When planted in the earth that power is released and springs forth the essence of its being. The “ask, seek, find” promise if Matthew 7:7 depends on our confidence in our Heavenly Father (1 Jn 5:14).