Faith is Never Presumption

It is in the realm of ignorance and presumption where we believe that taking the risk of doing something is always better than doing nothing and that just because we can do something means that we ought to. Faith, on the other hand, though it may involve an element of risk, resides soundly in the realm of knowledge and wisdom. Both presumption and faith involve believing, therefore faith is never just a matter of believing in something or even believing for something. Rather, one’s faith is only as good as in who or what it is being placed in.

This is the kind of faith Jesus is speaking of when He tells His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24). Jesus is not saying that you will receive what you desire if you convince yourself that you will receive it or convince yourself that it is a good idea worthy trying.  That’s placing faith in ourselves and our ability to do and believe and such thinking may still be squarely in the realm of presumption.  However, what Jesus is saying is that you will have what you desire when you believe that you have received it from God, which is in the precise context of Him beginning by saying “have faith in God” in verse 22.  This is faith and it is clearly in the realm of knowledge and wisdom, specifically, revelatory knowledge and wisdom from God Himself, as the object of our faith.

This is the kind of faith we read about when the Bible speaks of men and women who demonstrated great faith (Hebrews chapter 11).  These were flawed people just like us who put their trust in God, but more specifically, put their trust in God and what they heard from Him whether directly or through the testimony and words of others.  This is what faith is all about, and it has not changed since God has not changed.  So, whether it’s with our hearts or with our ears, faith always comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17).  Therefore, faith is never presumption.