Every person has the ability to exercise faith, whether it is to believe that they can hit a home run, pull a 10 ton truck or believe that someone else can receive a healing, it is a choice that they have. Faith is an agent that can be exercised at anytime and it can also be turned off with just a simple choice. Now, there are situations in life that can decide whether faith can play a role in its outcome or not, for example, one person can be terminally ill and is introduced to a treatment that can give him a certain percent of recuperating. In order for things to really happen in God out of three measures of faith great faith needs to happen. Regular faith to regular people comes by decision, but faith in God comes only by one way and that is by listening to God’s word (Ro. 10:17).
Matthew 8:9-11
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.
Great faith comes by exercise. Such as this Centurion whom was used to ordering his soldiers under him and expecting them to perform as his command, build his faith to when he needed to apply it to Jesus’ word had not difficulties in believing its expected outcome(Mt8:9-11). Whether you have family members, a job or circumstances of life of which your persistent words or expectation must be. A women like this centurion had a daughter sick to the point of almost dying whom when she met Jesus she understood that he could heal her daughter. This women like a normal parent that tells her kids to do and they do had such a faith that she debated with Jesus for the miracle of which he healed her daughter(Mt. 15:28). Great faith can be found throughout the bible and throughout life. People all through life have demonstrated such a great faith as this women and the centurion baring witness that anyone can attain it.
Little faith is just below of great faith where faith is exercised but at a limited amount. With little faith there is a hesitation on claiming that which we want. This faith is activated when problems come. Unlike great faith when it is manifested at all times without the barrier of time and distance, little faith stops at the manifestation of the problem. The disciples were in a boat with Jesus and a storm manifested. Fear was so strong that over took their faith (Mt. 8:25-26), they thought that they were going to die. Little faith though it leads to you to God, but it does not lead you to work the miracle. Peter found himself with such a faith when he, after Jesus instructed him to get of the boat, walked on water. But, anxiety took a hold of him and manifested his type of faith(Mt. 14:30-31), little faith allows anxiety and other mental illnesses to prevent one to manifest God’s power.
This father brings his demon possessed child to the disciples of Jesus so that they could take him out but they could not, so they came to Jesus. Unbelief is under little faith. Its characteristics deal with knowledge of what could happen if they believe, but do not know how to overcome it (Mk. 9:23-24). The exclamation of the father “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” illustrates a type of faith that is mixed with an saturated with unbelief. In order for unbelief to be overcome someone else with great faith has to work out the miracles. The problem with unbelief is that not every person overcomes it no matter how miracles are performed (Jhn. 12:37).