What makes someone’s faith “strong” or “weak”? Faith would be easier to understand if it simply grew by reading Bible verses, praying during the day, going to church every week, and giving to charity. But that’s not how faith works.
Faith is a difficult-to-define blend of our hopes, beliefs, relationships, practices, knowledge, and trust. How do we strengthen our faith? We develop mindsets, attitudes, and practices that put us in the best position to hear from God and become more like Him each day.
Do I Have a Weak Faith?
If you had to assign a letter grade to your faith, what would it be, and why would you give yourself that grade? Since you’re reading this article, you probably wouldn’t give yourself an A+. But why? Maybe you feel like you need to strengthen your faith because you don’t feel close to God or you’ve neglected some spiritual disciplines. Maybe you’ve even described your faith as “weak.”
But here’s the truth—God’s love, care, and grace for you aren’t dependent on the strength of your faith. Shame is a bad motivation, so as we explore these tips, let’s take any shame you might feel about your faith and set it aside.
Instead, let’s pursue a stronger faith for the right reason—to get to know God better and to discover your purpose in Him.
5 Tips to Strengthen Your Faith
Tip 1: Look up to God
It’s normal and understandable to spend our time, energy, and attention focusing on the here and now. We’re busy, after all. And when we stop to think about it, it’s difficult to consider what’s going on beyond our five senses.
But in his letter to the Colossians, Paul encourages his fellow believers to look up:
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Colossians 3:1 NLT
As you think about Paul’s words and the realities of heaven, here are four things to notice:
- First, heaven isn’t some vague, dream-like state. It’s a place with real people where God is the true King.
- Second, there will come a day when we will all meet God face to face. We will no longer need faith or hope because what we’ve hoped for will finally be revealed.
- Third, our troubles and our heartbreaks (and even death itself) are temporary! Scripture tells us that, eventually, God will do away with pain and death and sickness and suffering—forever.
- Lastly (and most importantly), God is still on His throne, with Jesus beside Him in the place of honor. No matter how crazy, senseless, or heartbreaking the world may seem, we can be confident, knowing that nothing is outside God’s plan.
God’s power, perfection, and plans are beyond our imagination. Yet He wants to be a loving Father and present help in all of our lives. This knowledge can guide us to a stronger faith because it’s tempting to think we’re strong and capable on our own. But in reality, we are powerless. We desperately need God—every moment of every day.
How to Prioritize Undistracted Time With God
So what do we do? We spend undistracted time with God. This might look like a regular quiet time at home or in nature. While we spend time with Him, we consider His love, power, and goodness. As we do this, we’ll feel a sense of awe that leads to worship.
Instead of fitting God into our daily routines, let’s fit our daily routines around our relationship with God.
Instead of fitting God into our daily routines, let’s fit our daily routines around our relationship with God. Let’s make space for God to speak to us and restore us. And let’s allow God to heal the broken parts of our lives so what comes out of us is good and encouraging, and leads to an abundant, joy-filled life.
Tip 2: Look at Jesus’ Example
A strong faith needs a strong foundation. So what’s our foundation? Or rather, who is our foundation?
Two thousand years ago, when Jesus walked this earth, He often told stories to the crowds that gathered around to hear Him teach. One day, He said to them:
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.” Matthew 7:24-25 NLT
Jesus is God in human form, meaning He’s the ultimate authority on what it means to live well. Jesus’ life and teachings have remained reliable through the rise and fall of empires and generations of social upheaval.
Teachings from the world tend to shift with each new generation. Like shifting sand, culture is unstable because its values change. Here’s how Jesus described what it’s like to let culture define our mindset, faith, and choices:
“But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” Matthew 7:26-27 NLT
If you want to strengthen your faith, find genuine wisdom, or make a lasting difference in this world, stick close to Jesus—because anything worth being or doing starts with Him.
Read and Reread the Stories of Jesus
A strong faith is built on Jesus. How do we strengthen our faith? We look at Jesus' life and teachings, allowing them to guide us toward a God-honoring, faith-filled life.
What does this look like? Well, the simplest way to start is by making a habit of reading and re-reading the stories of Jesus in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Look at what He says, how He responds, and who He cares for. Then ask yourself, “What’s one way I can become a little more like Jesus today?” This might look like starting to forgive someone who’s wronged you, living with greater trust in God, or making sacrificial choices.
While no one perfectly lives like Jesus, we can all take steps to strengthen our faith by intentionally seeking ways to live and love like Jesus.
Tip 3: Look Inside
Have you ever made a poor decision and thought, “Why did I do that?”
In the Old Testament, the heart was considered the center of inner life, and people believed it housed our wisdom and dictated our thoughts, emotions, and actions.
Here’s what Jesus said about our “hearts.”
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. Luke 6:45 NIV
Jesus is saying that the things we think about have a way of showing up in our lives. Our thoughts influence our actions.
Examine Your Thoughts and Actions
If we want to strengthen our faith, we need to examine our hearts. In other words, we need to audit our thoughts and actions so we can identify areas of personal and spiritual growth.
Maybe we struggle with a secret sin we’ve been hiding from our loved ones. Or we’re letting unforgiveness trap us in feelings of bitterness and resentment. And it could be possible that unresolved pain in our past is leading us to respond to present problems in unhealthy ways.
Doing the internal work of strengthening our faith is difficult—that’s why it’s best to do it alongside others. Trusted friends, pastors, and counselors can all help us identify and address areas of our lives that cause consistent pain.
Maybe you need to change your environment, leave a toxic relationship, stop engaging with certain media, or start the process of forgiveness. Whatever it is, ask God and people for help.
Tip 4: Look for Help From Others
So far, we’ve explored some personal ways to strengthen our faith that we can do on our own. But if we truly want to strengthen our faith, we need to get others involved.
Our faith is personal, but it isn’t private. In other words, God wants a relationship with each of us, and He wants us to depend on each other. Check out this proverb:
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 NIV
Iron is sharpened through heat and friction, through cutting and slicing. As it is beaten, it is reshaped into something beautiful and purposeful and even better than before.
Sharpening ourselves is purposeful, but it can also be painful. It’s intentional friction that results in a purer and stronger faith and character. We’re rarely sharpened by casual, comfortable friendships that stick to surface-level conversations. While those kinds of friendships aren’t bad, we need to prioritize sharpening relationships with people who recognize who God wants us to become.
We can be sharpened by mentors, pastors, spouses, teachers, and friends. But it can only happen if we put ourselves in proximity to others and choose to be vulnerable.
Choose Vulnerability
Vulnerability isn’t easy, especially if we’ve experienced betrayal in the past. But God made us to be in close, trusting relationships. When we refuse to trust people, we often feel isolated and lonely.
But here’s the good news—you can start small. Share a little more, join a church small group, or stay after your church service to meet some new people. Vulnerability is a risk, but it’s essential to a strong faith.
We weren’t made for isolation. That’s why God created the church—so we would have a global family to guide, encourage, and sharpen us as we follow Jesus together.
Tip 5: Look Around
A strong faith is a faith that leads to action. God made each of us to make a difference in our communities. But where do we start? Well, let’s go back to Jesus.
Jesus had a strong faith and His faith led Him to meet the needs of others. He didn’t serve and bless others to gain God’s favor or to impress others with His generosity. Instead, He met needs because He was—and still is—on a mission to save the world.
Jesus’ mission led Him to countless small moments of sacrificial service. From healing the sick, to providing food for the hungry, to washing His disciples’ feet, Jesus’ life was defined by service.
These moments didn’t just prove Jesus’ power, they made a meaningful restorative difference in the lives of the people He helped. Every act of service led to relational healing, physical empowerment, restored dignity, and renewed hope.
No one can perfectly imitate Jesus, but His example can guide us to a stronger faith.
But let’s be honest. It’s easy to read these passages and think, "Well, of course Jesus served people, but I can’t raise the dead or multiply fish." Remember, no one can perfectly imitate Jesus, but His example can guide us to a stronger faith.
All of us have the ability to do good for someone, and God has gifted each of us with special abilities and talents that can be used to serve other people in our lives. Whether it’s a spiritual gift or a learned skill, we each have unique opportunities to show kindness to those in need.
Notice and Meet Needs
So where do we start?
When we read the stories of Jesus serving people, they almost always start with Him noticing a need. We can do that too. All around us, every day, people have needs we can meet. But we can’t meet a need we don’t notice. If we want a stronger faith, we need to slow down and take time to notice the people around us.
Friends, family members, coworkers, and even your pastor might be struggling with something, and you can help. They might have a physical need, like food or shelter, or an emotional need, like a kind person to sit with them in their pain. You might choose to start giving to your local church or a non-profit.
All of this starts with noticing a need. Ask God to help you notice the needs of the people around you, and ask Him to reveal ways you can reach out and meet those needs.
Let’s Review the 5 Tips For Strengthening Your Faith
- Look Up (Prioritize Undistracted Time With God)
- Look at Jesus’ Example (Read and Reread the Stories of Jesus)
- Look Inside (Examine Your Thoughts and Actions)
- Look to Others (Choose Vulnerability)
- Look Around (Notice and Meet Needs)
Here’s a quick recommendation: Don’t try to master all of these tips at once. Instead, choose one to prioritize this week. Then, come back next week and choose another one to spend time developing. Over time, we hope these tips lead you to a richer, deeper faith in God that leads you to love God and love your neighbors more each day.