Main challenge to the disciple:
'Explain faith'.

Faith comes from hearing the Word of God. Faith is the spiritual glue that forever bonds the believer to his or her God. Once faith is established, nothing can shake it, and all doubts are erased. When faith has taken root within the believer's soul, a marvelous transformation of the person is established. The true believer 'knows' that God is inside of them, and that He shares in their life and dreams.

Tragedy, horrific events, illness, poverty, persecution and the grimly unexpected may happen to the believer, but because faith has been established, the believer is granted the strength to carry on with their lives. Faith tells the believer that God, in fact, exists, but it goes beyond the question of existence. Even though the believer may not understand what is taking place in their life, it is faith that reassures them that their Heavenly Father is in control and is looking out for their best interests and comfort. Bodily pain may continue to exist within the faithful believer, but it is the assurance which comes of faith that enables the believer to carry on, and quite honestly, not minding their suffering so much.

Faith in God - as emphasized by Jesus and the Apostle Paul - also emboldens the believer to publicly display and proclaim his or her belief in the Gospel of Jesus. There is no way the Christian can 'prove' faith to the world other than to demonstrate it; although, it is quite common for one person to have faith in another. So at least the world understands this basic concept of faith. It is 'easy' faith; a faith assured because the person to whom it is invested is a visible, living being. To have faith in an invisible God who is spirit... well, that requires a brave leap on the part of the believer. To have faith in God requires courage, for He does not always come back with the answers and conditions we desire.

It is on this point where, for some, faith fails them and this failure leads to disbelief. To quote Martin Luther: "Nothing makes a man good except faith, nor evil except unbelief." - A Treatise on Christian Liberty

As a Christian disciple, it is our mission to not become involved with the stumbling block of belief vs. disbelief. It should be obvious to all that the disciple of Christ is beyond the doubt issue, and it should be abundantly clear to all that the disciple of Christ is out to serve God in Christ's name and that he or she fully believes in what their mission is, who they are serving, and what the message is - and impart that message in a way that instills faith in the hearer. The latter may sound like a tall order, but that's why God made marvelous preachers and humble servants; for they do nothing more or less than their Master, the Lord Jesus as he, too, fulfilled the same roles during his earthly ministry.

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him." - Letter to the Hebrews 11: 6

  At first blush, the Hebrews writer's statement sounds a bit odd in that how does one go about approaching someone who doesn't exist? Does God exist, or doesn't He? We have the Scriptures that say He does; and we have the skeptics that say that the Scriptures are fiction - writings made up by a priestly class who saw employment continuity with the perpetuation of a myth. Which is your verdict? That is a decision only you can make. As a disciple of Christ, I can tell you about the good news that is the sum and substance of Jesus Christ's preaching, and the result of his acts of salvation and resurrection and what they mean for humankind. I can deliver the message to you, but I cannot make you believe. Once you have listened to, or read, and taken into your heart and mind the Gospel of Christ, it will be God's Holy Spirit who, upon entering your soul... it will be He who convicts you either as a believer or a non-believer.

A problem arises.

Ever since the early days of the Christian movement, an endemic problem has steadily grown among the believing flock. It's a purely human fault and, thus, should have never come as a surprise. That fault is this:

While many can genuinely believe in God and His Son, Jesus Christ; profess a belief in why Jesus did as he did; profess a belief in what Jesus promised and accomplished while in the flesh, yet they cannot humbly accept the gift of salvation God has given us through the death and resurrection of Jesus. These are the people who do not truly understand what has taken place in the scheme of God's love for humankind and the act of His Son to remove the gap of sin separation between us and our Heavenly Father. These are the ones who will say, "Yes, I believe my soul is saved because of what Christ did for me on Calvary, but...." "But I just want to be sure. I want to take out some spiritual insurance... a little something extra to go along with Jesus' act of redemption for me." Herein lies the problem. As a Christian believer, we are justified by faith in Jesus and not in our own works motivated by that faith. As true believers, we must have a contrite heart and lively faith in the promises of God Almighty. We cannot deposit 'works' into some celestial bank upon which, at the end of our lives, we go to and make salvation withdrawals to be used as admission tickets into heaven.

You and I can do nothing of our own volition to ensure our salvation by doing works. If we try to 'do it ourselves', we will fail. Truth is, if we try to save our own skins by carrying out acts of charity, living by the Ten Commandments, doing various penances and yet have no true faith in God, no faith in what Jesus did for us, we will fail. Even someone outside the sphere of Judeo-Christian belief has come to this realization - Ramakrishna, the 19th Century Indian spiritual leader and scholar said:

"One cannot see God as long as one feels 'I am the doer.'
Fully awakened souls are beyond virtue and vice. They realize that it is God who does everything."

Also, let's look at what the Apostle Paul had to say about the matter of faith and works as he wrote to the Galatians:

"We ourselves are Jews by birth (he's talking about himself and the other apostles) and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.

"But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.

"And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then
Christ died for nothing.

"You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified! The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? Did you experience so much for nothing; if it really was for nothing? Well then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?" - Galatians 2: 15 - 21; Galatians 3: 1 - 5

  Using the example of faith exhibited among ourselves to serve as a lens to better concentrate the beam of our understanding, even when we are dealing with words, implications, guarantees and promises here in our world, there must first exist the element of good faith. Otherwise, there would exist no communities, governments, or businesses if people were never to take another's word or signature on faith.

Let's be clear about this. So far as demonstrated and chronicled in recorded history, God deals directly with us either by his Holy Word, by his Holy Spirit, by Jesus living within the believer, by his Son's miracles, or by His sacraments, which serve as signs and seals of His Word. For the believer, the very first thing that must be dealt with is to believe in His Word; is to listen to and be instructed by the Holy Spirit; to follow the orders of the 'boss', Christ, and to have righteous respect for God's sacraments. The currency behind what I just said is based on faith. When God speaks to us via His Word - or any other method of His choosing - we believers MUST accept by faith what has been told to us ... and then believe it! If the believer has not arrived at this place and time where he or she can unhesitatingly believe what is being communicated to them by God, then the door is wide open for doubt and skepticism, possibly even deteriorating to a level of disbelief to where God is considered a trickster or an outright liar. Instead, come to that point of faith as the hemorrhaging woman in Matthew, where your belief is so strong that God would have no other option but respond to it.

So, in summation on the topic of faith, let me ask you: What is the perfect prayer to offer God? Truly, it is a silent prayer. It is unwavering faith by the believer in God.  In Luther's words, "This faith pleases God above all things, and does Him the highest honor, because it believes Him to be true, and a righteous God. Therefore He, in turn, counts this faith to us as righteousness good and sufficient unto salvation." -An Argument in Defense of All the Articles of Dr. Martin Luther Wrongly Condemned in the Roman Bull. - Works of Martin Luther, Vol. III, pp.20