You don't have to read much in the New Testament to realize faith is a vital part of our relationship with Jesus Christ. How do we have more faith? That certainly is a key question for all of us who desire to please God, since it's impossible to do so without faith.

We read in Matthew 13:58 that Jesus did not do many miracles in his hometown because of their lack of faith. As I was reading that chapter, I thought, why didn't Jesus perform miracles so they would have faith in him? The miracles would have produced faith. But then I remembered the many times he refused to do miracles so that people might have faith in him.

Faith is not produced by miracles; miracles are a result of faith. Jesus never jumps through hoops to try to convince us to have faith in him. After all, Jesus doesn’t need our validation of who he is, and it is sinful arrogance to think God must prove himself to us. We must come to God by faith if we come at all, and faith is the evidence of things hoped for, it is being certain of what we do not see. Therefore, miracles don’t produce faith. They strengthen our faith, but the faith must come before the miracles.

As a matter of fact, I think if Jesus had tried to produce faith through miracles, he never could have done enough. He would have to come up with bigger and better miracles all the time, because we would want more.

Have you been asking for a miracle? No question God loves to respond to our need, but before you ask for that miracle, ask God to increase your faith. God is looking for faith; in fact, without faith it’s impossible to please God. And the Bible tells us faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). Your faith grows from spending time in God’s Word. That's where faith finds its birth. Then, as your faith is strengthened, you can pray in faith for the miracle you need.