Dallas Willard shares the following in Hearing God:
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, bur Christ who lives in me. (Galatians 2:20)
The faith but which Jesus Christ lived, his faith in God and his kingdom, is expressed in the Gospel He preached- the good news that the kingdom rule of God is available to humankind here and now. His followers did not have this faith within themselves, and they long regarded it is only His faith, not theirs. Even after they came to have faith in Him they did not share his faith. Once, in the middle of the sea of Galilee, The disciples boat was almost beaten under by the way why Jesus slept calmly. His disciples woke him crying, “Save us Lord, we are perishing (Matthew 8:25) Jesus reproachfully replied, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith? (Matthew 8:26). Now the disciples obviously had great faith in Jesus. They called upon him,, counting on him to save them. But they did not have his great faith in God. It was because they did not have his faith that he spoke of have a little faith they had. Some Christians too commonly demonstrate that the notions of “faith in Christ” and “love for Christ” leave Christ outside the personality as a believer. One wonders whether the modern translations of the Bible or not being governed by the need to turn our weakened practice into the norms of faith. Such exterior notions cannot provide the mutual abiding (John 15:5) that causes us branches to bring forth much fruit and without which we can do nothing. It is as such abiding branches that we, “we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son; so that, “much more now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life (Romans 5:10). Our additional life though is still our life, is also God’s life in us, His thoughts, His faith, His love, all literally imparted to us, by His word and Spirit.
Two things the disciples asked of Jesus, “Lord teach us to pray, and Lord increase our faith.” One day Jesus took Peter, James, and John up the mountain. While they were there, o father brought his son to the other nine disciples asking them to deliver him from the demons. They tried for almost the whole day. I imagine they used everything they had seen and observed Jesus do. They probably spoke the same words He had spoken. They might have laid hands as He had. After all their effort, nothing happened. Jesus comes down from the mountain, addresses the situation and immediately the boy is released and well. The disciples asked Jesus why all they did hadn’t worked and He had just spoke and it was done. Jesus said, This comes by prayer and fasting. Now before we run off and created another ritual, let’s remember that Jesus didn’t offer a formula but a pattern. When you read the Gospels, you will see that Jesus spent huge amounts of time connecting to the Father. He went often to be alone with God. You will remember that it was after a forty day fast that Satan came to Jesus in the wilderness. To have Jesus kind of faith requires living His kind of life. Let me sum up. He both prayed and fasted. He constantly surrendered His will and plans to the Father. He committed Himself to only do what the Father instructed Him to do. He stayed focused and committed to the plan of God. This is possible for each of us and any of us. Lord, teach us to pray and increase our faith in these troubled days!