How do I get faith if I have none?

General Faith
1

Hi everyone,
I am seeking advice. A lot of people in my family are Christians, and they have faith in Christ. Either through being raised that way, or finding Christ through experiences in their life, they have faith.

I feel like I am missing something crucial which would enable me to have faith.
I’m not an atheist, not an agnostic, not a denier.
I want to believe, and I’m actually envious of people who have faith.

I’ve been told that just reading the Gospels will bring me closer to God, but I’ve read the Gospels and I didn’t feel anything different.

My main issue is this: If God/Jesus have no presence in my life, how could I possibly have faith in them? I just don’t understand and I feel like something’s missing in me.

1 Like
2

Welcome @JumboPaperClips. Glad you are here. It is completely normal to feel this way, and wanting to believe while feeling unable to “feel” it does not mean you are broken or missing a crucial piece. In fact, scripture shows that God often meets people right in the middle of this exact tension.

You mentioned reading the Gospels and not “feeling” anything different. Faith in the Bible is rarely described as an emotional high or a sudden sensation. Hebrews 11:1 defines it this way:

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

2 Corinthians 5:6-7 reminds us of this.

“So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Expecting a specific emotional feeling can inadvertently create a barrier. God often operates in subtle, quiet ways rather than dramatic emotional moments. You don’t need complete, unshakeable certainty to come to God.

One of my favorite passages is in Mark 9:24, where a father bringing his suffering child to Jesus cries out:

"Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

Jesus didn’t reject him for having incomplete faith; He met him right where he was and healed his child.

Remember, Thomas (John 20:24–29) needed tangible proof before he could believe. When Jesus appeared to him, He didn’t condemn Thomas for his doubt; instead, He extended His hands and said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Desiring to believe is actually the first movement of faith itself.

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

Hebrews 11:6 notes that God rewards.

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

The longing you feel, the envy of others’ faith, and the desire to know God is not a sign that something is missing in you. It is often the very subtle pull of God inviting you to keep seeking. If you feel God has no presence in your life, consider shifting where you look for that presence.

Faith is rarely built in total isolation. 1 John 4:12 says, “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us.” Sometimes God’s presence is experienced through the love, community, and support of believers around you before it is felt internally.

James 2:18 speaks to living out faith through actions. Sometimes engaging in acts of service, prayer, or worship. Even as an experiment of heart, precedes the feeling of connection. Ask God directly and simply: “God, if You are there, make Yourself known to me in a way I can understand.” God welcomes honest, persistent conversations.

You are not missing a “faith chip.” Your openness and honesty are the very foundation upon which genuine, lasting faith is built. Keep seeking, stay patient with yourself, and don’t measure God’s presence solely by immediate feelings.

Be blessed, be a blessing.

Peter

4 Likes
3

Faith is another word for trust. We place our trust in that which we come to see as true.

Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Since the word of God is truth, one comes to see that it is trustworthy. The “good news” (gospel) that Jesus died, was buried, and rose again to pay for our sins is that in which one can trust and that trust creates the condition in which we can receive salvation.

1Co 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
1Co 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
1Co 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1Co 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Many things can keep us from trusting in Jesus. For example, the promulgation of the idea of evolution has been pretty effective to undermine the faith of some. However, just because so-called important people advance an idea or that many people accept it does not make it true. Sometimes taking a critical look at an assertion can expose faults. If one were to take a look at a summary of evolution, it might be summed up as, “Nothing existed and then it blew up and became everything which then organized itself into us”.

As one cuts through the baloney in the world, that which is true becomes more apparent.

1 Like
4

There’s different ways to increase your faith. Faith comes by hearing the word of God so don’t stop reading/praying, or listening to youtube teaching videos by Pastors. Scripture shows you why you love the Lord and trust Him. I make proclamations every day, I trust you Lord, I trust you, I trust you… Lord help my unbelief.

Another easy way to increase your faith is by listening to peoples testimonies of when God did something supernatural to help them. Very encouraging.

Another way is to step out in faith and hand something over to the Lord which is troubling you. Or lay hands on someone and heal them. I can attest to handing things over to the Lord to handle for me and seeing Him respond! When you do an act of faith like that, the balls in His court, that’s what He does. It’s in His job description, lol. I have several testimonies of faith being answered for me. And let me tell you Brother, when you step out in faith, and He answers it…it DOES increase your faith!

I can not in good conscience recommend that you pray, Lord increase my faith…because I did this and I got so dumped on with tribulation that it wasn’t funny. So be sure what you want before you pray and ask! I did come out of it with more faith, but it was hard and not pleasant at all.

They say that Faith is a four letter word, lol. You spell it, R-I-S-K. Take a risk in faith and watch the Lord move. Truth.

2 Likes
5

Welcome to the forum,

May I make two suggestions.

1/ look for a christianityexplored course, from the Web site Christianity Explored

2/ start attending a church regularly that runs a christianity explored course and talk to the minister.

1 Like
6

Jumbo— You are making the same mistake many of us do. You are associating “faith” with “feelings”. “If I don’t FEEL God is near then He must not be there”. Acts 17:27 says that God is not far from any one of us. Faith is not “working up a feeling”–faith is actually just accepting that what God says is true.

I always think of that old story where a Pastor tells the church that they will gather outside in the park on Saturday and pray earnestly for rain. They live in a dry part of Texas and there has been a long drought. So on Saturday they all gather (about 50 people) and the Pastor begins to pray fervently—very loudly, crying out to God for Him to answer their prayers, and he is met with many “Amens!” from the crowd. They all tell God how much they believe in Him and many of them are worked up into a frenzy!! Then an old woman in the church steps forward and says “All of your prayers are all well and good. You are all very loud and emotional which isn’t a bad thing. But there is only one person here showing REAL FAITH that God will make it rain”.

The Pastor replies: “Wilma, how can you say that? We all are here in faith crying out to God.”

She says: “Only this little child here is showing real faith. She’s the only one who brought an umbrella”.

2 Likes
7

I think it’s easier to generate faith when we read the Bible and live as the Lord (God & Jesus) told us to.

1 Like
8

Hello Peter. Just wanted to add that was a beautiful response. Thank you!

2 Likes
9

Thanks to everyone for responding to my post.

What I have gleaned from your replies so far:

  1. Expecting a specific feeling can create a barrier to faith because God operates subtly
  2. Faith comes from trusting that God’s word is true
  3. Don’t measure God’s presence by immediate feelings
  4. I can live out faith through actions, like acts of service

It’s troubling to me that Faithful people never actually seeing or hearing God is common.
My mind works with things I can interact with, not blindly trust.
How can I accept the word of God when I don’t know God?
I would accept the word of my closest loved ones, because I have lived experience that tells me they are trustworthy.

Additionally, if I can’t measure God’s presence by feeling… how do I measure it then?
By crediting him with the good things in my life?

I would try to initiate a conversation with God but it would be futile because everyone tells me he won’t answer in that kind of way.

I’ll keep reading the Bible and taking notes, but the whole idea of Faith seems like circular reasoning, or pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps kind of thing. What I mean is, the circle of “Have faith in God, because God’s word is true, which you know because you have faith in God.”

In my response I don’t mean to dismiss or diminish anyone else’s replies. I am greatly appreciative for each one of them and I learned a good amount from reading them. Thanks guys,

10

Thank you for the kind words. May God be with you. Always.

Peter

11

How can you know God without the Word of God? Your honesty is refreshing. The questions you are asking about circular reasoning and how we can trust someone we haven’t seen face-to-face are completely fair. The Bible itself doesn’t actually demand ‘blind trust’ or self-generated feelings.

A few biblical perspectives that might help reframe these sticking points.

In the Bible, faith (pistis) doesn’t mean forced optimism; it means trust based on evidence. The Apostles didn’t ask people to believe because of a feeling, but because of historical events. Specifically, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus 1 Corinthians 15:14–17. Paul openly says that if Christ wasn’t raised in real history, faith is useless. You don’t have to “bootstrap” faith; you evaluate the reliability of Christ’s witness.

If not by subjective feelings, how do we know God is at work?

Trusting that His promises hold regardless of our temporary emotions 2 Timothy 2:13.

Seeing real, tangible shifts in love, patience, peace, and self-control in our lives and communities Galatians 5:22–23.

Seeing the signature of a Designer in the world around us Romans 1:20.

You mentioned that you trust your loved ones because of lived experience. Jesus actually offers a similar principle in John 7:17:

“If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.”

Sometimes, experiential knowledge of God doesn’t come before we act, but as we step out in obedience. You test His trustworthiness by living out His commands and seeing if His truth holds up in real life.

Don’t be discouraged by a lack of emotional lightning bolts. Keep reading, keep testing the claims of Scripture against reality, and ask God to reveal Himself to you as you read, even if it feels quiet right now.

Be blessed,

Peter

12

Brother…

You don’t need to manufacture a feeling that God is present, and you don’t need to pretend you have certainty that you don’t have. The Bible doesn’t tell you to believe because you have successfully produced the right feeling. It points you to God’s revelation, ultimately to Jesus Christ. Read the Gospels and examine the claims being made about Him. John explicitly says that he recorded Jesus’ signs so that people might believe, and Luke says he wrote so that his reader might know the certainty of what he had been taught. Biblical faith is therefore not “believe because you believe.” Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ (Romans 10:17).

And there is something else worth considering. You say you would trust the word of someone you love because you have lived experience that tells you they are trustworthy. That’s actually a good starting point. The biblical question isn’t merely “Can I feel God?” but “Has God revealed Himself, and is His testimony trustworthy?” Christianity says that God has revealed Himself in creation, through the prophets, and supremely in Jesus Christ. You don’t have to begin by pretending you already know God intimately. Begin by seriously examining the One whom Scripture says is God’s ultimate self-revelation: Christ.

As for God “answering” you, Scripture certainly contains people who cried out to God, asked questions, and waited for an answer.

But Christianity doesn’t promise that God will ordinarily answer us by an audible voice or give us a private supernatural conversation on demand.

The normative Christian foundation is God’s revealed Word. That isn’t God being silent. It is precisely one of the ways Scripture says He has spoken.

J.

13

As you by your own admission don’t know God, how can you say that Christians don’t experience or hear from God?

You are trying to get to know a being while simultaneously doubting what that being has said.

That is not how one builds trust with someone.

I posted earlier:-

May I make two suggestions.

1/ look for a christianityexplored course, from the Web site Christianity Explored

2/ start attending a church regularly that runs a christianity explored course and talk to the minister.

why not actually do that.

1 Like
14

When you read the gospels, you likely read about the man who was in tears over his son. The disciples couldn’t seem to help and then Jesus came along and asked what was going on. The young boy was having convulsions that threw him into danger. The father asked Jesus, “if you can do anything please help”, and Jesus answered that “all things were possible to those who believe.”
The father of the boy gave that famous reply. “Lord I believe. Help my unbelief” and in response, Jesus healed the boy. (Mark 9 with a bit of paraphrasing)

Faith is not an emotion or feeling, although our feeling usually catch up to what we believe. But in the beginning faith is a decision. We choose to believe and all else then falls into place. Some have described this decision as jumping off a cliff. Making that jump into believing in Jesus is taking on faith.
It’s a decision. When you live it out, you find out that it’s true. It’s a choice you make and a stand you take and then you will see the evidence of it. It isn’t seeing that brings believing, but it’s believing that allows us to see.
Anyone can make this choice and when you decide to believe Jesus you will find Him.

1 Like