What Is Spiritual Faith?

Have Faith in What?

We often think of faith as religious doctrine—the beliefs, rules, and rituals associated with organized religions, such as Christianity, Islam, or Buddhism. The same applies to the many different branches or sects of these religions, such as the Catholic, Sunni, or Theravāda faiths.

When used in this way, faith defines a system of religious rules, ideologies, and traditions. If we wish to affiliate with any particular religious group, we are expected to believe what they believe and to do what they do.

But when faith is defined (or confined) this way, it is not spiritually productive. Whenever we accept dogmatic teaching as the whole truth, it can inhibit our spiritual sensitivities and restrict our thinking. In effect, it shatters any hope of discovering deeper spiritual meanings.

Modern religion finds it difficult to adjust its attitude toward the rapidly shifting social changes only because it has permitted itself to become so thoroughly traditionalized, dogmatized, and institutionalized.

– The Urantia Book

Faith Is Confidence

Faith is better defined as simply having complete confidence or trust in someone or something. It is a firm belief in something for which there may be no empirical or objective proof. For instance, we could have resolute faith in the triumph of science, or persistent faith that our sports team will win. We cannot prove an event will occur, or that some spiritual force will act on our behalf, but we have unequivocal faith that it will.

When my son was just a toddler, he wanted to climb onto the mantelpiece above the fireplace (when houses had fireplaces). Cautiously, I stood him up on the shelf. He looked at me with a big smile and then, bursting into a laugh, he jumped from the ledge and flew right at me with his arms wide open. I was stunned for an instant, but caught him midair.

This was a turning point in my grasp of faith. I realized that my son’s complete trust in me—his unwavering faith that I would catch him in my arms—is the same trusting faith I have in the eternal love and infinite goodness of our heavenly Father. This is the uninhibited and courageous leap of faith, one completely free of religious doctrine.

The faith of a trusting child is an essential attitude of mind simply because it opens our consciousness to receiving the spiritual gifts of God. Accepting and believing that we truly are spiritual sons and daughters of God underscores our sincerity and trust in the loving support and divine guidance of a caring universe. I cannot begin to over-emphasize the spiritual importance of such trusting faith.

It is easy to dismiss faith as false hope or a belief in fantasy, but everyone believes in something—everyone has faith in something—otherwise we could not begin to function in the world. We all operate within an ideological framework we accept as true, and we all have strong convictions about the true nature of reality, with or without proof.

If you are an atheist, you have faith that there is no Deity, although you cannot prove it. If you are a humanist, you have faith in the inherent goodness of humanity, but you cannot prove it. And if you are a materialist, you have faith that all reality is material in nature, but you cannot prove it. You can have faith in anything you choose, so what will you choose?

Having faith in God means we choose to trust the eternal goodness, infinite love, and wise counsel of the holy Presence within us. We have faith that God will always help in the long run, even if it may not appear so from our limited viewpoints, and even if we are not consciously aware of that help. Despite all obstacles and challenges, we persevere with courageous faith in our divine destiny.

While having faith requires no empirical or objective proof, the outcome of faith is firmly bolstered with subjective proof. In other words, the evidence of the power of faith can be observed in our personal spiritual experiences and in our improving relationships with others. We can never prove these inner experiences to others, but we know them to be true.

The confidence of spiritual faith is a personal experience best described as a positive and trusting attitude toward divinity. Instead of a creedal formula or a set of principles, faith becomes a frame of mind in which we place enduring trust in the existence of spirit life, one coupled with our strong conviction about the goodness, wisdom, and love of God.

Faith Is a Psychological Technique

Just as there are natural laws of science, there are supernatural laws of the Spirit. One of these immutable laws is that neither God nor any of his celestial assistants will ever try to change or re-create you without your explicit consent. The Creator of a universe wants you to come to him—but only if you want to come of your own free will.

The Creator refuses to coerce or compel the submission of the spiritual free wills of his material creatures.

– The Urantia Book

It is therefore almost impossible for spiritual forces to help a doubting and reluctant mind. The crucial point about faith is that God and his angels function more effectively through a believing and willing mind. When we freely believe in the truth about God, when we have complete faith in his love and help, we fully enable spiritual forces to take an active role in our lives.

Faith is a psychological technique that takes us to the border of God consciousness and then empowers us to enter that domain. It’s a method used to reach beyond the limitations of reason and logic. Moreover, it’s a way of harmonizing our thoughts and behavior with divine truth, even if we cannot fully comprehend it.

Spiritual faith extends beyond any belief about the nature of material reality because humanity’s ideas about this vast universe are circumscribed and constantly evolving, just as scientific knowledge, social policies, and governments are evolving. As we saw, Galileo shocked the existing religious order because he contradicted current beliefs about the nature of reality—namely that the earth revolved around the sun—that it was not the center of the universe.

Faith, therefore, is more reliably based on supreme values and divine ideals rather than religious doctrines or fixed views about the nature of physical reality. Whenever religious beliefs become grounded in perceived material realities or fixed philosophical ideas, they stagnate, whereas faith in divine love is alive, vibrant, evolving, and adaptable.

Our faith in the goodness and wisdom of an infinite and eternal Creator works for the better because, in all truth, God is always good and perfectly wise. For all who have experienced the presence of God in their lives, he is real, even a fact. Although our minds cannot begin to grasp the full magnitude and magnificence of this First Source, we maintain faith in the oversight of a loving, friendly, and caring Creator who always urges us to be the best we can be.

Our spiritual thoughts and ideals cannot rise any higher than what we can imagine. Such faithful imaginings not only heighten our spiritual awareness but also become our spiritual compass, the inspiration that invariably points us in the right direction, forever enticing us to forge ahead—to achieve more in life. What a tragedy to limit our hopes and dreams to the dark confines of a cold, empty, and godless materialism. It’s no wonder so many good people imagine the future as a bleak and hopeless dystopia.

Humble and positive faith is a tool of consciousness; a necessary spiritual attitude for opening the door to the Divine Presence within you. It allows the Spirit to release its beneficial and dynamic superhuman activities into your consciousness. It is a positive and faithful attitude of mind that enables God to spiritually transform you.

Faith Is a Bridge

Faith creates a celestial bridge between the material mind and the spirit phase of existence. This bridge of faith is vital to spiritual progress because there is so much about spiritual reality and divine nature that the human mind simply cannot grasp with analytical reason alone. Our material thoughts lead us right up to the door of the spirit dimension, but from that point forward, it’s our spiritualized channels of thought, as defined by our faith and as adjusted by the Divine Presence within, that lead us Godward.

Faith is a bridge to spiritual insight. We discern outward beauty with the physical senses, and we discern truth with the intellect. But only with spiritual insight can we begin to fully grasp divine realities. Having faith in the goodness of our Creator, which is an absolute truth, allows us to enter the reality of the spirit realm despite the intellectual limitations of the mind. It’s our ticket to divinity.

It’s what we believe rather than what we know that determines what we can achieve in life. All the knowledge in the universe will not necessarily make us happy, nor help us to progress in the spirit. But the good news is that faith can do these things because it reaches beyond knowledge and embraces spiritual realities we may not (as yet) comprehend.

The humble attitude of a faithful mind is at the heart of spiritual progress. It is the supernal approach to the magnificence and glory of an eternal and infinite God.

Living Faith

Faith begins with our unwavering conviction about the goodness, wisdom, and love of God. But genuine faith goes one step further. For faith to reach its full potential of bridging the gap between the material and spiritual worlds and thereby transforming our lives in the process, we must live our faith.

The spiritual truths gained through faith become a reality in our lives as soon as we begin to practice them. The whole notion of living faith is living a life in the spirit eagerly and happily. It’s living a life dedicated to the divine ideals and supreme values we so ardently profess to believe.

It’s impossible to achieve spiritual harmony and divine unity through mind alone. Even though meditation and prayer are excellent ways to enhance spiritual perception and contact divinity, they are not enough by themselves. Only by acting out our faith in all sincerity can we coordinate and unite the energies of body, mind, and spirit. By acting out our faith, we actualize it—we make it a reality within ourselves.

Living our faith is a divine privilege. It’s a happy endeavor done with enthusiasm and love; it’s meeting daily challenges with vigor and inspiration; it’s remaining undaunted in the face of all disappointments and failures; and it’s cultivating an indomitable spirit that perseveres regardless of life’s difficulties and despite all worldly strife.