In this Episode we shall look at the topic-Effectual Faith.  
In our last episode we saw that God will not answer prayers made in doubt. I mentioned
that doubt is also described as wavering, uncertain or unstable faith which makes it the
opposite of effectual faith. We concluded that God does not answer prayers made in
doubt because they question His faithfulness.
If God would not answer prayers made in doubt and in an atmosphere of unstable faith,
it means He would only answer prayers made in confident assurance of His word. So in
this episode we shall consider what it means to have effectual faith in the word of God
and the result of such faith in our lives
While Hebrews 11:1 describes faith as an assurance and conviction that we shall
receive the things we hope for, effectual faith simply put is faith in what Christ
accomplished at the Cross. Effectual faith is an acknowledgment of every good thing
that we have in Christ.
Philemon 1:6 states- that the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the
acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus;. by the
acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. This is the King
James Version. The New Living Translation says… that your faith becomes more
effective as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ.
Paul’s message to us in Philemon 1:6 is that the way we activate our faith in the Word
of God; the way we receive effective faith is by understanding and acknowledging the
good things that Christ obtained for us on the Cross of Calvary.
This scripture does not state that our faith becomes effectual if, when and because we
have attained perfection; have fasted for 21 days or prayed by 12 midnight for 7 days. I
know that some people who pride themselves for their ability to fast for weeks or to
wake up by 12 midnight every day to pray may not like what I am saying. But I am
simply quoting the bible. Philemon 1:6… that our faith becomes effectual when we
acknowledge the good things that Christ has deposited in us.
Brethren, when we become born again, Christ deposits immeasurable good things in
us. God made you complete in Him when you gave your life to Him. He placed
everything we need to live a life of victory in us. He gave us all that pertains to life and
Godliness. He gave us every spiritual blessing in Heavenly places. He made us His
adopted Children. He made us partakers of His divine life meaning that a healthy life is
our heritage. He made us heirs and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, meaning that we have
a rich and incredible inheritance. He met all our needs according to His riches in Christ
Jesus. He took all our sins, sicknesses and diseases and healed us with His stripes. He
took the chastisement of our peace and gave us peace that the world cannot
understand.

The fullness of God is already in us. Effectual faith is not an expectation that God will do
what we pray for. It is the belief that God has already provided all we need.
Recall that in Episodes 18 and 19, we talked about the fact that once we get born again,
we receive a new identity in Christ and that based on our new identities, God has
provided uncountable blessings for us. However, these blessings are hanging in the
spiritual realm and we may only claim and receive them in reality when our minds have
been renewed with the Word of God.
So like I have continued to stress, our role is to consistently meditate on the scriptures
in order to discover those good things that God has placed in us, to activate them by
planting the Word like a seed into our lives and to keep acknowledging them as we are
learning today.
However, it seems that we prefer not to acknowledge the good things that Christ has
placed in us. In our every day utterances including our prayers, we prefer to
acknowledge and dwell on the lies of the devil; the negative reports he has placed in our
lives and the evil occurrences happening around us. We dwell on the bad things that
happened rather than the good things He has provided. Our prayer points always
revolve around—Every evil power holding us down; every force opposing our
breakthrough or destiny; and so on. And we spend hours on these prayer points. We
end up giving the devil more time in our prayers and magnifying his gimmicks instead of
acknowledging the good things that Christ has deposited in us which are really the
things we desire to experience.
Am I saying we should not do spiritual warfare? Not at all. But the truth is that Christ has
fought the battle on the Cross and won it on our behalf. Defeating the devil is one of the
good things that Christ did for us which we are to acknowledge. Colossians 2:15
says…having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them,
triumphing over them in it. He made a show of Him…..So we should not engage in
spiritual warfare to try to win the devil. This is where many of us are missing it. We are
still struggling with the devil to try to win the battle. But the battle has been won. We are
not supposed to battle with the devil from the position of a victim. We are supposed to
contend with him by proclaiming the victory that Jesus obtained for us at Calvary. We
are supposed to resist the devil by proclaiming Jesus’ victory over him at Calvary and
confidently commanding him to let go of what belongs to us.
So rather than spend all your prayer time doing a battle that Christ has already fought
and won and glorifying the devil, acknowledge the good things that Christ has deposited
in you including your victory over the devil on a daily and routine basis. This is a more
effective and lasting form of spiritual warfare because it comes from conviction.
The key is knowledge. We cannot have effectual faith without knowledge and
understanding of the word of God. The reason why many Christians are still battling with
the devil is because they lack the knowledge that Christ already won the battle on our
behalf. So they continue struggling from a position of the victim.

We are not experiencing the good things God placed in us because we are not
acknowledging them. Stop acknowledging only bad news, bad prophesies, negative
occurrences and attacks of the devil especially in your prayers.
In conclusion, effectual faith is the understanding not only that God can do whatever He
says; or that He will do whatever He says. It is the understanding that He has done all
He says he has done; the unwavering assurance that all He says He has done will
ultimately flow from the spiritual realm into the physical realm; and the communication of
this truth in all circumstances.
It is the confident assurance and acknowledgment that Christ accomplished all that
concerns us at the Cross of Calvary.
Personally, I can tell you that 95% of my prayers consist of acknowledging God’s
goodness to me. I never fail to appreciate Him for my beautiful life and the good things
He has provided for me. And my testimony is that the more I acknowledge His
goodness to me, the more I experience His goodness. So I am talking from experience.