Why is Faith so important to God?

In order to address this question, we first should understand what is meant by faith? Faith, in the general sense is simply “trust.” When someone says, “I have faith in you” they are in effect saying that they trust you; they have confidence in you. The Bible applies the same basic meaning. It’s a matter of trust. We trust what God’s tells us. We accept who Jesus claims to be and believe what He accomplished on the cross. One who exercises faith in Jesus Christ believes that He is the Son of God because the Bible claims that He is. For the same reason, he believes that Jesus died on a cross almost 2000 years ago for our sins and that He rose from the dead.

It all seems so very simple but the implications for the one who takes God at His Word are profound. Sin is forgiven, guilt is removed and the believer is given a standing of complete acceptance before God! Listen to what Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans:

“Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1)

In short, God does not condemn us. Rather, He will love and bless us and will do so forever.

So we return to our question, “Why is Faith so important to God?” The answer is actually rather straightforward. When are believe God we are, by implication, making an important statement.  To believe God is to acknowledge that He tells the truth and, is to recognise Him for all that He is

Consider God’s command to Adam?

“And the LORD God commanded the Man saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:15, 16)

Does this seem an excessively severe penalty for a single act of disobedience? It may appear so at first glace, but in God’s eyes it is a just penalty, “a penalty that meets the crime.” Not to believe God and consequently disobey is to reject His authority to issue such a command. It is in effect a refusal to acknowledge God as God. It is the exultation of self to the position of God. It is to regard God as an equal rather than a sovereign. This is the real issue. This is why the penalty is so severe.

When a man, woman or child exercises faith they are likewise, making a statement. The act of faith declares a heart attitude toward God. It is an acknowledgment that God is God and, that He has all authority. This is why faith is so important.

Hymn "I Love You Lord" by Laura Klein

I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice
To worship you, Oh my soul rejoice!
Take joy, my King, in what you hear
May it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear

Author

Laura Klein

A remote mobile home gleams faintly in the crisp Autumn sunrise. Within that metal refuge in the high deserts of central Oregon, a young mother is having a quiet time with the Lord. Her toddler is still asleep. Her husband is a full time college student, and the couple is surviving on $400 per month. They have no home church, no friends nearby, and she does not drive. Even the expense of a long distance phone call might leave them without milk or bread in weeks to come.

Such is the backdrop of Laurie Klein's classic praise song, "Love You, Lord", written in 1974.
"It was a very hopeless time, a very depressed time," she summarizes. "I felt the poverty of my own life keenly at that point, both emotionally and physically."
"That morning I was so empty," she says, recalling her time with the Lord. "I knew I didn't have anything to offer Him. I asked if He would like to hear me sing . . if He would just give me something He would be in the mood to hear."

Taken From:   http://www.ccli.com/worshipresources/SongStories.cfm?itemID=7

Prayer - How God accomplishes His plan and purposes

Nothing is more important to God than prayer in dealing with man. But it is likewise all-important to man to pray. Failure to pray is failure along the whole line of life. It is a failure of duty, service and spiritual progress. God must help man by prayer. He who does not pray therefore, robs himself of God’s help and places God where He cannot help man. Man must pray to God if love for God is to exist. Faith and hope, and patience and all the strong, beautiful, vital forces of piety are withheld and dead in a prayerless life. The life of the individual believer, his personal salvation, and personal Christian graces have their being, bloom and fruitage in prayer ….

… Prayer concerns God, whose purposes and plans are conditioned upon prayer. The days of God’s splendour and renown have always been great days of prayer. God’s great movements in this world have been conditioned on, continued and fashioned by prayer.

E. M. Bounds, The Weapon of Prayer, 1931

The following quote is taken from E. M. Bounds book, The Weapon of Prayer (1931). The importance of prayer in the life of the true child of God, as emphasized below, is needed as much today as ever. This exhortation however, only applies to the born again believer who has come to God through faith in Jesus Christ. Prayers offered by those who have no relationship to God on the basis of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross alone, are sadly ineffectual. But to the child of God, prayer is vital and effectual.

Eternal Life - For Today

 

^{“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent”  (John 17:3)}

^{Heaven is typically viewed in terms not wholly in line with the Word of God. It is considered a place of beauty, happiness and eternal life. Theses thoughts are not entirely incorrect but, they are incomplete. Jesus interpreted eternal life in the light of our relationship with the Father and the Son. The word “know” underscores the closeness of this relationship. Nothing else is mentioned. Eternal life will certainly have experiences, joys and relationships with others who will be there. There will be no more tears or sorrow and we can genuinely look forward to the beauty and wonder of God’s new creation. Yet for Jesus, all these pale in comparison with the glory of the close relationship we will enjoy with the living God.}

^{The marvel of it all is that this is something we can and should experience now.}

Holiness - Something Beautiful

Holiness

“Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty , give [ascribe] unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness”  (Psalm 29:1).

The root idea of “holiness” is that of separation or “withdrawal.” … a quality best describes as “alienness” in a divine sense.

Eerdmans, Dictionary.

The first prayer I learned as a child was the simple table grace: "God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for this food." The two virtues assigned to God in this prayer, greatness and goodness, may be captured by the one biblical word, holy.

 R.C. Sproul, Essential Truths

How little people know who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing, it is irresistible. 

C.S. Lewis, Letters to an American Lady