Overseer of God’s Remnant Assembly Akintayo Emmanuel Looks at How to Develop Unshakable Faith in God
How do we develop faith in God — not mere reliance or confidence — but unwavering, unshakable faith that sustains and elevates us as we journey through life’s inevitable ups and downs? According to Akintayo Emmanuel, the Overseer of God’s Remnant Assembly in Columbia, Maryland, we do this through love, prayer, and surrender; all of which are revealed by Mark 11:22–24, which proclaims:
“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
Developing Unshakable Faith through Love
According to God’s Remnant Assembly, some people who read this incredible passage in the Gospel of Mark skim past the phrase `in his heart’ — even though it is an incredibly vital part of the teaching. What it tells us is that our faith must be from the heart, and therefore, rooted in love. We cannot have just a cognitive or intellectual aspiration. Our faith must not be passive. It must be active and energized by love.
Developing Unshakable Faith through Prayer
Akintayo Emmanuel notes that we also learn in Mark 11:22–24 that to achieve unshakable faith — the kind that can move mountains — we must communicate our loving, heartfelt desire through prayer. This means we must be clear and focused on what we want, and it also means that we must bow down to the Lord in obedience and open our hearts to Him. We are not to give instructions or place orders. At the same time, says God’s Remnant Assembly, we do not necessarily need to be in church, or demonstrate any outward act if it is not feasible or practical to do so. It is said that all is holy where devotion kneels. If we cannot kneel externally, then we can sit somewhere quietly — even if the world around is frantic and noisy — and kneel internally.
Akintayo Emmanuel on Developing Unshakable Faith through Surrender
According to God’s Remnant Assembly, surrender is surely the most difficult aspect of developing unshakable faith, but it is as essential as love and prayer. When we communicate with God — even if we do not necessarily want something for ourselves but wish that all people receive His love and mercy — we must accept that the desire has been fulfilled. That is, we must let go and trust that God will guide us and others.
If we feel anxious about something — and in life, we are often full of anxieties such as if we are waiting in the emergency room in the hospital to hear the news about a sick loved one, or if we are urgently hoping to get a job to support our family — we should remind ourselves that God knows all, sees all, and does all. He is not like the CEO of a big corporation who is busy and may or may not get our voicemail or the email. A loving, heartfelt prayer is always received, says God’s Remnant Assembly, and when combined with surrender, is always fulfilled in a way that is always best for us in the big picture.
