Faith is a Thing
Faith is not a nebulous concept, a synonym for religion, or an action that can be done. Faith, as its creator Yahweh has revealed, is a thing.
Faith is something to be given; it is something to be received; it is something to be possessed.
1Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, proof of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1
As can be seen here, faith and hope are intimately connected.
Faith is the "substance" of things hoped for. This word, υποστασις ("substance"), comes from two words meaning "under" and "to hold." Thus, more accurately, it is the subsistence, or the foundation; that which stands under another as its base. Faith is the grounding of the things hoped for. "Things hoped for," or "those [things] being expected." Without this foundation, what we expect or wait for will not stand but will fall to the ground into chaos.
Faith is also "evidence." This was a common word in the Greek of this letter's day, ελεγχος. It was often used in mathematical circles as something evident through demonstration. Aristotle defined it thus: "ελεγχος, or Demonstration, is that which cannot be otherwise, but is so as we assert." It is like a theorem, or something that is used as a rule because it can easily be proven to be true.
Of what is faith "evidence?" Of "things not seen." More accurately than "things," it is of "deeds," "actions" or "practices" not seen. Faith is the rule, which can be proven through simple demonstration, of those works which cannot be seen. It is the doorway into the invisible. It is the way of life to confront the unseen.
Faith, then, is not something to be conjured. It cannot be wished, nor can it accumulate. It is a tangible thing that has a specific identity and purpose. It is the foundation of that which we expect and the rule of unseen works. Once it is received, faith gives its possessor the key to the spiritual life; that beyond the natural senses, beyond what can be naturally comprehended.
Faith is a thing! It is offered and has been given! And we must receive it!
Receiving Faith
Because faith is a thing, something to be possessed, and not done, it must then be received. While writing of the glorious Gospel of God's Son to the Roman Christians, the apostle Paul explains how it arrives.
17So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17
Faith comes "out of hearing." There is no verb in this sentence; it is "So, faith... out of hearing." It is a noun sentence which is a simple definition. It defines faith's source. It exists out of hearing. "Hearing" means an audience, the act of listening. Not just physical hearing, but the act of giving one's ear.
Hearing comes "through God's spoken word." There is no article here, showing that it is not any specific word from God, but His spoken word in general. Elsewhere this word is personified as the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). The Spirit is Yahweh's active Word, His Voice. Through Him is the giving of one's ear.
I recorded a dream I had in which I met the Holy Spirit and His message to me was, "Listen to Me." This is the same testimony given by the apostle. The hearing out of which faith comes is through God's spoken Word, His Spirit. When we give audience to the Holy Spirit, faith has its source realized in our lives.
Therefore, faith is ultimately received by giving audience to the Holy Spirit, Yahweh's spoken Word. Once we receive this thing called faith, we will have the foundation of the things we are expecting, and the rule of the things we cannot see. We will have the key to living victoriously in the Kingdom of Yahweh.