Anointed Word Ministries :: Faith & Believing

FAITH AND BELIEVING
Two separate things

Faith and believing are not the same. Fred Price uses this example to show the difference. Use your imagination as
you read this:

I have a question for you. The man said with his own mouth that he believed if he ate the food, it would keep him from
starving to death. The question is: Was that true? The man said, "I believe that if I eat that food it will keep me from
starving to death." Was what the man said true?

The man died with food in view. And he said with his mouth that he believe if he ate the food, it would keep him from
starving to death. Yet he died.

Why did he die? Because he didn't eat it!

What he believed was true. Scientifically and historically it is a proven fact, that if you eat food you won't die from
starvation. You may die from snake bite. But if you eat food, you won't die from starving to death.

The man believed that. Everything he believed was absolutely, positively, unequivocally true—yet he died! Why? He
died because he didn't eat the food. The eating of the food is faith! Faith is acting on what you believe.

Faith without corresponding actions is dead. Just like the man in this example. We not only believe what we pray will
come to pass, but we add our faith to it and consider it done. Because we know the Father hears us when we pray, we
know that He also answers our prayers.

A man staggers through the door, over to a chair. He prepares to sit down at a table but instead, HE
FALLS ONTO THE FLOOR.

Several people rush to his side. They pick him up and set him in the chair. He seems to be out of it. They
fan him, wake him up and say, "Brother, what's the matter? What's the matter with you?" Groggily and
weakly he answers, "I, I, I don't know. I don't know."

Somebody says, "I wonder if there's a doctor in this motel?" The group calls the desk. Sure enough there
happens to be a doctor in the motel. The doctor enters and makes a preliminary examination of the man.

THE DOCTOR: "This man is in the final stages of starvation. This man is suffering from malnutrition. He's
almost dead. Given another 30 minutes—all things being equal—this man will be dead. He's starving to
death."

The leaders get together and say, "Let's go down to the kitchen and see if we can get the chef to
prepare some food for this man. We certainly don't want him to starve to death." They enter later with a
four-wheeler, loaded down with all kinds of good food.

They wheel it up to the man and say, "Brother, do you see this food?" And he says, "Yes."

They say again, "Do you believe that if you eat this food it will keep you from starving to death?"

And again he says, "Oh yes, certainly I believe that if I eat that food it will keep me from starving to
death." Then he repeats it, "I believe that if I eat this food it will keep me from starving to death. I believe
that if I eat this food, it will keep me from starving to death. I believe that if I eat this food it will keep me
from starving to death." (Now remember, the doctor had given him 30 minutes to live.)

So 29 minutes and 50 seconds later the man is heard to say, "I believe that if I eat this food, it will keep
me from starving to d-e-a-t-h…” He falls to the floor. The doctor rushes to his side and declares: "This
man is dead."