Like a well-oiled machine, the human body can function perfectly if it is taken care of. With the proper nutrition and physical training, it becomes stronger and builds stamina. Without it, however, it becomes weaker, eventually shutting down altogether.

It is only by making a conscious effort to watch what you eat and exercise regularly that you enable the muscles and organs in your body to operate efficiently.

Of all the body's muscles, your heart is one of the most important. It is responsible for pumping the blood that carries much-needed oxygen and nutrients to the rest of your body.

If this muscle is not operating at 100 percent, everything suffers. Your heart must be strong and healthy if it is to supply the entire body with what it needs to continue developing properly.

The way to do that is by participating in activities designed to speed up your heart rate. This can be done through jogging, bicycling, swimming, taking aerobics, and dancing. These activities, done at least three times a week in 20-minute intervals, strengthen the heart muscles and ensure the healthy circulation of blood.

Now imagine having an underdeveloped heart—one that simply didn't work like it was supposed to. It would take a great amount of effort and energy to walk from one end of the room to the other. Your heart would beat twice as fast to make up for the lack of oxygen in your bloodstream. One by one the other systems in your body would shut down until eventually, you would die.

Faith Is the Heart Muscle
Just as a healthy heart is important to the body's performance, so too is your faith to your Christian walk. Spiritually speaking, faith is the heart muscle in the Body of Christ. It is the muscle that needs the most exercise.

You can attempt to use your prayer, tithe, and offering muscles as much as you want, but more than likely you will not get the results you're after.

You see, faith is the fuse to everything in life. Without it working properly, it is nearly impossible to believe that God hears and answers prayer, recompenses you for the offerings you give, or opens the windows of heaven because of your faithfulness with the tithe.

As a Christian, your life depends on the condition of your faith in God. That's what Paul was talking about in Hebrews 10:38. He said, "The just shall live by faith." In other words, faith is the prescription for life.

Begin the Workout
As part of your training, you must first understand that change is the key to developing faith. By change I mean "to make different; to follow a different course of action; to replace one thing with another; to undergo transformation, transition or substitution."

There must be a total transformation of how you think, speak, and live (Rom. 12:2). Change involves a redirected focus toward a set goal. In this case, it would be to develop your faith so it can operate at peak performance to achieve the desired results—the good life.

It's ridiculous to expect positive results in your life if you're not doing anything to change and increase your level of faith. Romans 10:17 says,

Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Child of God, you can't expect something for nothing. You must be willing to pay the price for whatever it is you desire. If you want greater faith, you must allow the Word to change you.

Over the years, I've had to make some changes where my physical condition was concerned. After the births of my daughters, I realized I needed to lose weight and tone my muscles. By doing this, I would also increase my endurance so that I could minister effectively without feeling tired.

I had a decision to make: change my lifestyle so I could lose weight, feel better and accomplish what God wanted me to do, or stagnate. I immediately made up my mind to change. I created a daily exercise program and began to eat healthier foods. To be perfectly honest, my flesh hated the discipline, but my spirit knew it was better for me to continue working out.

But results didn't come right away. It took time for me to build endurance and begin to see the fruit of my labor. After awhile, however, I began to notice a change in my body. It took longer for me to feel tired and get out of breath. I began to lose weight, and my muscles grew stronger.

In a few weeks I was feeling and looking great. The same is true when it comes to your faith. Although you may exercise it every day, it takes a little while to see the manifestation of all you're believing God for. You may get discouraged, but don't give up!  You must continue to discipline yourself in order to reap the rewards.

Creflo Dollar Ministries
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