Writers 
Many of us do not appreciate how faith works. We are so used to living from what we can see, hear, and touch that we have great difficulty moving into the realm of faith. If, for example, someone asks us how we are doing, we usually respond based on the condition of our bodies or our souls. We focus on our illnesses or the depressed thoughts that are weighing us down and neglect to mention the many blessings God has promised us. These promises have a much greater impact on our lives than our physical diseases and our emotional struggles.
If someone asks you how you are doing, tell them that you’re blessed. You might not look like it, but God’s blessings are in you somewhere. And each time that you say you are blessed, the blessings within you grow. Eventually what you say and what you see will match.
Faith sees what hasn’t been manifested. It deals with what exists but is invisible. The minute you manifest something, it no longer requires faith, because faith is believing, conceiving, and releasing (speaking) until you receive what you desire. “Faith is being sure of what (you) hope for and certain of what (you) do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).
THE FAITH PROCESS
Faith begins with belief. Actually, faith in someone or something requires unquestioning belief that does not require proof or evidence from the one in whom you have faith. The New Testament word for faith, means “to believe another’s testimony.” Thus, faith requires you to function by believing first, instead of seeing or feeling first. Faith requires you to function by believing first, instead of seeing or feeling first.
That often creates a problem, because faith requires putting your body under the control of your spirit. Your body says, “I’m not going to believe it until I see it.” But God says, “If you’ are going to operate like Me, you aren’t going to see it until you believe it.” Likewise, the world says, “I’ll buy shares in your company when I see strong growth,” when God says, “Let’s get on now with building your business.” One operates by sight, the other by faith.
Living by faith also requires that you put your soul under the control of your spirit. Your soul governs your emotions, your will, and your mind. When you live from your soul, you allow information from your physical body to govern your decisions. Your soul says, “I’m unhappy because the outward circumstances of my life aren’t what I’d like.” Just because you don’t feel what
God is saying to you, don’t refuse to believe that He knows what He is talking about.
After you believe God’s promises, you must begin to see (conceive) them in your life. Seeing and looking are very different. Looking regards the outward appearance, while seeing considers the existence of things that are not yet visible. Many look, but few see. God sees, and He requires that you see. He asks you to act as though you already have what you requested.
After you can see something, you have to release it. In Genesis, God looked at the darkness and saw light. Although the light existed, it was not made visible until God spoke it into being. The same thing happened in the life of a young girl who was visited by the angel Gabriel. Although she was engaged to be married, she had not yet known a man. Imagine her surprise when Gabriel told her that she would give birth to a son who was to be named Jesus. Mary could have argued that this was impossible, but she calmly asked: “How will this be since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34) By faith Mary believed the words of the angel “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you” and released the birth of Jesus— “May it be to me as you have said.”
God is still sending angels to speak things that run contrary to our usual expectations. He says to men and women, “You will have a dream and it will come to pass.” Then He waits for our words of confirmation: “May it be to me as You have spoken.” But what you speak must follow what you believe. Words themselves have no power. Only when words are accompanied by belief can they release God’s desires for your life. The apostle Paul illustrated this when he spoke what was already in his heart: It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence (2 Corinthians 4:13 -14).
Faith is required of all who want to please God. Hebrews 11:6 warns us that “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him,” and Romans 1:17 says, “The righteous will live by faith.” You were created to live by faith. God established faith as the only system through which men and women can touch His power. Potential demands faith, and faith makes demands on potential.