persistence bedrock of faith

What if you ask God to heal you and He does not do it.  I once was told this story by a pastor several years ago now. He said, if we pray for two men to be healed and He heals one but not the other then the reason God did not heal the other because He did not want to. He either even had a lesson to teach the other one or else He wanted the other one to do some suffering for his own good, etc.

Notice that this is in direct opposition to the definition of faith. First of all since faith is belief in things that are not as though they were, then who was it that quit faith altogether and decided God, God Himself, did not heal? 

I think rather that is we who decided the game was over, and the gig was up that did not believe in any healing. We forgot along the way of unbelief that persistence is the bedrock of faith. If our persistence wavers or we pull it back and turn from the plow, then we do not believe. If there is no persistence then there is no faith. 

I will believe even after death, death of the body will not deter me. Why was I not healed? I only know I am to do what I am told to do, and no explanation outside of that will weaken my faith except make it stronger. This is what I speak. 

Unfortunately people who go to church to gain faith, are often given no incentive to build their faith. Rather they are left to sit and wait until they decide no answer is coming. What else is such a decision but the end of faith? There is nothing for them to do.

If we do not get an answer and our request to God seems to go down into the grave with Lazarus what then? I don't know, but I trust God anyway even though He kill me. So what if I do not have enough faith to hurl a mountain in the sea? The disciples could not heal the little boy but when they turned him over of to Jesus he was healed. Why they asked could we not do it? This came out only with much prayer and fasting, Jesus said. 

So faith comes in various degrees, some with little and others with great.  Those with little best go to work. But it does not mean I am not saved or will not go to heaven. It means I did not have enough faith to accept healing at that point. I might suggest we ask God... ask Jesus... ask the Holy Spirit to step in and shore us up. We can never say He does not do it until our persistence turns to jelly. I say I will persist anyway and never give up my faith. 

I do not have to know everything. I am a slave dead in Christ.