How to know if you're walking by faith or sight.

I know that the Christian life is one that is to be lived by faith (Hebrews 10:38). I even know that it is absolutely impossible to put a smile on God's face without faith (Hebrews 11:6). 

Yet, all too often, I don't feel like I'm living by faith. I sometimes feel like I'm living the mirror image (opposite) of 2 Corinthians 5:7 where it says: "for we walk by faith, not by sight."

A tell-tell sign that I'm living by sight is my periodic bouts of prayerlessness. I'm not saying that there are times when I don't pray. I seriously doubt there's ever been a day since I became a child of God that I haven't prayed. I'm referring to times when I don't spend significant times with God in prayer ... when I feel confident enough in myself that I don't sense my dependence upon God ... so I don't pray.

This morning, in one of the devotional books I read periodically, I came across the following verse. It records God's instruction to the Israelites as they began their wilderness wandering. They were given strict instructions to get enough food for one day but not to stock the pantry.

Exodus 16:4 (New Living Translation)

"Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Look, I'm going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions.'"

What's going on here? Why did God tell them only to get enough for one day and not two (except on Fridays when they were to get enough for the Sabbath)?

Simply put, God wanted to develop faith/trust in them. He wanted them to rely upon Him each day. He wanted to provide for their legitimate needs but at the same time keep them dependent upon Him.

Now, I don't believe that this command is timeless ... that every follower of God throughout earth's history should never save for a rainy day. After all, God led Joseph to stockpile Egypt's grain for the oncoming seven years of famine (Genesis 41).

However, I believe that if we are able to obtain more provision than we need in the moment, we must continually trust in God rather than grow faithless by trusting in what we have accumulated.

How do we know that we are living by faith? Easy. Answer the following question. 

What's your prayer life like?