Now faith is the substantiating of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. HEBREW 11:1
Faith, by its very definition, deals with realities that are not visible to the natural eye. It gives substance to what has not yet manifested and conviction toward what cannot yet be proven in the natural realm.
• In order to see a thing that is not yet seen, we must engage our imagination.
• We imagine what we believe and what we have faith for.
• This creates a cycle. Imagination feeds faith, and faith expands imagination.
• Faith and imagination work together. When imagination is partnered with faith, belief begins to take form and direction.
Imagination is not fantasy. It is the God-given capacity to perceive what He has promised before it becomes visible.
17 (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; Romans 4:17 “I have made you the father of many nations.” He is our example and father, for in God’s presence he believed that God can raise the dead and call into being things that don’t even exist yet.
• Calling things that are not as though they are requires forming a conscious inner picture of something that does not yet exist.
• That inner picture is imagination.
Abraham had to see himself as a father long before Isaac was ever born. God did not ask Abraham to deny reality. He asked him to believe a higher one.
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, Ephesians 3:20
Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you and accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, and exceed your wildest imagination. He will outdo them all, for his miraculous power constantly energizes you.
• As we imagine the things of God, we must stretch ourselves to apprehend what lies beyond natural sight.
• Faith is enhanced by imagination when it is rooted in God’s Word, His principles, and ongoing interaction with Him.
• This is one reason the enemy works so hard to contaminate our thoughts and distort our inner images.
• It is imperative that we keep our minds and imaginations pure.
• Through imagination, we give substance to God’s Word in our minds. When we read Scripture, imagination allows the Word to come alive, opening us to God’s impressions and intentions behind His words.
Imagination = Bridge
• Our hearts and minds must be aligned. Imagination functions like a bridge connecting what we know internally with what we believe spiritually.
• Imagination allows us to enter into God’s compassion. We are able to identify with Him, understand His patience, and perceive His dealings with people, such as His long-suffering toward the children of Israel.
• Imagination helps us receive and walk in God’s blessings by allowing us to see ourselves positioned within His promises.
9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 Things never discovered or heard of before, things beyond our ability to imagine. These are the many things God has in store for all his lovers.
• We cannot believe for something while continuing to see life only as it currently is.
• We must learn to form a mental and heart-level picture of what we are believing God for.
• Faith requires seeing ahead of the present moment and fixing our attention on the promised outcome.
• Faith is imagining and believing the desired goal as already accomplished in alignment with God’s will.
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12b
• This refers to what the heart thinks, considers, and meditates on. This is imagination at work.
• When we use our imagination to meditate on God’s will and His Word, it releases the power of His purposes into our lives.
• This understanding was on the heart of King Solomon when he wrote:
Commit your works to the Lord,
And your thoughts will be established Proverbs 16:3
• When we set our sanctified imagination on God, His will becomes clearer because imagination is one of the primary places where God communicates with us.
• A sanctified imagination is often referred to as “the eyes of our understanding” or “the eyes of our heart.”
18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, Ephesians 1:18
• When the eyes of our heart are enlightened, it opens access to deeper prophetic insight and spiritual revelation.
Spiritual Senses
• Just as we have natural senses, we also have spiritual senses. Imagination is part of our spiritual perception.
• The more we exercise this sense through soaking, stillness, and contemplative prayer, the more accessible this realm becomes.
• God always desires to speak to us. His thoughts toward us are innumerable.
• When we sanctify our imagination and quiet our own mental noise, God is able to insert His thoughts and impressions.
• This revelation opens the doors of spiritual understanding and divine communication within our imagination.
18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18
• You cannot see the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit, yet they are eternal.
• You cannot see your own soul, yet it will endure forever.
• Scripture instructs us to focus on eternal realities rather than temporary ones.
• How do you focus on what cannot be seen? You engage your imagination.
God did this with Abraham. He changed his name from Abram to Abraham, meaning father of a great nation. He instructed Abraham to go outside and count the stars, activating his imagination so he could visualize the promise God intended to fulfill.
“Come to me as little children”
• God invites us to come to Him as little children because children’s imaginations are open, responsive, and unguarded.
• God Himself possesses an extraordinary imagination. Creation itself reflects the vastness of His creativity.
• The human imagination is not only a gift from God. It is an aspect of being made in His image.
• God created the universe from nothing, perceiving past, present, and future simultaneously.
• Scripture itself engages imagination through descriptive language, imagery, and narrative, revealing that God communicates through and values the imaginative capacity He placed within us.
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