The Lord and his servants pray that the Father’s will be done on earth and in heaven. Faith is the means that determines to what extent this actually happens. In order for reality to align more closely with the Father’s will, someone has to feel, think, and do what they would otherwise not do.
Although the Lord has power to work all miracles, he can’t do them in all circumstances. The manifestation of God’s power on earth is limited by the faith of men:
For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them.... (Ether 12:12)
...the Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him... (1 Nephi 7:12)
`...he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever. (Moroni 10:7)`
When he visited the Americas after his resurrection, Jesus indicated that the great faith of the people made it possible for him to show them things he could not show those in Jerusalem:
35 ...So great faith have I never seen among all the Jews; wherefore <u>I could not show unto them so great miracles [as I have shown you], because of their unbelief.</u>
36 Verily I say unto you, there are none of them that have seen so <u>great things as ye have seen; neither have they heard so great things as ye have heard. (3 Nephi 19)</u>
Faith is the means by which God’s will is achieved. With faith, actions are taken to transform what is to what could be. No good thing can be obtained or maintained except through faith: “...by faith all things are fulfilled.” (Ether 12:3)
Your faith determines the frequency and intensity of God’s work to, in, and through you.
Do you truly believe that “the gate of heaven is open unto **all** , even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God?” (Helaman 3:28)
Do you truly believe that the only limit to your experiences with God is your faith?
God has explained that he is happy to send to us everything we are willing to receive:
...prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. (Malachi 3:10)
God will always give us everything we are willing to receive.
We are willing to receive what we are willing to desire, willing to understand, and willing to obtain. We are not willing to receive that which we are afraid of desiring, unwilling to learn sufficiently about, and unwilling to act in the necessary ways to obtain.
When it comes to what God is willing to give us, the water is already in the pipe, and there is more water than we can ever use. It will never run out. We control the flow of the water by turning on the faucet.
You control the flow of God’s blessings to you through the degree of faith you are willing to exercise. You control the flow of God’s blessings through what you are willing to desire, how well and how much you are willing to reason, and the set of actions you are willing to take.
Each of the components of faith are continuous attributes. How much desire do you have? How many reasons do you seek, acknowledge, and appreciate? How much are you willing to act given the reasons you have? How much knowledge have you accumulated?
The window of what we are willing to receive is comprised of what we are willing to desire, what degree of reasoning we are willing to apply and act according to, and how much we are willing to endure for how long to obtain what we seek.
The point of faith cycles is to persuade you to widen your window of receipt by becoming willing to suffer more, for longer, with less carnal support, with more thanksgiving, and with greater hope.