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Faith is the ceasing from our own works
and the resting in God’s work.
— Andrew Murray
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The Work God Actually Asks of You
There’s something in us that wants to perform our way into clarity with God. Even when it comes to faith, we can easily turn results, or the lack thereof, into a reflection of our own efforts.
In John 6, people come to Jesus and ask what feels like a sincere, spiritual question:
“What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (v. 28). They had just seen Jesus miraculously feed thousands, and they wanted in on the action.
Jesus, c’mon, give us the steps. The system. The way to get this right.
Jesus responds with an answer that almost feels too simple, He says, “This is the work of God, that you believe in [me]” (v. 29).
Why We Keep Trying to Earn What He’s Already Offered
If we’re honest, simply believing might be the hardest thing of all. Because belief requires rest. It requires trust. It asks us to release control instead of tightening our grip. We can’t manufacture belief, optimize it, or stand over it as something we’ve achieved.
“This is the work of God, that you believe in me.” I think Jesus is challenging a deeper and darker disconnect.
In the chapter before, He tells a group of religious leaders, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life . . . yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life” (5:39–40).
They knew the text. They understood the religious system. They had built their lives around it. But they missed the person, they couldn’t recognize the embodied Word.
Jesus even says that His way wouldn’t leave them feeling accused—but the very thing they trusted in, Moses and the written code, would. Because when the sum of our hope is in what we can interpret, perform, or uphold, we fall short. And what once felt like clarity becomes condemnation.
Belief Isn’t Passive — It’s the Hardest Kind of Rest
That’s the tension. We want life with God to come through our ability to understand everything, to get it right, to stay in control. But Jesus offers something different. Not belief from a distance—but belief that draws near. That participates. That rests in Him instead of striving to replace His work.
Respond
This week, notice where you feel the pressure to perform your way into peace with God. Where are you trying to solve what He’s asking you to surrender?
God does indeed have good work for you to do. But your strength and stamina come from knowing and living in the reality that “this is the work of God, that you believe in the one He has sent.”
Closing Prayer
Father,
Forgive me for the ways I’ve tried to perform my way into life with You.
For the times I’ve trusted in what I can understand, manage, or control.
Teach me to believe again,
not from a distance, but from a place of trust and rest.
Free me from the striving that leads to exhaustion
and from the pressure that leads to accusation.
Help me come to You,
and not just search for answers about You.
I receive Your invitation to believe,
and I trust Your work in my life.
Amen.
Praying with you,
Addison
P.S. If you’re new to this crew of people rediscovering prayer as a way of life, then welcome! I’m so glad you’re here. These prayer guides drop every other week.
P.P.S. If you don’t have the Words with God book and/or 40-day Prayer Journal, those are great resources to guide you into living prayer.