23 Bible verses about faith for anyone with more doubt than certainty
Written by Maria Luisa Navarro Schmitt · Reviewed by Raphael Navarro Schmitt ·
Short answer
Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not apparent — the definition the Bible gives of itself. Romans 10:17 says where it comes from, and Mark 9:23 shows what to do with the faith that is still small: ask for help with your own unbelief.
The Bible rarely defines anything, and faith is one of the few things it does define — in Hebrews 11:1, in a sentence of two halves. Neither half mentions feeling. Faith is described as substance and as evidence, two words from contracts and courtrooms, not from emotion. That alone settles half the worry of people who think they have no faith because they feel nothing.
The other half is settled by looking at who, in Scripture, gets praised for having faith. They are people who ask questions, who get the sums wrong, who sink halfway across the lake, who believe and ask for help with their unbelief in the same breath. Not one of the Bible’s people of faith got there without doubt. What sets them apart is where they took the doubt.
The list runs in three parts: first what faith is, then how it shows up in actual people, and finally what happens to it when life presses. If you only have a minute, read Mark 9:23.
All 23 verses, one by one
Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not apparent.
The definition, and the two words chosen belong to the language of property and proof: substance and evidence. Faith here looks more like a title deed than like a beautiful feeling.
Read the chapterBut without faith, it is impossible to please God. For whoever approaches God must believe that he exists, and that he rewards those who seek him.
The minimum content is surprisingly small: believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. There is no requirement to understand everything before starting.
Read the chapterTherefore, faith is from hearing, and hearing is through the Word of Christ.
It answers everybody’s practical question — where faith comes from. The answer is not effort or mystical experience: it is hearing. Which makes faith something received, not manufactured.
Read the chapterFor we walk by means of faith, and not by sight.
One short clause dropped into the middle of an argument about death. It is the summary of the whole subject, and it sits there almost as a side remark.
Read the chapterBehold, he who is unbelieving, his soul will not be right within himself; but he who is just shall live in his faith.
Written by a prophet who spends two chapters complaining to God. It is the line Paul would quote three times, and it is born inside a complaint, not inside a calm certainty.
Read the chapter8For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not of yourselves, for it is a gift of God.
9And this is not of works, so that no one may glory.
Faith appears as the means, and salvation as the gift. This text and the one from James just below are the two poles of an argument that runs through Christian history — worth reading both before deciding what you think.
Read the chapterThus even faith, if it does not have works, is dead, in and of itself.
The other pole. James and Paul were writing to different problems and used the same word in different ways; the traditions still describe how the two fit together in different terms. What both texts affirm together is that real faith shows up in a life.
Read the chapterI live; yet now, it is not I, but truly Christ, who lives in me. And though I live now in the flesh, I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and who delivered himself for me.
Paul speaks of faith in the continuous present: living this life in the flesh by means of it. Not a decision in the past, but what is holding up today.
Read the chapterLet us gaze upon Jesus, as the Author and the completion of our faith, who, having joy laid out before him, endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and who now sits at the right hand of the throne of God.
If Jesus is called the Author and the completion of faith, then neither its beginning nor its end depends on your performance. This is the verse for anyone who feels responsible for keeping their own faith standing.
Read the chapterFor all that is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world: our faith.
Notice what is identified with what: the victory IS our faith, not the result of it. The text equates the two rather than promising a prize at the end.
Read the chapterBy faith, the one called Abraham obeyed, going out to the place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
The detail that makes the story: he went out not knowing where he was going. Faith here is not having the map, it is leaving without one.
Read the chapter20And then, in the Promise of God, he did not hesitate out of distrust, but instead he was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,
21knowing most fully that whatever God has promised, he is also able to accomplish.
Paul describes Abraham being strengthened in faith. It is a verb of process, not of state — his faith grew across twenty-five years of waiting.
Read the chapterAnd he said to her: “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace, and be healed from your wound.”
Said to a woman who had spent everything on doctors and came up behind him, ashamed. Jesus calls faith something that looked like desperation.
Read the chapterAnd upon hearing this, Jesus was amazed. And turning to the multitude following him, he said, “Amen I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.”
The one time Jesus is described as amazed by someone — and it is a Roman officer, from outside Israel. The praise goes to a man who understood authority, not to a man who knew theology.
Read the chapterAnd Jesus said to them, “Why are you afraid, O little in faith?” Then rising up, he commanded the winds, and the sea. And a great tranquility occurred.
The rebuke comes before the miracle, which is easy to miss. Jesus calls them little in faith while they were, in fact, about to sink — the danger was real.
Read the chapter29And he said, “Come.” And Peter, descending from the boat, walked over the water, so as to go to Jesus.
30Yet truly, seeing that the wind was strong, he was afraid. And as he began to sink, he cried out, saying: “Lord, save me.”
31And immediately Jesus extended his hand and took hold of him. And he said to him, “O little in faith, why did you doubt?”
Peter is the only one who gets out of the boat and the only one rebuked. Notice the exact moment he sinks: when he stops looking at the one who called him and starts looking at the wind.
Read the chapterJesus said to him: “You have seen me, Thomas, so you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
The blessing is for those coming later — that is, for you reading this. And it is said to Thomas with no humiliation in it: Jesus met his request before commenting on it.
Read the chapterAnd immediately the father of the boy, crying out with tears, said: “I do believe, Lord. Help my unbelief.”
The most honest sentence in the whole Bible about faith, and it contradicts itself on purpose. The father does not pretend to have more than he has — and the boy is healed anyway.
Read the chapterJesus said to them: “Because of your unbelief. Amen I say to you, certainly, if you will have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it shall move. And nothing will be impossible for you.
The measure is not the size of the faith but the size of what it reaches. Which is why the comparison is with the smallest seed those people knew.
Read the chapter2My brothers, when you have fallen into various trials, consider everything a joy,
3knowing that the proving of your faith exercises patience,
4and patience brings a work to perfection, so that you may be perfect and whole, deficient in nothing.
The chain is trial, patience, completeness. James does not ask for joy over the difficulty itself — he asks for joy over what it produces, which is a very different thing.
Read the chapter6In this, you should exult, if now, for a brief time, it is necessary to be made sorrowful by various trials,
7so that the testing of your faith, which is much more precious than gold tested by fire, may be found in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
The comparison with gold tested by fire is technical: fire does not destroy the gold, it separates out what is not gold. That is what a crisis does to second-hand faith.
Read the chapterIn all things, take up the shield of faith, with which you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one.
Faith as a shield, not as a sword. Its job in this image is defensive: stopping what comes at you, not taking ground.
Read the chapterI have fought the good fight. I have completed the course. I have preserved the faith.
It closes the list because it is an end-of-life reckoning, written by a man who knew he was reaching the end of the road. Keeping the faith appears as an achievement, and he speaks of it in the past tense.
Read the chapter
Frequently asked questions
What is faith according to the Bible?
Hebrews 11:1 gives the definition: the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not apparent. Both words come from legal and commercial language, not emotional language. Biblical faith is not feeling something — it is leaning on something, even when the feeling does not follow.
How do I increase my faith?
Romans 10:17 points to the ordinary route: faith comes from hearing. It grows by repeated contact with the Word, not by an effort of will. Luke 17:5 shows the apostles themselves asking Jesus for that increase, which already indicates it is not something you manufacture alone.
Does having doubt mean I have no faith?
No. Mark 9:23 records a father saying he believes and asking for help with his own unbelief, and his son is healed. Thomas doubts in John 20 and is given the proof he asked for. Doubt brought to God is treated in Scripture as part of faith, not as its opposite.
Are we saved by faith or by works?
The Bible states both texts: Ephesians 2:8-9 says salvation is a gift received through faith, and James 2:17 says faith without works is dead. How the two fit together is one of the oldest arguments between the traditions, and each describes it differently. What all of them affirm is that real faith produces an effect in a life.
Which verse about faith should I read on a day when it is weak?
Mark 9:23, because it already assumes weak faith and takes it to God anyway. Hebrews 12:2 helps when the weight is feeling responsible for keeping your own faith standing: the one who began it and the one who finishes it is not you.
A prayer to take with you
Lord, I believe — and at the same time I do not believe enough, and both are true today. Help my unbelief without waiting for me to fix it first. Let me walk by what you said, even on the days when I can see nothing at all. Amen.