There was a man named Jairus who was the ruler of a synagogue. He had only one daughter who was 12 years old, and she was at the point of death. There was a crowd of people around Jesus when Jairus came up and fell at His feet begging Him, My daughter is dying, but if you come and lay your hand on her, she'll live.

Jesus and His disciples followed Jairus as the crowds of people thronged Him. There was a woman in the crowd that had a bleeding disease for 12 years and had spent all the money she earned on doctors, but she only grew worse. When she heard of Jesus, she said to herself, If I only touch His clothes, I'll be healed. So she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched the hem of His garment. Immediately her bleeding stopped and she could feel that her plague was gone.

Jesus knew right away that virtue (power) had left Him when the woman was healed. He turned around in the crowd and said, Who touched me? When everyone denied it, Peter and the other disciples said, Master, the people crowd you and press you and you ask, Who touched me? Jesus said, Someone has touched me, I feel strength is gone out of me.

This is a fascinating thing about the power of faith. Throngs of people pushing and shoving, trying to get close to Jesus. Undoubtedly, some are accidentally bumping into Him, some reaching out to greet Him with a friendly pat on His arm, etc. But notice, the faith of the woman allowed the miracle of healing to flow from Jesus to her, even though Jesus didn't plan it. Of all the people touching Him, only the one with faith allowed the miracle to be released from Him.

When the woman realized that Jesus knew what had happened, she was afraid. Trembling, she fell down at Jesus feet and told Him in front of all the people why she touched Him and how she was instantly healed. Jesus said to her, Daughter, be glad, your faith has healed you, go in peace.

Just then, a person from Jairus' house came and told him, Your daughter is dead, there's no reason to trouble the Master any more. Jesus overheard and said to Jairus, Don't be afraid, only believe. At Jairus' house, many people were there crying and mourning for her, and Jesus said, Why are you making such a fuss? The damsel isn't dead, she's just asleep. They laughed with contempt at Jesus, knowing she was dead.

When Jesus put everyone outside, He took the father and mother of the girl and Peter, James and John into the house where the girl was lying. Jesus took the damsel by the hand and said, Little girl, arise. The girl's spirit returned to her and she got up immediately. Her parents were astonished. Jesus told them to get her some food and that they shouldn't tell anyone what was done, but news of it spread all through that land.

What's the difference between hope and faith? Uncertainty. When you hope for something, you aren't certain that you'll get what you hope for, but you wish you do. Of course, it's the attitude you have that we're really talking about, not the word hope. You've probably had faith many times before and called it hope, but it's what's in your heart that counts. When you have faith, you believe with all your heart that your prayer will be answered. Another cool thing about faith is that you leave the door open for God to adjust your desires to His will. In other words, if you want something and you ask in faith, you are really asking God to give you what He knows is best for you. If what you wanted isn't God's will, His blessing will be so much better than what you wanted in the first place, that you will understand what He chose to do! Knowing that could release more miracles in your life than you've been allowing, so ask in faith and watch them increase!