Question: The question, ["How do I get more faith?"](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/1308/how-do-i-get-more-faith) has been posted here. When I read it, my mind went to the time the disciples and Jesus had a similar dialogue:

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> [Luke 17:5-6](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2017:5-6&version=NIV1984)
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> The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
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> He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
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It sounds like the disciples are asking Jesus *"How do I get more faith?"* (or perhaps they are demanding?) but Jesus' answer sounds to me like He is saying, *"Yes, it would be great if you had more faith."* But His answer doesn't help people with little faith.

So, how should I interpret His answer?

Answer: 
Jesus was saying to the apostles that *they didn't need more faith.*

Faith is not an act, although it can be demonstrated by the way you act. Rather, faith is an attitude, an understanding that things will work out as they should, under God's plan.

There are many places in the Bible that basically say not to try and do things all by yourself. *"Rely not on your own understanding,"* but on God's. Faith doesn't require effort; it requires surrender. Surrender is hard, not because it is something we must "do," but because it is something we do not always allow.

Faith is not something you can "measure." In a very real sense, there is no such thing as "more faith." You can not surrender "more," you can only surrender completely.
I think Robert Harvey's answer (above, in the comments) was the best:

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> "Jesus was saying to the apostles that they didn't need more faith."
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I found this very profound as it totally changed my attitude to what Jesus was saying. Like I wrote above, I thought He was saying something similar to, *"Shame you don't have more faith"* but what He is actually saying, according to Robert, is that **they already have all the faith they need!**

This makes complete sense to me. Rather than thinking, *"I don't have enough faith"* I should just assume I do and keep [persistently praying](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2018:1-8&version=NIV1984).