Real faith reaches down and grabs a lame man expecting to see God work (see Acts 3:1-9). No one in the hall of faith, located in Hebrews 11, accomplished God movement without first over-extending themselves to what is beyond the natural man's reasoning. Even Jesus spat in the dirt and made some spiritual eye salve (John 9:1-7), put spit in the eyes of a blind man (Mark 8:22-25), and gave a man a wet willy (7:32-35) all in the pursuit of God's will. Real faith drowns out the fear of what people think is over-reaction and accomplishes God's will.
There is a way that seems religious to others that does not accomplish God's will. True faith moves beyond the desire to look spiritual to the desire to speak God's will into existence. To me, faith is like throwing a baseball. I know when I rear back with God's word, when I hurl it out of my mouth, it is going to make an impact. That word is going to hurt something; it is going to pop satan in the mouth. God's word trumps satan every time, not me.
I used to look at faith like jumping off a cliff into the water. You wait until you get enough nerve and then leap. I would wait until I felt my faith was the strongest and then pray. At times I walk in great faith and in others, I have little faith. True faith comes from living in the word and the word living in you. "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7 NAS
If someone abides some place it dwells there. Many people know the word of God, but they are not at the point of it living inside them. The person is just a dwelling; the word of God is what actually lives. This is what Paul was saying when he said, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20).
