The Faith-Belief Dichotomy - James 2:19

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

 There is a difference between faith and belief. As has been pointed out before: faith is a function of the heart while belief is a function of the head. These two could also be thought of as zeal and knowledge, or passion and logic. You actually need equal proportions of both. As James points out - the devils also believe in God. But what good does that do them? While they have belief in God as sure or more sure than any man, their works run contrary to that belief because they serve not God.

There is a dance that occurs between faith and belief. Belief seems to come first as knowledge of certain things. Belief is composed of the totality of the knowledge that we feel is true. And this set of knowledge represents our unique lens through which we view and interpret the world.

Faith on the other hand is the actuation of that knowledge. For instance, I may have a belief that God wants me to be kind. That is a true principle. But supposing I know it, but decide not to strive for kindness. My actions do not reflect my belief, and thus my faith in that thing is taken away.

I personally believe that God is all-powerful, answers prayers, watches over us and helps us. I believe He has gifts to give at any moment to those who exercise faith. And yet I have tendencies to try and rely on my own knowledge and strength; to forget the gifts that are available. This shows a lack of faith on my part because although I believe that He can do anything, I don't act like He can.

I believe that God can send angels to minister unto men and perform miracles, and yet do I act like He does? Do I really expect to see those things in my own life? Or do I have some notion that those blessings somehow apply to the prophets and the special few but not to myself?

Truly belief and knowledge are actuated by works - faith and zeal. As we shape our perception and beliefs, we must act according to those beliefs or we don't have faith, and are in danger of losing that belief which we do have.