Family Finances & Prayer: Praying for Provision vs Money
My husband and I have always struggled financially. For many years we have done like millions of other families do, we resorted to the “borrow from to pay another” method to stay afloat. It never works out well. Eventually, it all comes to and we are left wondering if we did our best. Could we have done things differently? and why was our best not good enough? Although we always seek to pray our way through the situation, I have recently learned a valuable lesson in prayer that I wish I had known sooner.
Don’t pray for the money to pay your way through the trial,
ask for God’s provisions and resolution instead.
What does that mean?
The short answer: stop praying for money.
If you’re phone bill is due and you have no idea where the money to pay for it will come from, don’t pray for the money to pay the bill, take your struggles to Jesus. I know a phone bill can sound silly, but in November I had no idea how I was going to pay my cell phone bill. It’s the only phone we have and we further need it for work here on the blog as one of my main sources for internet. Instead of praying for the money to pay for the bill, I prayed about the bill being due and for Jesus to take care of our every need. Before the disconnect date, I received an email from the service provider with a three month credit on my account. Not only did God provide for my urgent need, but the matter was resolved for the next few months as well. What a praiseworthy moment that was!
Another time we didn’t have the money for dinner. (Dinner y’all! I’m serious, when I say we have “Been through it!”) We were down at the beach, praying through the problem while walking along the shore. A man walked up to my husband with a bag full of blue crabs. He and his family caught more than their share of crabs and he wanted to pass them along to us! — God didn’t just give us the money to go buy a few bags of Ramen, he fed us crab! That really spoke to me and said “He wants to bless us in ways we could never have imagined!”
God doesn’t just want your every need to be met, He wants you to completely understand that HE is your sole provider. Not money. The problem when we are constantly praying for “the money” to pay our bills (or whatever it is we need to pay for) then we aren’t leaving God the room to do what He wants to do, and we’re also expressing a love of money from our heart, whether we realize it or not.
I know there are many teachers out there today that will tell you that if you pray for money, you will get it, or that God wants his children to be wealthy. Stop. Stop praying for money. Although many may twist verses like ¹Philippians 4:19 to say God wants you to be rich, but that doesn’t mean He wants you to have money. The riches of heaven are far beyond the riches of this world.
What Does the Bible Say About Money?
Hebrews 13:5 — Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
1 Timothy 6:10 — For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Matthew 6:24 — No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money
Luke 16:13 — No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Ecclesiastes 5:10 — Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.
The next time you are praying over your family’s financial burdens, refrain from asking for money. Pray for God’s provisions without limiting His blessings. God always provides. Always! If you need breakfast for your children, He can provide breakfast for the whole week if you step aside and give Him room. If your rent is due and the money isn’t there, pray! Pray for Jesus to provide for your family. If your mortgage is late and you are in fear of foreclosure — pray for shelter for your family, protection, and divine intervention. His solutions to our problems will always be more amazing than we imagine!
I hope you know how much I love you and pray Mommy’s Playbook is a blessing in your life. If your family is struggling, please leave a comment and let us know how we can pray for you. ~ Victoria
¹Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus”
Victoria, this post spoke right to my heart. It’s something I needed to hear! I totally pray for money, and have often seen how God has already fulfilled my need before it was even a need. Still, though, it’s hard to have faith sometimes. You’re totally right about this. Thanks for putting it in perspective!
It can sound easy to say ‘give it to God’ but it fact it can be hard to let go of worries and just trust in God to show you a way through. But it is often the only way through, at least that’s been my experience.
Giving it to God certainly isn’t the easy way out for most of us. We all want to feel like we have control over our circumstances, or that “we” are doing something. I have been awe-inspired by the way He has answered our prayers. We strive not to pray for money to pay for our needs, but for God to provide for the need itself. Sometimes money is pale in comparison to what He has planned. Sure, He could have given me the money to pay my bill, but instead He chose to eliminate the bill altogether for three solid months! Either would have been praiseworthy, but He chose to bless us in abundance. That’s what I seek to share with this post. God wants to bless you beyond your comprehension, try not to limit His work in your life by merely asking for money. Not only does that limit him, but it also sends a signal that you love money.
You bless God and He will always Bless you.
This is a great article. So many of us struggle from time to time.