Yesterday began the Year of Our Lord 2013. It is a year of faith for all Christians as we endeavor to make ourselves known and strengthen our presence both in politics and ethics, in the United States of America and worldwide. It is important that we live out our faith in every area of our lives… and this is especially important in the realm of our financial decisions.
Here are a few hints: Get-rich-quick schemes don’t work. Prayers for prosperity do not always result in monetary gain. Televangelists will not give you the secret to financial security if you only give them your credit card number. God does not give us riches for our own sake, but for the sake of His kingdom. Remember, “You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:2-3, NASB). If you ask the LORD to bless you financially, always remember that He will not do so if you intend to buy things to please yourself; however, if you intend to spend your money wisely, as He intended, to further His kingdom and spread His Word, then you will be blessed.
If you are poor in spite of your prayer, then examine your heart. Ask yourself, “Why do I wish to be wealthy?” Is it so that you can obtain your every desire? We must always be wary of the power of money and of technology; as renowned author J. R. R. Tolkien wrote, the point of this power is often “speed, reduction of labour, and reduction also to a minimum (or vanishing point) of the gap between idea or desire and the result or effect.”1 This does not mean that money and technology are evil, but that they may be used for evil or for good; if your desires are good, then they can quicken the fashioning of good, but if your desires are evil, selfish, prurient, or villainous, then money and technology will quicken the fashioning of evil.
When it comes to prayers for finances, right motives are key to receiving the blessings God has designed for us.
May God bless us that we may bless others in His holy Name.
With that in mind, “31 Prayers for Financial Wisdom” is now available completely free for all Kindle devices and apps, starting yesterday (January 1) and running through Saturday (January 5). Remember, if you have a device that can view this web page, then you have a device that can run a Kindle app; just click the appropriate link on this page.
Thanks to everyone who has participated in give-aways in the past, and to those who have already participated in this one. I urge you to +1, tweet, retweet, share, like, or otherwise tell your friends, colleagues, associates, and acquaintances about this give-away. We as Christians need to live our faith, and our financial habits are one of the most noticeable ways in which we prove what we really believe. Pray through Scripture for financial wisdom, and further God’s kingdom in your own life and the lives of everyone around you.
1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Ed. Humphrey Carpenter (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1981), 200.
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