Prayer for Help To Live Generously In Uncertain Financial times
Changes in employment and financial security have been dramatic in this COVID-19 season. Government financial aid packages continuing to roll out almost every day underline that fact. I suspect that one of the challenges for many people in this season will be to find a way to live generously. It will be so easy to focus on ourselves and how we need to fulfill our needs and prepare for the uncertain future. It hardly seems to the time to be giving our attention to the needs of others. And yet we must, not simply because the needs are there but because it is the way that God says we will prosper and find refreshing for ourselves.
The generous will prosper;
those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
Proverbs 11:25 NLT
It is true we can only give from what we have received. That’s why it’s so important to train our minds to remember all that God has given us in Jesus and all He promises to give to us going forward.
Those who give to the poor will lack nothing,
but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.
Proverbs 28:27
God we come to you today with gratitude for Your great love that is actually not just generous but inexhaustible towards those who trust in Him. Your very character is generosity and Your expressing that generosity towards us is not connected to what we deserve but rather to Your love for us. We are sinful, self-centered, and selfish people left to our own devices, but rooted in Your love we can build a new life going forward – even during the financially fragile times of the post COVID-19 virus outbreak.
If you, then, though you are evil,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father in heaven
give good gifts to those who ask him!
Matthew 7:11
For God so loved the world that he gave
his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
Forgive us for the error of our thinking that we need to hoard all that we have and have nothing to give to others. Help us to see all that we do have and all the things that we can share – even if we don’t have money or goods to offer we have a smile and a listening ear and the ability to care and pray and come alongside others. We have truth that is affirming and inviting and we can share that as we share our experience, strength, and hope with others. We have encouragement and hope to offer. Lord, in truth, we are only limited in our generosity by what we are unwilling to do.
If anyone has material possessions
and sees a brother or sister in need
but has no pity on them,
how can the love of God be in that person?
1 John 3:17
You have promised to bless us if we make ourselves available to bless others. Sometimes we choose not to be generous to someone because we judge they are unworthy. They may have done something which we do not approve of. They may have differing opinions from us on politics, cultural politeness, or perhaps they are just rude and hard to be around. Help us to be generous with the gift of love and patience, so even these things can be overcome.
Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures,
criticize their faults—unless, of course,
you want the same treatment.
Don’t condemn those who are down;
that hardness can boomerang.
Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier.
Give away your life; you’ll find life given back,
but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.
Luke 6:37-38
At the times when we feel we are lacking in generosity and unable to care for others, we ask You God to fill us up with Your kindness and love. You have promised to meet all our needs, and we know we cannot fill up with what You give and then choose not to give out to others. We are blessed to be a blessing! As we overflow with Your kindness and love, God, we trust You that we will have enough to share with our neighbour.
You will be enriched in every way
so that you can be generous on every occasion,
and through us your generosity
will result in thanksgiving to God.
2 Corinthians 9:11
Thank you for demonstrating the true heart of a servant for us. Help us to seek Your plan for our lives and to be willing to do all that You ask of us. In humility, help us to be generous and look out for the interest of others rather than seeking after and tending to our own interest. Thank You for enriching us in every way so that we can be generous on every occasion. Amen
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