Have you ever wondered what the Bible has to say about those who pray for wealth and success? This prayer concern often shows up, particularly when people are dealing with financial issues and are looking for a money miracle. The Bible does not condemn people for praying about finances and abundance. In fact, there are a number of positive prayers for financial blessings throughout Scripture. A few of these include:
“Blessed be You Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, even the God of our salvation” (Psalms 68:19).
“Lord, You have given us the power to get wealth, so that we may help to establish Your covenant and spread the gospel. I take action daily to improve my finances. Your economy is always a great economy, and filled with Blessings” (Deuteronomy 8:18).
“Lord, thank You for multiplying all of my resources. I am increasing. Your blessings are always more than enough” (Psalms 115:14).
“God, I pray that everything that You have called me to do will continue to prosper. I am blessed going in and blessed going out. I am blessed to be a blessing to others” (Deuteronomy 28:6).
Notice throughout each verse how the person praying to God considers everything a blessing. Our finances should be viewed as blessings from God, and they should be offered to build up God’s Kingdom.
In Matthew 6:9, 11, Jesus offers His exemplary prayer which helps us with this question: “This, then, is how you should pray…Give us today our daily bread.” However, it’s important to note that we can pray for a financial blessing with the wrong motives in mind. One of these wrong motives is selfishness and greed. When it comes to greed, the Bible says “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (James 4:3). In Ecclesiastes we are told “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). If you are greedy you won’t get anywhere far in life because you will always worry about what you don’t have in life. God provides enough to satisfy our every need.
Another wrong motive is with worry. Scriptures says:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:25-34).
The reason we cannot be blessed if we pray from a place of worry is because worry is a manifestation of our lack of trust in God. Too often we pray by offering up our wish list of wants when we really should see everything that God offers us as a blessing. If we pray about truth, we are acknowledging that God’s Word is always true and filled with promises that God always keeps. The Bible tells us “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). This text is a great example of how our sovereign Lord is the great Provider and the hand of God’s provision is open to us, even in our times of financial distress and hardship.
Don’t pray with the wrong motives in your heart. Pray the truth of God’s word and make His promises your own. If you are praying for abundance, base that prayer on God’s promises and let the Holy Spirit guide you in your prayers. The Bible tells us “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you in all truth” (John 16:13).
While Scripture tells us to call on God about anything big or small (Philippians 4:4-7), and there are no wrong prayers in the sense, we do have a model in the Bible of some godly prayers as we look at the prayers of Jesus (Matthew 6:9-13) and also look to people like Paul (Colossians 1:9-14, Philippians 1:3-11). We can learn from these prayers and from our readings from the Bible in general. This will help us learn about God’s priorities and concerns regarding wealth and finances, and also guide us in praying in a way that’s shaped by God’s call for us, rather than just the things we desire.
Allow the truth of God to guide you to financial breakthrough and abundance today.
