I'm convinced God is the real-life Master of connecting the dots because prayer connects his resources with our needs through other people. I was always surprised to watch a collection of random spots give way to a bunny or butterfly as my pencil moved from one dot to another. Pray for ConnectionsĪs a young girl, I loved connect-the-dots puzzles. And every creative success, no matter how insignificant to others, fueled my passion for prayer and my respect for God's imagination. My money-saving projects will never be featured on HGTV or The Martha Stewart Show, but they worked for my family.
PRAYER FOR FINANCES AND ANXIETY FREE
I turned a store's grand opening into a family outing with free hot dogs. I made summer play shorts from my boys' worn-out sweat pants. I organized fun-filled birthday parties-complete with customized cakes, games, and gift bags-for $10 or less. No surprise that he showered me with clever ideas. I didn't stop talking to friends or scanning magazines for hints, but I invited the Lord's feedback on the best options. Instead of relying on my own abilities, I sought God's input on every part of my budget. If the Lord can design a rhinoceros, he has more than enough creativity to share with me. I worship the God who created zebras and armadillos and wallabies. I serve the Source of all creativity, I thought. I don't come up with my own ideas I copy other people's ideas.īut while praying one day, I realized I didn't need to be ingenuous to solve my budget challenges. I wasn't a clever cook, an accomplished seamstress, a skillful crafter, or a home repair expert. Because my sons were preschoolers when our money was tightest, I decided to focus my energy on reducing expenses. I know of only two ways to have more money: earn more or spend less. It's about my husband seeing you and your glory." By the time Amy spoke with me a few days later, she'd regained both her peace and her purpose. "This job was always yours, God," Amy prayed. He refocused her passion on Mike's salvation. As she prayed, God did more than calm her heart. She grabbed it from the kitchen counter, laid it on the floor, and knelt over it. Desperate for God's help, Hezekiah laid Sennacherib's threatening letter before the Lord and prayed.Īmy decided to do the same thing with Mike's pink slip. When she couldn't stop the tears, she finally hit her knees.Įarlier that week Amy had studied the confrontation between King Hezekiah of Judah and King Sennacherib of Assyria described in Isaiah 36-37. Her irritation with union politics triggered heart tantrums as frustration battled faith for control. On another level, she felt angry about the circumstances surrounding Mike's layoff. On one level, my friend Amy felt a great peace when her husband lost his job.
Prayer helps me deal with my churning emotions before they skew my decisions and perspective. My money problems often trigger a storm cloud of conflicting feelings-fear, pride, and anger-that block a clear vision of all the issues involved. And that link makes it difficult to assess our circumstances objectively. We won't make the hard choices needed for economic survival.īut like it or not, our money and jobs are entwined with our views of life and self.
PRAYER FOR FINANCES AND ANXIETY HOW TO
Without a clear picture, we won't know how to balance our income and expenses.
Many personal finance gurus encourage us to hold our financial records before a mirror so we can see our true monetary situation. Pray for ClarityĮvery time I hear Suze Orman say "De-nied" to a caller's ridiculous spending request, I recognize the value of clarity. We can replace panic with confidence when we focus our prayers on these four requests. Tough times call for tough prayers-prayers that move us past frustration and helplessness to seeing God's power and glory in our daily lives.
After our tithe and a sacrificial gift to our church's building program, we lived on 30 percent of my husband's small salary.ĭuring those ground beef and tuna years, I learned that lean financial times call for more than strict budgets and financial discipline. I didn't expect riches when I married a minister, but I also didn't anticipate 13-16 percent interest rates on a starter home. In my husband's first years as a pastor, our house payment gobbled half his income. I know what it's like to pray about overwhelming financial challenges. Now those topics fill our dinner conversations and our prayer requests. Foreclosures, unemployment, and stock market drops were once topics for news headlines. Not exactly the dream life, is it?īut it's the life millions of Americans face. No money for anything but essentials like food, gas, and toilet paper.
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