5 Powerful Tithe and Offering Prayers to Trust God with Your Giving
Finances
Audio By Carbonatix
8:45 AM on Monday, August 18
By Linda Lyle, Finances
1. Prayer of Ownership
And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21)
On occasion, God asks me to give something above my normal tithe, and I am quick to remind Him that I have unpaid bills. One time in particular a visiting minister was sharing how he always kept fifty dollars folded in his wallet to give to whomever God put on his heart. Sometimes he took his own money but often people would give him funds to share as he saw fit in his travels. I had recently received an unexpected bonus, which I was pondering how to use, and as I listened to his sermon and his stories, I felt the Holy Spirit tell me to give him the cash in my wallet. I won’t lie: it was a struggle, but I did it because just as I had reminded God that I had bills that money could help pay, He gently reminded me that He owns everything, and He provides for His own. All my bills were paid. I may not have had everything I wanted, but I had everything I needed and then some. When we remember that we are only stewards of God’s gifts, then we can have the right perspective when it comes to how we give.
Father, you own the cattle on a thousand hills. Everything I have comes from You. Help me to remember that I am your steward and not the master. Show me what You would have me give so that You will be glorified in the giving. Amen.
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2. Prayer of Focus
“Give us this day our daily bread." (Matthew 6:11)
Our culture tells us to have ten-year plans and to prepare for retirement. Shelves of books in stores tell us how to retire early and well. For that reason, Jesus’ admonition to focus on the day at hand often gets overlooked. He told the disciples to pray for their daily needs, their daily bread. In the Old Testament, God provided manna in the wilderness on a daily basis, no more and no less. Any extra gathered went bad. God provided for the day at hand.
Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t plan for retirement, but we are not promised tomorrow. Our giving should reflect an eternal perspective and not a temporal one. I knew of a man who spent his entire life gathering money so that he could buy a cabin and fishing boat for his retirement. He left his wife and children for a younger woman just as he retired to live the good life. Within a month he found out he had cancer. He didn’t live to enjoy any of the things he had stored up.
We need to be good stewards of what God has given us by paying our bills and planning for the future, but our focus should be on God’s will for our lives, including when it comes to all of our possessions.
Father, help me to keep my eyes focused on You so that I balance planning for the future with a mindfulness of eternity. Help me to be a good steward of the money You have given me, but to also give in ways that invest in the things that matter to You.Amen.
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3. Prayer of the Heart
“But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-8)
Are you a cheerful giver, or does writing that check make you wince inside? You worked hard for that money, and you have things to take care of around the house. It’s easy to forget that God gave you that job and the health to continue doing it.
God is not so much interested in your money because He created everything, and He owns everything. He doesn’t need your money. What He wants is a relationship with us, but in order for that to work, we need to have our hearts right. If I give a gift to someone because it is required of me instead of because I love them, then the gift really has no meaning. We should give out of gratitude, not necessity.
I struggle with having the right attitude about giving my tithe. Sometimes my heart is just not in it. I have the attitude that I owe God instead of that I love God. When I do that, I miss out on the joy of a cheerful giver. It’s something I need to work on.
Father, help me to have a cheerful heart for giving. Help me to let go of the fear and stress of bills and the future. You provide everything we need. It is a matter of trust. Help me to trust You and to have faith that You will provide everything I need to do the good works You have assigned to me. Help me find the joy of giving. Amen.
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4. Prayer of Sufficiency
"For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality. As it is written, 'He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.'” (2 Corinthians 8:13-15)
I have always been struck by the story of the feeding of the multitude. Jesus did not pray for manna to rain down from the heavens. He took what the little boy had, five loaves and two fish, and He made it more than enough for everyone. However, the little boy had to offer up what he had to Jesus before it could be shared among the multitude.
I made a pot of chili one Saturday to take to work, planning to share it with the other two people working and take the rest home to eat later that week. God put it on my heart to share with some regulars in the shop who also struggled with a tight budget. I grudgingly agreed and offered it to the others. I wasn’t sure it would feed everyone, but not only did everyone have enough to eat, I had an extra bowl to take home for dinner. Then, he sent me some unexpected extra work that gave me a little cash to finish out the week.
When we share what we have with others, whether it is money or just a pot of soup, God will make it more than enough so that all have what they need. We just have to be willing to step out and give what we have to God to do with as He pleases.
Father, help me to hold on loosely to the things You have given me so that I can share it with those around me. No matter how small it may seem, You can make it enough. Amen.
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5. Prayer of Blessing
"'Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,' says the Lord of hosts, 'If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.'" (Malachi 3:10)
You can’t out give God. I have heard that phrase all of my life, and it is still as true today as it was in Malachi’s day. When we give to the church, ministries, or those we meet, God will bless it.
I love the autobiography of George Muller, an Englishman who started orphan homes to care for thousands of children without ever asking for aid. He and his fellow workers prayed daily for God’s provisions and waited expectantly for His deliverance. God never failed to deliver and eventually gave Muller great plans to build even bigger homes to care for more children.
When we give what we have, God will give it back in even greater abundance. We may not be rich in money, but we will be rich in blessings that are worth far more than money. You never know how your tithe check might be used by God to help someone in dire need.
Father, you said to try You, so as I give my tithes and offerings I pray that you would bless them and multiply them to do great things in your kingdom. Help me to give willingly and to trust You to provide. Amen.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/NoLiMiT_Bkk
