Daily Bread:
[2Co 9:8 KJV] 8 And God [is] able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all [things], may abound to every good work:
God places no premium upon lack or poverty. There is no scriptural justification to believe God wants you poor or going without. This includes not only having your needs met but also your desires:
[Mar 11:24 KJV] 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive [them], and ye shall have [them].
Some teach that God uses poverty, lack and sickness to teach them something. Jesus directly contradicts this in John 14:26:
[John 14:26 KJV] 26 But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
The Holy Spirit teaches us all things. There are no lessons in life reserved for sickness, cancer, lack or poverty to teach us. The Holy Spirit teaches us all things and His name is Comforter not Afflicter.
Forgive Us Our Debts:
We have been taught that this only applies to our sins or sins we have committed against others. If that was so why did Jesus choose a word with a financial connotation? Why didn’t He say “offenses” as He did in Matthew 18:7? The word “debts” here in the original language means:
Something owed. Something that is justly due; accruing obligation, to owe money or be in debt. The primary meaning of praying “forgive us our debts” is to ask God to get us out of our interest-bearing debt and other financial obligations. Jesus is encouraging us to pray about getting out of debt? Why? Because you cannot serve God in debt with the freedom you can being out of debt. Let us not forget the words of Paul:
[Rom 13:8 KJV] 8 Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
Only people who are hopelessly in debt can have faith for Rom. 13:8. Other people think they can beat the devil at his own game and leverage the lender to bless the borrower. How many know your creditors aren’t sitting at their desk thinking of ways they can bless you? But Jesus is ever interceding over your every need! Paul doesn’t say here in Rom. 13:8 as he does in other places “this is my judgment not the Lord’s.” That means that Paul was speaking under the direct inspiration of the Holy Ghost. That means this is a command. Don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t commit adultery, etc., etc., and owe no man anything. Is money a thing? Are you willing to receive an inconvenient command from the Father? He isn’t trying to dominate us; He is trying to bless us. This is not only a command but an available blessing to your life.
This is a hard saying for people who have no faith to be out of debt and if they get out of debt they go right back into debt. Believe God to be debt free. It is the encouragement of Jesus and the command of Paul. If God is going to make a command statement like this don’t you know that He will get behind your faith and your effort to get in the condition that He is encouraging you to seek?
Conclusion:
Debt and lack bring much pressure and difficulty into our lives. How many men and women have had their lives cut short due to the burden and pressure of God. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is Liberty and that includes financial freedom – having enough to do the will of
God and plenty left over to help others do the will of God as well. Where do we start? Before Jesus taught in Matthew 6 how to pray He taught them how to give.
[Mat 6:1-4 KJV] 1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2 Therefore when thou doest [thine] alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: 4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
God wants to reward you openly. How many people are willing to learn how to pray but not willing to learn how to give? There is a reason Jesus put giving first and prayer second in His discourse in Matthew 6. Let’s begin to pray out the instructions of Jesus in Matthew 6:1-13 and put God’s word to the proof. He wants you free. He wants you whole. He wants you blessed, walking in power and releasing the blessing to others and being blessed ourselves.
