Many Christians are defeated in their Christian lives because they do not understand or stand to resist the enemy. Here, God has sent me to you to offer you hands-on help. Standing tall in spiritual warfare and taking charge of your life is one factor that differentiates you from those guys who trust in financial institutions alone.
While it is true that everyone desires to live a life of abundance and success; free from financial struggles and distress; yet, great majority of people still live their lives under financial oppression. Therefore, they clutter their mind with limiting thoughts of can't do this, can't do that, it's too high, too far, too greater to achieve, etc.
I have been led to provide you a couple of simple-to-pray prayers here and confessions/prophetic declarations to help you gain/regain control of your finances.
You can take charge of your finances
Step 1: Develop a spending plan.
"The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets." Proverbs 21:20, The Living Bible. Every one who will take control of his finances must learn how to budget. A budget lets you figure out why there's always "month left over at the end of your money." Setting up a realistic budget should be the foundation for all of your financial decisions. Without a budget, your financial objectives are nothing more than wishful thinking. Rather than being a straitjacket, a spending plan is a tool that can free you from the burden of endless impulse decisions. It also allows you to tell your money where you want it to go rather than wondering where it went.
Step 2: Understand who the true owner is.
"Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it." (Deuteronomy 10:14)
"The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it." (Psalm 24:1)
Many people don’t realize just how much the Bible has to say about who the real owner of money is. Scripture actually has more than 800 verses that talk about the subject. As a matter of fact, the book of Proverbs alone is enough to transform a person's personal finance, or attitude towards money and possession. God cares so much about our attitudes towards not just how we manage money; but whether or not we understand who truly owns all things. He dows because whatever happens to that understanding will equally determine our attitude to issues like greed, indulgence and materialism, which are capable of generally destroying our lives, as well as wrecking our relationships with God and others.
In His word, God says, "I will shake all the nations, and they will come with all their treasures, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of Hosts. The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, declares the LORD of Hosts. The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former, says the LORD of Hosts. And in this place I will provide peace, declares the LORD of Hosts.” (Haggai 2: 7-9) A lot is going on today in people's heart—arguments about ownership, stewardship and supremacy. The simple way of addressing the greed that lurks in our heart is whether we have silver and gold or not, God alone deserves to be served and honored; for everything is His. Mark my words, even if we are poor and do not have silver and gold, we are still called to honor Him with such as we have, and he will accept us. Having it, no matter the measure, is therefore a privilege to proof ourselves worthy. If you are truly walking in the economy of God, you must be able to demonstrate it by showing that you abundance of earthly blessings or good does not inflate the good, neither does its want deflate them. This understanding is therefore needed so that we will escape the evil root that lurks around the lust/love for money. Except this is true, whenever money is bestowed, it will always blind us; or whenever it is withheld or taken away, it will always torture us.
Don't miss it, please! Money is good. It's a blessing from God, and there’s nothing wrong with seeking to be so blessed. Timothy was not warned about the evil of money by his spiritual father, Paul. What he was warned against is: “the love of money is a root of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). So the problem is if you are completely captive and driven by love for money.
Step 3: Discover the true material value.
“Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.” (1 Corinthians 3:12-13)
The word of God is consistent on the unique properties and values of gold and silver. In the Bible, gold and silver are synonymous with money. This is to demonstrate the theme of worth and prize which run through scriptures (Old and New Testaments). Even in the teaching of Jesus Christ down through the Pauline and other epistles, silver and gold serve as benchmarks of value. Paul, the Apostle used the allegory of gold and silver to drive home his point with Timothy while teaching him the need for our service to God to be able to withstand the test of fire. That is the believer's litmus test of stewardship. Just as these precious materials withstand the test of fire and become refined and pure; we must a demonstrate our foundation in Christ has the qualities of gold and silver, and is able to stand all tests. This means that, we need to perceive that God can bestow or withhold silver and gold as a test of character. Their true value is when place in proper divine perspectives.
Step 4: Accept God's design.
"The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple." (Psalm 19:7)
In this scripture, the description “perfect” or “sure” suggests the lofty ideal prescribed by the Law, and the reliance which a believer might place upon it as a rule of conduct. In case of the word “simple” it is generally perceived in a bad sense. it is often derogatory; but here, it is primarily used to denote “open,” “ingenuous,” “impressible,” or "easily led." God wants us to be sober and broken towards Him. That;s why He sends His word. Well, there is no better way to obtain financial peace, except we recognize and accept that God's design for His provisions, and use them to direct our lives towards Him.
Often, prosperity teachings make us lose sight of the fact that sometimes God's will can be accomplished through a withholding of blessings. We are often made to think that He can direct us only by abundance of resources. This is not saying that God wants us to be poor. No. But we must understand that He does not necessarily move with riches only. He chooses, in His divine wisdom, whatever is consistent with His glory for each believer's life—whether to live in great abundance or otherwise. What God wants from us is to be responsive to His day-by-day purpose and design. In this way, each believer in Christ learns to live on what God provides and not bring him/herself under some external pressure born out of fleshly cravings for wealth and material things—even if they are not in keeping with God's design for the individual.
Conclusion
God is the creator gold and silver, they are valuable. He created gold and silver as the backbone of economic growth. God's creative purpose of all things is to make them all including all the treasures (financial or material) of this world to serve His glorious purpose. Whatever you have that is not serving the interest of Christ, you do not truly have.
We all claim Pauline's scripture of I Corinthians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength" but we fail to understand the context. Because the Apostle was referring to his ability to abide within the provision of God, rich or poor—whether he abounds or abases. He said: "I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances. I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. I am accustomed to any and every situation — to being filled and being hungry, to having plenty and having need. (I Corinthians 4:11, 12). I an earlier chapter he said: "I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have complete boldness, so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death." (Philippians 1:20)
Wealth is good. Money is a blessing. It must be understood, perceived, received, and administered in God's design for us. It is he who owns us and not we ourselves. And if this is true, then it is he who owns everything there is about us.
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