
Hello friends! Week three in our reading is titled His Finances! As always I will state please do buy the book nothing like having a book in your hand to be able to read, focus and highlight. There is the book and then a Prayer and Study Guide I highly recommend both books, plus have your Bible handy and a notebook or a diary even! After you finish the book you can go back through your notebook/diary and read your prayers and other answers and see where God has answered some of your prayers and that is a wonderful feeling! I'm going to share with y'all that though my prayers haven't been answered fully I am seeing sparks I am seeing God touch certain areas that I have prayed for. Friends God is good and I will continue this journey through this book with a positive attitude and a prayerful heart and a believing heart cause God is good all the time! Also before we start on this week's blog, please if you haven't read the others go back and read through my earlier blogs and get caught up they aren't too long ;-)! This week the author talks about financial stress on a marriage, whew I can so relate to that, we have some of our most colorful arguments over finances oh and also how to raise our children. Some questions that the author reflects on as the chapter asks: Is he giving or miserly? Is he thankful or envious of others? Is money a blessing or a curse? Is he wise or reckless with what he has? Is he in agreement with you as to how it is spent, or does your marriage exhibit financial strife? I have really just about given up on worrying about money and other random things that are beyond my control, oh how I wish that my husband would as well. I have learned that it is better to trust in the lord to provide than to worry about it all. Before I even read this chapter this week I read the following:
Matthew 6:25-34
25 “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? 26 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? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 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? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Isn't that scripture so true!! Why do we worry? We should rest in the sweet assurance that as long as we are being faithful to God he will be faithful to us.To be honest I have had moments over the past year where I was about to stress out about our financial situations and I have prayed to God to just help us make it and he hasn't let me down.
But getting back to the book, in this chapter we are encouraged to put our finances under God's covering and doing what he says to do with them. That means when God puts it on your heart to give you should give and do so knowing and trusting that God will protect you and bless you. The author makes mention of wealthy people who do not give and tells us if we were to check closely that those who do not give as God instructs are missing many of God's blessing. They gain wealth but don't really enjoy it because they don't know the Lord and living his way.We are encouraged this week to pray that our husbands get a hold of this key to life and understand God's will for his finances.
The prayer for this week in the book:
Lord, I commit our finances to you. Be in charge of them and use them for your purposes. May we both be good stewards of all that you give us, and walk in total agreement as to how it is to be dispersed. I pray that we will learn to live free of burdensome debt. Where we have not been wise, bring restoration and give us guidance. Show me how I can help increase our finances and not decrease them unwisely. Help us to remember that all we have belongs to you and to be grateful for it. I pray that (insert husbands name)will find it easy to give to you and to others as you have instructed in your word. Give him wisdom to handle money wisely. Help him make good decisions as to how he spends. Show him how to plan for the future. I pray that he will find the perfect balance between spending needlessly and being miserly. May he always be paid well for the work he does, and may his money not be stolen, lost, devoured, destroyed or wasted. Multiply it so that what he makes will go a long way. I pray that he will not be anxious about finances, but will seek your kingdom first, knowing that as he does, we will have all we need. (Luke 12:31).
Scriptures:
Luke 12:29-31
Ecclesiasties 5:19
Proverbs 28:27
Psalm 37:25
Philippians 4:19
Questions from the prayer/study book: Answer questions fully, explain and delve deep into them.
1. Is your husband a financially responsible person, or is he sometimes irresponsible with money? How do you feel about that?
2. Read Luke 12:29-31: Does your husband suffer from anxiety about finances? Describe. In light of this verse, what should he be doing about it? How could you pray about this?
3. Read Malachi 3:10. Does your husband have a heart to give as God directs in this scripture, or does he need to move into this area of obedience to God? Write a prayer asking God to speak to him about this matter.
4. Is your husband miserly, overgenerous, or somewhere in between? How would you like to see that changed? Write a prayer asking God to give your husband a generous spirit controlled by the will of God.
5. Read Psalm 41:1-3. In light of this scripture, the blessings that come from giving to the poor cannot be ignored. Are there any blessings you feel you are lacking because you or your husband are not giving to the poor? Remember that if your husband doesn't disapprove of your giving this speaks well for his generosity too.
6. Read Matthew 6:21. Is your husband's focus on his finances or on serving the lord? If you don't know ask God to show you and write down what he reveals.
7.Do you feel your husband makes financially sound decisions? Write a prayer asking God to give you and your husband wisdom as to how to handle your finances. Pray that neither of you will spend money irresponsibly or make poor financial choices, but that you will have God's revelation about all financial decisions.
8. Have you and your husband been financially depleted for an oppressively long time? Does it seem that every time you start to get ahead something comes along to steal finances away. Write a prayer asking God to end financial loss, strain, poverty or lack of blessing in your lives. Tell Satan he cannot steal and rob from you and your husband any longer.
9. Is there anything that you could do to help relieve the financial burden on your husband? Ask God to show you, and write down what he reveals. If you are working to support the family also write a prayer asking God to bless the work of your hands and make it fruitful.
10. Pray the prayer I previously posted before these questions, include specifics about your finances.
One of the things I love Lori, is as you pray for your husband you find yourself being changed. God always starts with you, and even though you are praying for him, it incorporates you in the finances as well. In our house, I handle most of the finances, so one of my prayers is for him to be more involved with our finances and that God will show him how to pray for and over our finances. But I can tell you one thing for sure, if you aren't tithing, you better start. We had not been faithfully the way we needed to. So we started in Jan weekly, faithfully, and we are finally beginning to get caught up! Now we have to learn more discipline about waiting when there is something that we want. My prayers are with you both as you continue your journey. May you grow and thrive to God's glory so that you may use you to touch so many others!
ReplyDeleteYes that is so true it really opens your eyes to your own self and helps you grow as you pray for your husband. Thank you for recommending the book Judy but most of all thank you for being such a wonderful friend and sister! Love ya!
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