Perhaps you are currently praying for God to provide for your needs, grant you a promotion, or cancel your debts. Praying for finances is certainly one of the three most common prayer topics. But despite all your prayers, your situation may not have changed, and you may even have reached the point of blaming God. It is important to read what James says about prayers concerning finances:

“Where do conflicts and quarrels among you come from? (Among you, but also within us!) Is it not from your selfish desires that constantly wage war within you? You covet many things, but your desires remain unsatisfied… You fight and argue. You do not have what you desire because you do not ask God. Or when you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives: you want what you request to be used for your own pleasure” (James 4:1-3).

Money is one of the main causes of conflict in couples. That is why the Church must talk about it rather than act as if it does not exist. We use money every day, even when we stay at home doing nothing while our electricity meter keeps running. Financial issues can indeed lead to conflicts, but before they erupt externally, the conflict starts within us.

The Bible says: “Let your conduct not be guided by the love of money. Be content with what you have now. For God himself has said: I will never leave you; no, I will never forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

Some people have fallen into debt because they handled finances without being led by the Holy Spirit. They wanted to enjoy life, and their lives have become almost identical to those of unbelievers who do not know God. Or they made decisions solely based on money. For example, they moved away (to another city or country) for financial reasons, even though God wanted them to stay where they were. Everything seemed perfect at first, but they are not in their land of blessing and favor.

We must acknowledge that many of our financial problems come from our own poor choices, bad purchases, and lack of prayer for guidance from the Holy Spirit. We need to examine ourselves and recognize that many of our purchases were driven by carnal desires, opening the door to natural consequences, whereas God wanted us in the supernatural. Our conduct should not be guided by the love of money. What does this mean?

It means that in our decisions, we will either love God or love money. We will either obey God or obey money. We will either be led by God or be led by money. Therefore, we must ask ourselves: “What desires were truly guiding me?” and be honest with ourselves. If we recognize our sins, then true repentance is necessary—a repentance that brings transformation and a pure love expressed through pure actions and prayers.

Being content with what we have does not mean wanting nothing more. Some have interpreted this passage that way, but that would imply we should not go to work tomorrow because we must be content with what we have today! No, being content with what we have is a mindset, or rather, a firm decision to want nothing more from our soul for our lives. It means being happy and grateful for everything God gives us, while also remaining happy and grateful for what we do not yet have! It means, like the apostles, maintaining joy whether in scarcity or in abundance.

“I know how to live in humble circumstances, and I know how to live in prosperity. In any and every situation, I have learned the secret of being well-fed and going hungry, of living in abundance and being in need” (Philippians 4:12).

In times of scarcity, we must learn. This is a message from God for you. Learn. We will not leave the desert of scarcity without first learning to be happy in it. It is not about how we will get out of it, but about acquiring the essential key to be able to get out. We must add our faith to our joy to exit this uncomfortable desert. When discomfort invades our lives, and we feel anxious and exhausted, it is then—as we said earlier—that we will realize what our true source is. That is when the heart of a worshipper is formed within us, the heart of someone who remains happy and fulfilled even in scarcity.

“Or when you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives: you want what you request to be used for your own pleasure” (James 4:3).

We have established that God gives us all things for our greatest joy. God is pleased when we are blessed! It brings Him great joy! In fact, I should clarify by saying that God is pleased when we are blessed and when we are grateful to Him! When we give gifts to our children, it brings us joy, but if, by the fourth gift, they say, “Is that all?” or demand, “Give me the next one,” we no longer feel the same satisfaction.

Jesus said that if we seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all things will be given to us as well. This shows us the divine order in prayer. We should not pray for our own needs before praying for the Kingdom of God. What should drive our hearts is the desire to please God and to have the necessary finances to bless His work. But if we are selfish and only seek our own pleasure, we will face a problem: we are not praying to the right God. We are not praying to the right person.

God is fundamentally generous, and He does not receive selfish prayers because He dwells in an atmosphere of generosity where such prayers do not reach Him. To fly in the sky, we do not use a car but an airplane, and for our prayers to reach their destination, what carries them must not be selfishness but the heart of a servant.

I want to say it again: God wants to meet our needs and bring us joy.
Oh yes! I must confess that for a long time, I did not truly believe that God wanted to bring us joy in natural and physical things. I knew, as I have said, that God wanted to provide for my needs, but I thought His love and joy were limited to that.

Deep inside, I struggled to accept the idea that God truly wanted to bring us joy, just as a husband might buy his wife a beautiful, valuable ring. But I was blind. One only has to look at the wealth and glorious vastness of His creation, His incredible generosity in all physical aspects of life, and Christ’s sacrifice to see that God delights in bringing us joy.

When we decided to move from France to Quebec for the TEACH ME MINISTRY in french, we needed to find a home.
My wife had shown me a house by a lake on the internet, and I thought, “Wow, that would be a dream!” But I did not pray for that.
We simply had faith for a house that was not attached (apparently, my prayers can be heard from 100 meters away), within a certain budget, and we did not pray for more than two minutes on this subject.

We wanted to live in the same city as our pastors, close to our church. Our pastors searched and eventually found a house within our budget, but it was attached. Because of our faith for a detached house, we said it did not match our request, even though we were close to our moving date…

Shortly after, we found ourselves in a house by a beautiful lake. I remember one Saturday morning, before teaching at the IBEM Bible Institute, I stood on the dock by the lake and gazed at its immense beauty. I knew in my heart that it was a gift from God, that He had done it to bless me and bring me joy—not because I had prayed for an extraordinary lifestyle, but simply because I was answering His call.

God said He would never forsake us. Do you believe it, or have you accused God of your unanswered prayers? God is love, good, and generous. He wants to bring us joy, but He does not want us to become spoiled, ungrateful children who are never satisfied. Let us be grateful for what we have, and God will give us more!

Let us be thankful to the Lord for providing all we have needed up to this day. Let us change our mindset about money, change our perception of God and His love, and manifest the generous heart of a worshipper toward our God and His interests.

This text is an excerpt from the book “UNFAIR LOVE” written by Jérémy Sourdril.

We invite you to read the next article: “SPIRITUAL LAZINESS”.

AN UNANSWERED PRAYERS. AN UNANSWERED PRAYERS. AN UNANSWERED PRAYERS.

AN UNANSWERED PRAYERS. AN UNANSWERED PRAYERS. AN UNANSWERED PRAYERS.