Prosperity
In Luke 12, Jesus has some very direct and clear teaching on prosperity. For instance, take a look at Luke 12:13-15,
Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?" And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."
It's easy to read these verses and believe that God is against prosperity. But if you look at what I call the Genesis Principle, I think you can see that prosperity is God's will.
When God created man, He gave him abundance. You can't read the story in the Garden of Eden and think that Adam lacked for anything. And God's plan, His idea, His heart for humanity has never changed.
But God did not give Adam all that abundance so that the abundance itself would be the focus of his life. His focus was to be his relationship with the Father as they walked and talked in the garden. His life did not consist in the abundance of things, but in his relationship to his Creator.
So what is abundance? Abundance, or prosperity, is having all that you need to meet any circumstance, with enough left over to give wherever God might direct you.
Jesus certainly is not against prosperity. In fact, prosperity is what I believe is God's will for all of His children. I don't think God wants any of His kids to be in poverty. Poverty is not a virtue unless you choose it for some reason.
God wants you to be prosperous, but there are some principles to properly understand prosperity, which we will discover in the next few devotionals.
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Prayer is communication with God. It is speaking, and it is also listening. And like all communication, prayer is a skill that can and should be improved.
