Debt. Unpaid bills. Not enough money to give or save. If you're struggling with financial problems, you may feel overwhelmed. Maybe you've prayed for God's help, but haven't yet experienced solutions.
Adding fasting to your prayers can bring about breakthroughs in even the toughest situations. As you fast, God can change your perspective to more clearly reveal His plan for your finances.
Here is a powerful prayer for financial breakthrough and some ways you can pray and fast for a financial breakthrough in your life:
A Prayer for Financial Breakthrough
Father, we confess our financial challenges. In a society that lifts money up to such high importance, it’s extremely hard to battle our mind’s eye each day. Thank You for blessing us with money to spend, and help us to honor You with our choices. Forgive us for mindlessly buying things in dollar sections and store end-caps. Sometimes, there are things that we never knew we needed until the bright discount sticker catches our eye. Strengthen us in those moments to fight our impulses by yielding to the power of the Holy Spirit within us.
Help us to see our finances through Your eyes. You have a purpose and plan for our lives, and every cent we’re blessed with to manage. Stir our hearts to seek Your counsel on everything from buying dessert to a brand new car. Urge us to seek You in Your Word, and prayerfully consider Jesus’ example on this earth. We confess that we don’t often stop to think about what You want for our wallet over what we want. When new trends are just a swipe of the credit card away, stir in our hearts to fight temptation.
Whether we seek careers or possessions to heighten our visibility in society, none will ever satisfy or compare to Jesus’ love. Help us to follow Christ in our daily lives. Prayer is life changing, that You promise us. We lift up the bills that puzzle and scare us to You. Guide us, direct us, and equip us to trust You more and more in the daily direction of our financial lives.
Thank You for providing for us, Father. Just the fact that we are skimming over these words is prove that You’ve provided for another day for us. Bless our finances, and help us to seek You first in everything, each day. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. (excerpt from A Prayer for Finances, Meg Bucher)
1. Consider the different types of fasts. Think about which type of fast you would like to undertake, such as: giving up one or two meals a day (and praying during those times), giving up meat, giving up all desserts and snacks, consuming only juice, or abstaining from something other than food (such as television). Then think about how long you'd like to fast. Make sure you check with your doctor before fasting for any sustained length of time so you don't endanger your health.
2. Make sure your requests are in line with God's will. Ask only for money that God wants you to have. Understand that sometimes it's a greater blessing to receive wisdom that you can apply to your financial decisions than to suddenly receive a large sum of money. Know that a transformed attitude about money will glorify God more than just winning the lottery. Be open to God's best for you without trying to manipulate Him.
3. Reflect on biblical principles while you fast. Study the Scriptures to understand what God has promised about how He will provide for His children.
4. Believe that God will answer you. Know that God looks for faith among people who ask Him to move in their lives. Realize that if you have even just a little bit of faith, God can use it accomplish a huge task.
5. Fast and pray with other believers. Ask others to pray with you. Know that there is more power in the prayers of two or more believers who agree about their prayers than simply in one believer praying alone.
6. Continue fasting and praying until you receive an answer. Realize that your answer may take time to come. Trust in God's timing and ask Him to help you be patient as you wait. Be persistent, knowing that God is pleased when you stay in regular communication with Him.
7. Ask God to remove barriers of sin in your life. Use your fasting time to reexamine your relationship with God. Ask God to reveal any hidden sin in your life that is obstructing your relationship with Him. Then when He does, confess it and ask for His forgiveness so He will begin in hear and answer your prayers.
8. Ask God to use your fasting to increase your faith. As you fast, ask God to grow a bigger faith in you that you can apply to all situations in your life (money-related, or not).
9. Learn biblical stewardship as you fast. As you control your physical appetite while fasting, ask God to give you discipline to help you control other aspects of your life, as well. Pray specifically for wisdom as it relates to your money problems. Ask God to help you understand why you're in financial trouble and what, if any, unhealthy habits you need to overcome.
10. Keep a journal during your fast. As you fast about your money problems, write down what you're learning about money management. Refer to your journal later to help you make needed changes in how you handle your finances.
11. Acknowledge that all your money comes from God. Take the time to thank God for what He has provided for you or enabled you to earn.
12. Distinguish between needs and desires. Ask God to teach you the difference between what you need and what you want. Ask God to clarify whether your lack of money is due to poor financial management or His call to a vocation that doesn't pay well. Pray for the strength you need to avoid greed and embrace contentment.
13. Prioritize your expenditures. During your fast, ask God to guide you as you rank your budget expenses from highest to lowest. Use your rankings as a guide for deciding how to spend in the future.
14. Fast and pray for the strength to avoid temptation. Be aware that Satan will try to tempt you financially in many different ways, such as by drawing you into materialism or distracting you so you direct your resources away from where God wants you to invest them. Ask God to give you the strength you need to always follow where He leads as you manage your money.
Adapted from Fasting for Financial Breakthrough, copyright 2002 by Elmer Towns. Published by Regal Books from Gospel Light, Ventura, Ca., 1-800-4-GOSPEL, www.regalbooks.com.
Elmer Towns is dean of the School of Religion at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, where he teaches the 2,000-member Pastor's Sunday School class at Thomas Road Baptist Church. He is the Gold Medallion Award-winning author whose books include Fasting for Spiritual Breakthrough and The Son. Elmer and his wife, Ruth, live in Virginia.