Praying Yourself into Order Financially - Church Prayer Leaders Network

Managing Money Well Blesses Others and Strengthens Your Prayers

By Rachel Cruze

Sometimes I find myself trying to pray at the end of a long day. Maybe I just flew home from a speaking event, tucked my daughters in for the night, kissed my husband, and crawled into bed. “Hey, God,” I start. And then, eight hours later, I wake up.

We face all kinds of distractions when we pray: sleep, our kids, our own racing thoughts. But I think some of the biggest hindrances to our prayer lives include intense, enduring struggles—especially in the area of finances.
And, for many adults, money is a big factor in our daily stress level. Studies show that only 39 percent of Americans could cover a $1,000 emergency.1 This nagging lack of security—and the uneasy feelings that go with it—cause stress that can affect our marriages and our relationship with God.

It makes sense, then, that this stress over financial worries can also result in an ineffective prayer life. Romans 13:8 says, “Owe no one anything except to love one another” (NKJV). If we focus on debt or other money problems, we can’t put our energy toward things that really matter.

But we serve a gracious and understanding God. That’s why prayer holds so much potential and offers so much power. God doesn’t want us to miss out on what can happen when we nurture our relationship with Him through prayer. That’s what prayer really is anyway: our hearts connecting with the heart of the Father.

So how can we relate to God and rely on Him, regardless of our money situation?

Put Your Finances in the Proper Order

To bring order to your finances, first put your finances in the proper order. From my talks with people all across the country, I’ve found that many families create their budgets backward—if they budget at all. They buy things they want and need, and then pay bills. Often there’s nothing left—no money to save, no money to give. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the phrase, “I’d love to save and give, but I can’t afford to!”

The truth is, many people spend money needlessly—or without paying attention—on morning coffees, afternoon snacks, Target runs, and weekend hobbies. Blind to what they’re actually spending money on, they feel unable to save or give.

But what if we decided to give, save, and then spend? How might our finances change? How might our prayer lives change? And how might we change?

Giving First Changes Everything

The way we manage our money reveals our character: money is never just about money.

Giving changes us. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” God owns it all. And if He is the owner, then we’re just managers. Every dollar we make and every item we acquire belongs to Him. We have the opportunity to manage His money well. If we understand this, our money attitudes and behaviors will change significantly!

Here’s why: When we recognize God as the owner of everything, we realize He is also the ultimate Giver. He not only gave up His Son for us, but He also provides food, shelter, clothes, and much more. We’re all created in His image. So we’re all made to be givers too.

And when we give, we change. When we adjust our budgets to consider others first, our priorities begin to shift. We start to see the difference God can make in the world through our giving. And soon we can’t wait to partner with Him in His great mission—both through generosity and prayer.

On a practical level, this shift means we might allocate less money for ourselves and more money for others. We may even start looking around our homes and thinking, I’m so fortunate. I have so much. What more could I need? Generosity is the best cure I know for selfishness and discontentment.

Giving changes how we view God. When we give, we’re saying, “God, I trust you.” Maybe you choose to give to God the money you intended for debt repayment, a “new-to-you” car, or a much-needed night out with your spouse. Your choosing to give away that money demonstrates your trust that God will take care of you because He is good, and He does what He says He will do.

In Psalm 24, David continues, “Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior” (vv. 3–5). God, the all-powerful Creator of the oceans and the mountains, promises to take care of us when we come to Him with clean hands, a pure heart, and no idols.

Jesus said that we can’t serve two masters. By willingly opening our hands and letting go of our money through giving, we remove our trust from the fragility of our finances and put our trust squarely on the shoulders of our great God.

A proper view of both God and money encourages a closer relationship with Him—to ascend the mountain, to stand in His holy place. In the Old Testament this meant entering the tabernacle. Today, it describes prayer.

Give a little until you can give a lot. When we decide to give first, we’re one step closer to creating a budget. If you haven’t made a budget before, prepare to be amazed! A budget is simple to create but offers a huge payoff that will rock your financial world.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

Give first. Save second. Spend third.
Make sure income minus expenses, giving, and saving equal zero. Give every dollar a job to do.
Keep track of your spending throughout the month and make adjustments as needed.

That’s it! If you make a budget and stick to it, you can give generously, save for the future, pay off debt—and cover your necessities and plenty of your wants. The better you get at budgeting, the more goals will become reality and the more fun you’ll have with your money!

After all, what could be more fun than living a generous, Kingdom-driven life?

Involve God in Your Money Decisions

Finally, Paul gives this encouragement in 1 Timothy 6:17–19:

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Pray that God will bless your finances so you may be a blessing to others and your prayers will not be hindered. Ask Him for provision and the wisdom to manage your money well. When we do this, we learn what really matters—and we “take hold of the life that is truly life.”

A well-ordered life, even in finances, allows us to focus our energy on things that really matter, like connecting with the heart of the Father through undistracted prayer.

1Taylor Tepper, “Most Americans Don’t Have Enough Savings to Cover a $1K Emergency,” Bankrate (January 18, 2018): https://www.bankrate.com/banking/savings/financial-security-0118/.

RACHEL CRUZE is a #1 New York Times best-selling author and host of The Rachel Cruze Show. She has authored three best-selling books, including Love Your Life, Not Theirs and Smart Money Smart Kids, which she co-wrote with her father, Dave Ramsey (rachelcruze.com).