Faith Bible Study Guide
I want to share with you what the Lord said to me. He said, “Don’t pray for money anymore. Don’t pray for money because, you see, you have authority in My Name – the Name of Jesus – on the earth. After all, I put all those riches on the earth for My children.” Do you think God put cattle, silver, and gold here for the devil and his bunch? We know God loves the sinner, but does He love a sinner more than He loves His own children? No, of course not! God put the riches of the world here for His people.
God said to Israel, “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land” (Isa.1:19). I know if God wants us to eat the best, He wants us to wear the best. He also wants us to drive the best, and He wants us to have the best. Jesus came to the earth to introduce and reveal the Father to us. And Jesus is the One who said, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give GOOD THINGS to them that ask him?” (Matt. 7:11).
How many of you parents have the desire for your children to go through life with their noses to the grindstone, sick and diseased, never having enough to get by? There is not a one of us who wants that! In fact, I’m sure most of us have worked hard and
sacrificed in order to help our children get a better education than we had, so they could make a better living than we did.
After the Lord told me not to pray for money any-more and explained why and I obeyed Him, I saw a change in my financial situation. When I would preach in churches, the pastors would say to me, “That’s the biggest offering this church has ever given to an evangelist!” And the pastors didn’t even make a big appeal for money to their congregations! It was because I had discovered the key that unlocks the door to God’s blessings.
Of course, seeing that my children got a better education than I had and that they were better off in other ways as well, involved some sacrifice on my part, too, because it takes a lot of money to raise children. I had two children in private school and my mother-in-law stayed at home with the children for a while when my wife and I were out on the field together.
Some weeks there wasn’t any money coming in at all because the weeks we didn’t work, there was no income. So, of course, some sacrifice was involved, but it didn’t hurt us. We’ve all sacrificed to help our children. That’s what Jesus meant when He said in Matthew 7:11, `If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, HOW MUCH MORE….”
God has made provision for us through Christ Jesus. The Lord had said to me, “Don’t pray about finances any more. I have already put gold, silver, and cattle on a thousand hills for my man Adam, and I gave him dominion over it all. Then he committed high treason and sold it out to Satan, and Satan became the god of this world. But I, the second Adam, came to redeem mankind from the hand of the enemy and to get mankind out from under the curse.”
Regarding finances, Jesus continued, “Now then, instead of praying that I would do something about your finances, because I have already made provision for you, you just simply say `Satan, take your hands off my money.”‘ Jesus said, “You just claim what you want and what you need. You claim it.”
I responded, “Just how do I do that, Lord?” He said, “Well, if you need $200 this week, you say, `Satan, take your hands off my money in Jesus’ Name. Father, I claim $200 this week.”‘ Jesus said, “My Word says you reign in life by Christ Jesus” (Rom. 5:17). I remember with fear and trembling I did as the Lord instructed me. Yes, God will put up with a little unbelief in you, when you’re new in spiritual things. After a while, He expects more from you.
I remember the next church I went to. I said, “Lord, if I get the amount of money I need, I will know this really works, because the last time I was here, they only gave me about $60 a week for the two weeks.” I continued, “All right, Lord, I’m going to claim an amount of money which I know they will think is impossible.” Then I said, “Satan, you take your hands off my money in the Name of Jesus. Father, I claim $150 this week.”