Prosperity for the Christian

There are several Scriptures which convey the idea of success and prosperity for the believer. (Gen. 39:2, 3; Josh. 1:7,8; I Ki. 2:3; I Ki. 3:11-13; 2 Chron. 26:5; Neh. 2:20; Job 36:11; Psalm 1:3)

However, unfortunately there are some Christian teachers who have put a new twist on this teaching by declaring that one can realize material prosperity merely by speaking it into existence. Actually, this idea is not new at all, but got its start back in the 18 hundreds with a man by the name of Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (1802-1866). Quimby has been called the father of New Thought, and it's his writings which greatly influenced Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science. Quimby taught his followers that man could create his own reality through the power of positive affirmation. Ever since then, he and his practitioners have taught adherents to visualize health and wealth, and then to affirm or confess them with their mouths so that the intangible images may be transformed into tangible realities.

One major problem is that this movement teaches that faith is a matter of what we say more than whom we trust or what truths we embrace - words have creative power. The claim is that our "confessions," that is, the things we say, especially the favors we demand of God, must all be stated positively and without wavering. Then God is required to answer. Positive confessions then are incantations by which anything we desire can be conjured up: "Believe it in your heart; say it with your mouth. That is the principle of faith. You can have what you say". The Holy Spirit is a Power to be put to use for whatever the believer wants. The Bible teaches, however, that the Holy Spirit is a person who enables the believer to do whatever God wants.

The Word-Faith Movement teaches that if we say the right words, or if we have the right faith, God is forced to act in response to those human words. If we have enough faith/ability to create with our words, we can get money; healings; whatever we want.

Think about it. With this creative power in our words, there is no more need to pray to God for anything, He has given the sovereignty to us, He has yielded up His creative power to us, we now have the dominion and creative power, we speak it into existence.

When it comes to "prosperity," the Bible makes it very clear, prosperity and poverty are not in our hands, and certainly not in our mouths. (Deut. 8:17,18; I Sa. 2:7) Always remember that wealth, and the ability to gain it, comes from God. (Prov. 22:2)

One of the most important Scriptures regarding the subject of prosperity is found in III John 1:2 "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth."

First, it is important to understand what is meant by the Bible word "prosper", which is the same as "to have success". Rather than having to do with materialistic gain, the word has to do with the fulfillment of a particular purpose.

Certainly, this verse gives legitimacy for us to pray a prayer for prosperity. It is also important to note that it is a prayer the Apostle John prayed for someone else, his " dear friend Gaius", not one he prayed for himself.

This verse also obviously places materialistic prosperity and health in a priority arrangement underneath that of soul prosperity.

Interestingly, once at a road-side rest stop, I glanced through a magazine. The article that caught my eye was an interview with Tibet's Delai Lama. This is the line that stood out, "Many of us are discontent with how many possessions we have, but we're content when it comes to our spiritual development. That is the mistake we make."

We may not like the comparison, but this seems to be the condition of the Laodicean church: "You say, `I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked." (Revelation 3:17)

In a land of abundant materialistic wealth, the question must be put to each of us, "But what about your soul. Is your soul prospering?" The only legitimate, Christian, Biblically correct way to arrive at "soul prosperity" is to develop our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

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