The One Prayer Offering
These days, it’s easy to feel like we never have enough. There’s always some new trend, gadget, or improvement being dangled before our eyes, whether featured by the hottest celeb or that hip co-worker. But let’s face it—if we have ample food, more than a few changes of clothes, and a place to call home; we’re rich by global standards. More accurately, we’re blessed.
So how do we respond to those blessings? By sharing them. Nowhere was generous giving better modeled than in God’s ultimate gift to us: Jesus Christ. With that sacrifice as our example, we’re invited to adopt a lifestyle of generosity, giving freely of the resources we’ve been blessed with.
Today, let that be our prayer. Pray that God would open our hearts and lead us to be generous with all the blessings in our lives. Ask that He would loosen our hold on our financial resources and allow his blessings to flow through us. Pray that God would show us new and creative ways to give to others. Ask for inspiration and guidance as we prepare this weekend to contribute to an offering to launch 500 churches in China, Sudan, India and Cambodia. Pray for opportunities to be generous in our churches and communities. Ask him to make generosity our natural instinct, and that giving would become our way of living.
If God leads, you can also contribute to this global church planting effort by giving online.
We had a cool story from our LifeChurch.tv Oklahoma City campus concerning the offering. A group of kids got together and set up a lemonade stand because they wanted to participate in starting the churches. They worked all day long and raised over $80. How cool is that!?! They are now a part of making an eternal impact on these regions. Blessings to everyone who gave!
If you've ever worshipped in a church that you did not build then you owe a debt to those who came before you and invested in you! Now we all have the opportunity to say "thank you" to those people by taking their place and investing in the future of other Christians. They are waiting and they are half a world away. But they are real and they will meet you in heaven some day.
I've been to Uganda and seen the passion that the African Church has for Jesus. It is lifechanging to see the generosity and devotion over there.
Join me in this incredible miracle and let's plant some churches!
Lisa Frick, mesa AZ
I am from Lifeswitch church in New Zealand, my wife and girls are going to Brazil in November, to visit her famil,could you pray for God's provision, also for my brother in law Eddie you has cancer for healing. God is doing a great work with the children and youth in this country, pray that God would continue to help them grow in the lord.
Steff, thank you so much for sharing that with us!! there is something about kids doing things
like that, that really gets me. It is inspiering & motivating!! I'll add an extra gift toward my giving for the church in there name since I won't be able to by a limonade LOL :)
God Is Good...All The Time!!
I have been thinking lately "what can I do or where can I give?" Last night this thought popped in my head ( I believe it was inpired by God): A friend of my husbands in borrowing one of our TV's with a DVD player built into it. He's a recovering Drug Addict like my husband and he doesn't have much. So I told my husband that the thought just came to me to give him that TV and bless him with it (this is a friend too that I really want to bring to church with us as well) since all our kids have one and in a few months we will be getting this huge monter of a TV (its a guy thing) we really won't need it anyways soon and I haven't missed it at all. My husband was at first like "heck No" but I told him how we had been blessed with all the Televisions that we do have in our house and that we were getting a new one anyways and to just think about it and let him have it. He softened up and said he'd think about it. But there is so much that we don't have for our house and money is very tight right now but TV's are one thing we are not short on and why not bless someone who doesn't have one with one. So here I am thinking I have nothing to give to be generous with and we really do have something to be generous with. It made me think of all the things we do have that we could be more generous with. I hope and pray my husand blesses his friend and shows him the generous spirit of christ. I do want God to give myself and my family generousity as a natural instinct and for it to become a way of living for us. Since it is true our money is not ours but his and our possessions are not ours but his anyways we should be more free to bless others.
Lifechurch.tv - Stillwater
This is for Stef Swindell..... I just wanted to say that I was blessed by your posting. I love that your kids and friends doing the lemonade stand! I believe that's what this special offering is all about. It doesnt matter the amount, its the attitude behind it.... and that attitude is priceless and inspiring! So thank you for sharing that. I know you will all be blessed for it!
I ask a special prayer for this offering...that people's hearts are burdened by the need for these churches in these countries and that we all contribute what we feel led to contribute for this awesome mission. I also pray for the lives of those who these monies/churches will go to help. I pray that they find Christ and their lives be so richly blessed that they have no choice but to share it and spread it through their nation.
Because so many of the comments that have posted this week has been for financial help it seems that taking an offering might be difficult. I pray that God will work on the hearts of those who have plenty that they will give freely. Each day as I have read the desperation in the requests that pertain to finances, I have thanked God that He has provided generously for my family. We don't have much, but we have what we need, and enough to share an offering to the missions.
Please pray for my couisin in Iraq and all the other soldiers putting their lifes on the line
I am equally excited about this offering! To be able to give to help setup 500 churches is awesome! I will be giving as much as I can.
I used to worry about my financial situation but the more I give it to God the more He blesses me and provides for me. I should never worry about it because I know He will provide but it's always been something I worried about (especially being a poor college student). I started tithing at my church and God sure has blessed me through that and allowed me to be more giving financially. I realize I can live on way less than I think I can. I have a passion of giving whether it be monetarily or my time etc. I always was hesitant to give away money and as soon as I started, it's been a freeing experience. :)
I pray for this offering to be monumental and more than enough to build these churches :D
I am so excited for this offering! I personally don't have anything to give, as my h usband has not worked at all this week, so no paycheck coming. BUT, my kids (ages 8, 5, 3, and 1) and a friend of mines kids - almost the same ages - are setting up a lemonade stand on Saturday and will be donating 100% of the money to the offering at church to help plant these new churches!!! We will decorate the stand withe OnePrayer.com material to show the cause and to attract others to this website.
Pray that it is successful, that the kids learn the true meaning of this and their hearts are overflowing with love and generosity that they don't mind giving it all away to help others :)
I am learning that I am God's stewart. He owns everything I have. If I don't take care of his possessions well now, what can I expect in heaven? I find myself being more responsible with how I spend his money and how I take care of his possessions. I am deeply grateful for everything I have, my house, my car, my boat etc. I know if he wanted to he could remove everything. My life is abundant not because of the possessions I have, but because I am privledged to be his child, to be saved, to be loved by him . And because of his love, I am able to love and cultivate friendships and build relationships, this is what gives me an abundant life. Without God, and without relationships, I would be empty, in my heart and in my life. Thank you God for my abundant life.
I remember one of the teaching called "How to be rich" from Pastor Craig, every week, he would make us repeat a phrase that was added on to the one from the week before & here is the result at the end of the 4 weeks "God has blessed me with more than I need. I'm rich. But I will not trust in my riches, but in him who richly provides. Because I have more, I will give more & do more.
Craig Groeschel (Lifechurch.tv)!! That is on my favorite quote on my facebook & it reminds me that what I have, God has given me & he want me to be a good stuart & bless otheres as he blessed me.
So it is a blessing to be able to give & I also pray Pray that God would open my heart and lead
me to be generous with all the blessings in my life. I ask that He would loosen my hold on my
financial resources and allow his blessings to flow through me.
In the name of our wonderful savior I pray!!
I invited 10 people. I am glad I found your group on facebook. Prayer is powerful and I am happy to be part of this ministry. My church is Gulfway Assembly of God, Gulf Shores, Alabama.
Maximum Blessings to All
God is good...who knows where the next "Billy Graham," "DL Moody," or "Oswald Chambers" is going to come from. Who was the person that led the person that led Billy Graham to Jesus Christ? You just don't fully comprehend how your giving, or lack thereof, will impact the kingdom. But trusting in God to accomplish His will and Him letting us get in on this ground floor is a blessing that may be realized only when we get to heaven; and what a blessing it is to know [even] that is enough.
If one man (or woman) from one church could accomplish as much with God's will, how much more might be accomplished if God wills 500 new churches?
I have done several adjustments in my giving over the years, several unique things that I have prayed about and felt, led by the spirit to do. I think that we need to constantly be in prayer about how we use the Money, Time, Breath, etc that God has loaned to us. I am always open to what the Holy Spirit leads me to do to give. One church I have attended in the past did not “take” offerings. They instead had offering boxes that people could give an offering into whenever they wanted to. It was amazing how much better people felt about giving an offering as opposed to having one taken from them. Just something to think about.
God I pray that you will reveal to me more ways to give and help with the advancing of you kingdom. I want to be faithful in all of my resources.
In Faith.