Prosperity Is More than It Seems
Prosperity gets a lot of attention. It’s something almost everybody wants. Some feel it is something they don’t have, or at least not enough of. Over time and in many cultures, it has developed a focused meaning: money.
In fact Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology gives the Bible definition of prosperity this way: See Wealth.
Healthy Prosperity
In the waiting room at the local hospital, while Cindy experiences a simple procedure, I notice rows of empty chairs. My first thought:: “That means health prosperity!”
Shakti Gawain’s Creating True Prosperity (excerpt) is a down-to-earth, well-grounded look at the subject. She spells out what it really means…or can and should mean. Prosperity is the experience of having plenty of what we truly need and want in life, material and otherwise.
I pick experience, truly, and otherwise as key words in that definition. Of the three, experience is most significant.
Money or wealth is not prosperity. The contentment, enjoyment we allow ourselves to experience from what we are, what we do, and what we have are what matter (in that order). By letting ourselves think that money is what matters, we surrender our power to create the experience.
Eric Butterworth said, Prosperity is a way of living and thinking, and not just money or things.
How many people have you known who were truly happy, although they were not wealthy? Perhaps even financially impoverished? Does their happiness suggest they feel prosperous? If so, doesn’t that suggest theirs is a self-created experience?
Have you known people who were affluent, wealthy, prosperous by dictionary definitions but experiencing a “happiness poverty”? Do they create their own experience?
Two suggestions:
- Write out (by hand) a list of what that gives you peace, happiness, contentment, satisfaction.
- Daily write out (by hand) 5 or 10 sources of gratitude. Include what you’ve experienced in the past 24 hours. Think of events, emotions, excitements…not just “things”.
For some thoughts, ideas about praying concerning prosperity: Why Not Pray for Prosperity?
Praying Thanks for Prosperities
Giver of Goodness,
the blessings you pour upon us
come in every imaginable shape and size,
purpose and presence,
meaning and manifestation.
The riches we know thanks to you are many,
not merely money.
The riches are but signs of the infinite goodness,
unconditional love, eternal peace that we are
as your creation.
As we experience that truth,
we know true prosperity.
And so it is. And so we thank you, God.
Amen.
Love and blessings,
June 23, 2017
In: Joy, Love, Peace, Prayer, Praying, Prosperity, Spirituality
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