“As soon as the command was spread abroad, the people of Israel gave in abundance the firstfruits of grain, wine oil, honey, and all of the produce of the field, and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything.”
– 2 Chronicles 31:5
I love this picture in 2 Chronicles, with worship and revival and restoration, all these things that God is doing among his people, and 2 Chronicles, 29 and 30 and 31, we see all of that accompanied by abundant generosity and giving. As soon as the command was spread abroad, the people of Israel gave in abundance. They brought in abundantly the tithe of everything. What a picture. Twice we see this picture of abundant giving and especially here at the end of this year, I encourage you to consider based on 2 Chronicles 31:5. The language here, is your giving to the spread of God’s glory abundant?
Abundantly Generous People
God, we pray that you would make all of us abundantly generous people that you would help us to give abundantly for your glory.
I want to encourage you to consider ways that God might be leading you to give more abundantly even here at the end of this year in your local church. First and foremost, in your local church and the ministry that is happening in and through your local church to build up your local church with abundant giving. Might God be leading you through this text even to give more abundantly here at the end of the year to your local church, and then to other work that God is doing around the world, whether it’s through a ministry like Radical, that’s making this podcast possible, radical.net or urgentneeds.org.
When we pray for the spread of the gospel among unreached people, that’s an avenue where you can be a part of the spread of the gospel among unreached people, on the front lines of the most urgent spiritual and physical needs in the world coming alongside our indigenous brothers and sisters there, and there are so many other avenues. God has given us so many resources, so how can we give in abundance? Bring in abundant offerings that resound to his glory?
2 Chronicles 31:5 Prays for Generosity that Reflects our Value in Christ
So God, we pray that you would make all of us abundantly generous people. That you would help us to give abundantly for your glory. God, help us not to believe the lie that we are sold in this world. And I think about it even especially here around the Christmas season. That gladness comes in getting more stuff and hoarding things. God, we pray that you would make us generous in giving. You would help us to realize that life is found and giving abundantly for others, that this is the picture you have shown us in 2 Corinthians 8:9. Lord Jesus, that you in all of your glory became poor so that by your poverty we might become rich.
So God, please help us to spend ourselves giving to others. That they might know your goodness and your grace and your glory. Help us to invest in that which matters forever. God help us to store up treasure in heaven that will never fade away. Help us be abundant in our giving we pray according to 2 Chronicles 31:5. For your glory in our lives, in our churches, and among the nations. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
