Generous Giving (2 Corinthians 8:7)
But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.
– 2 Corinthians 8:7
Oh, this is so good. These two chapters, 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 are talking about the grace of giving, of generosity, of giving, generously, sacrificially, cheerfully to others. And why love this verse in particular, I want to lead us to pray according to it is because of this exhortation to excel in giving, not to just give halfheartedly or to be okay in giving, but no to excel in giving just as we excel in everything. And I love the list here in faith, in speech and knowledge and earnestness, in love and in giving. And part of me thinks I don’t need to explain that anymore.
It’s just, God help us to do this. So lemme just pray this over us right now, and as we pray, just ask God to show us individually any ways he’s calling us practically to excel in any of these areas and specifically in giving in ways that we’re not excelling right now. So God, we pray for conviction from your Holy Spirit, even as we pray this for any ways you’re calling us to excel in any of these areas. God, we pray that you’d help us to excel in faith and just pray that over each other today, help us to excel and trust in you. Please reveal any areas of our lives where we’re not trusting in you right now, and help us to excel in faith. God help us to excel in speech. God, may our words be excellent, the words we speak to others, the words we mumble under our breath, the words we write, the words we post.
God may everything we say, all of our speech, be excellent, be edifying to others and glorifying to you. God, help us to excel in knowledge. Help us to grow in knowledge today, knowledge of you, knowledge of that which is true. God, we pray that you’d help us not to be lazy in knowledge, but to pursue, as Hosea says, to press on to know you. Help us to excel in knowledge. May we know you more today than we did yesterday. Help us to excel in earnestness. God, help us to be zealous for the things you are zealous for your glory. Others good. Help us not to be unfeeling in our lives, but to excel in earnestness and zeal for that which is good. And help us to excel in love. God, we pray that you help us to grow and love for you and love for others today.
Help us to excel in love and God we pray, help us to excel in generosity and giving. God, how are you calling us to give more than we are giving now or to give differently than we are giving now to give cheerfully, generously, sacrificially. God, we pray that you would help us to be excellent in our giving. If there’s anything we need to change in the way we’re using our money right now to excel in this act of grace, what a grace it is to be able to give. God, help us to excel in giving and this act of grace that you’ve given us to do.
A Prayer for the Yazeed People
And God, we pray for unreached people around the world for the Yazeed people of Sudan. And as we pray for half a million Yazeed, we think about the unimaginable suffering that Sudanese men and women and children are experiencing right now.
God, we pray you would help us to excel in giving for the spread of your grace and your love among all the nations, and particularly amidst the most urgent, spiritual, and physical needs in the world. God, we pray you’d help us not to hoard our resources. God, that you would free us from hoarding and help us to give generously, sacrificially, for the spread of your love and your grace and your mercy among people like the Yazeed in Sudan, and even specifically among them.
God, we pray, have mercy on Sudanese men, women, and children right now. And God, we pray that you’d bless all those who are working for their good, specifically those who are working for the spread of the gospel in really hard areas of Sudan. God, please bless them as they excel. Help us to excel in the support we give, and resources we provide that you’ve entrusted to us. Help us to excel in this grace, for your glory in the world. All this we pray according to your word in 2 Corinthians 8:7. In Jesus’ name, amen.
