Financial Prayer: A Prayer to Pray When Struggling with Finances

“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

God,

I need finances right now, so I’m crying out to you. I need income to pay my bills, buy food, pay debts, and for the other things I need. I’m asking you, Lord, to provide and take care of me.

Also, help me redirect my thoughts from focusing on my current financial issues to you. I know if I look at the circumstances, I could get overwhelmed, anxious, and feel despair; so, I’m looking to you, Lord, the Waymaker, and my provider.

I trust you, Lord, with my life and with my finances. Help me to put my complete trust in you. From Psalm 28:7, you are my strength and my shield; in you my heart trusts, and I am helped. Give me a heart for you Lord. I don’t want to be a lover of money. I know I can’t love money and love you at the same time. So, help me keep my priority of loving you first above everything else. Help me to be content and have a grateful heart. Forgive me for any carelessness on my part when it comes to spending. Help me to be wise with the funds I have, and give me wisdom when it comes to budgeting, paying off debt, and my spending habits.

Lord, I can face this financial crisis in my life with your help and strength. As the scripture, Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength.” Give me strength and meet my needs! Thank you, God, for hearing and answering my prayer.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

How do I pray to God for immediate financial assistance?

Start right now with this video, or if you’re not in a place where you can have the volume on, you can read this prayer in your head or copy it down on a piece of paper or in a journal. Let God really have it—let Him know how scared you are, how much it hurts to be struggling like this, why you need His help, and ask Him for what you need. Don’t be afraid to get specific.

• “God, I need $1127 for rent, or we won’t have a place to live in 30 days.” 
• “God, my bank account is at $2.37, there’s no food in the house, and I don’t get paid for another week. I need $50 for groceries.” 
• “God, tuition was due three days ago, and they won’t let me register for my classes—I need $12,000.”

Author Anne Lamott talks about her relationship with prayer and how all of hers boil down to these three simple prayers:

• “Help.” This is most likely the one you’re feeling right now, and sometimes one word is all we have the capacity for when we’re stressed out of our minds about something or struggling with our mental health. This is a word you can write down, whisper, or think as a prayer over and over again, day in and day out, during times of need. 
• “Thanks.” One thing. Made a green light? Say thanks. Someone else picked up the tab at lunch? Say thanks. It was pizza day at school, so you were able to eat? Say thanks. The prayer of “thanks” is a difficult one when we’re struggling, but trying to see even the smallest amount or light in the darkness can give you the strength to keep going.
• “Wow.” This is for when you’re in awe. Everything can be going poorly, yet a song might come on the radio in a car that passes you with the windows rolled down, and you might get to hear just a few seconds of violin and piano making beauty out of thin air. Say “wow.” You might get an unexpected check in the mail for a few bucks because your grandma was missing you. Say “wow.”

Remember that while prayer is important, so is action. If you have access to the internet to be reading this article, praise God! Use it to find something you can do right now to help your situation—apply for a job, search for a shelter, email or call a friend or family member, or research a community organization like mutual aid who can help you. There are good people out there who have the desire in their hearts to help you, so use this prayer to ask for the strength to find them.

What does God say about struggling financially?

Unfortunately, it is simply not true that “money can’t buy happiness.” If you are struggling to make rent or tuition, pay your medical bills, or put food on the table, money will absolutely make you happy because it will solve those problems! A lot of the financial advice that comes from faith-based sources can center around the idea that “money is the root of all evil” from the book of 1 Timothy, but the whole picture is more complicated than that.

1 Timothy 6:10 actually says that “the love of money is the root of all evil,” which condemns greed. But money itself can turn out to be one of the many ways that God takes care of our basic needs, so it’s not evil to want more money when you’re struggling. The world we live in makes it so that money can buy you food, shelter, clothes, and access to all kinds of support and experiences that are crucial to living a happy, healthy, abundant life, which is exactly what God not only wants for us but promises in John 10.

There are a few pieces of wisdom the Bible can offer us when it comes to financial hardship. On the one hand, we are encouraged to take action, make wise choices, and be generous.

• “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” —2 Corinthians 9:6

On the other hand, the Bible also encourages us to trust in God’s ability to care for us. Ultimately, leaning into the anxiety and worry about money may cause us to spiral into a depression or sap up the energy we need to be putting into taking action, so let these verses give you comfort and courage when you’re struggling.

• “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life. . . Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” —Matthew, 6:25–27
• “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” —Philippians 4:12–13
• “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” —Philippians 4:19

How to trust God during a financial crisis?

Have you heard of the serenity prayer? Check it out:

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Pray this over your financial issues. Are there things about your current situation that are out of your control? Inflation, the job market, your school raising the price of tuition, etc. Take a deep breath and accept that you can’t change those things. It’s frustrating and discouraging, but it’s out of your hands. Are there things you can change? Asking for a raise, asking a family member for help, getting a roommate to split the cost of rent, applying for a better-paying job, sitting down with your budget to figure out where you can cut spending until things get better, etc. Ask for the courage to do those things, and then do them!

And finally, ask for wisdom. Maybe it feels like there’s nothing you can do about tuition, but if you call the school and explain your situation, someone might be able to find a way to help you. Maybe there’s no way you can afford to fix your computer, but when you call the store to ask about it, it could turn out they’re actually running a huge sale on used computers for students at a price you can handle. Trust that God is going to be there for you no matter what happens with the things that are out of your control and that He’s going to give you the strength, courage, and wisdom to take the actions you can. Ask him to give you a sense of peace about the situation as you wait to see how things turn out.

It’s also an important show of trust to keep taking care of yourself in the midst of hard times. Keep yourself in good condition so that when things get better, you’re able to enjoy them. Financial stress has a major impact on mental health, and some financial difficulties qualify as trauma, meaning you need healing during and afterward. Continue drinking plenty of water, moving your body as much as you’re able, and eating as healthily as your budget will allow.

Find small ways to give yourself love and care: a night at home with relaxing music, a book, and early bedtime. Running yourself completely ragged with worry, working overtime, and cutting out self-care may seem like your only option, but make sure you’re giving yourself a day, a few hours, or even a few minutes off from that hustle every so often or you’ll find yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally burned depleted on top of financially.

Has your struggle with finances caused you anxiety? Read these bible verses about anxiety to help you cope and find help from God.