Our faith-filled prayers and giving bring our needs before the throne of God. Both our praying and our giving are evidence that we are looking to God to meet our needs or change our circumstances and not to our own ability. When we honor Him in our praying and giving, He will direct us and guide our steps.
There is a final result of our giving that we must include here. In Second Corinthians 9:6-8, the Holy Spirit summarizes this principle.
“But this I say, He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (NKJV).
The measure of our harvest is determined by the measure of our giving.
When we give sparingly, we reap sparingly. When we give bountifully, we reap bountifully. We are the ones who determine our harvest according to what we decide in our hearts. We are not supposed to give with a grudge, or because someone has a desperate need; we are supposed to give because we are cheerful givers. We understand the principle of seedtime and harvest. Genesis 8:22 says, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease” (NKJV).
Notice that Paul said all grace would abound toward us. This means that the various aspects of grace, that bring God’s ability to us for any area of life, will increase according to our giving and sowing into the Kingdom of God.
Thus, the rate of growth and advancement in our walk with God is put squarely within our realm of influence. Our willingness to honor God with our wealth and to reach out in faith through our giving opens the way for God’s ability to be multiplied on our behalf.
Let me stress once again what Galatians 6:7 says. It provides the clearest and most powerful summary we have on this subject of giving: “A man’s harvest in life will depend entirely on what he sows” (Phillips).
No matter how little we have reaped in the past, the harvest we receive tomorrow can change! If we will choose to sow the right seeds, sowing bountifully, we can begin to experience a bountiful harvest. And by doing so, we allow God’s grace, His power to accomplish what we are unable to accomplish on our own, to be multiplied in our lives.
