Sunday, 5th May 2024
Bible Reading: Genesis 1: 27-28
Memory Verse: Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. Genesis 2:25 (NIV)
After a marriage of 37 years standing, someone wrote: In 1985 when I wedded, I was earning a little over N8,000 per annum. At the time, we paid #300 a month for our 3-bedroom flat. In 2002 when I took early retirement as a Senior Manager, I started with a pension of a little over #100,000 per month. At this time, we had two children in secondary school, and two in primary school.
The fees now was in the region of #20,000 per child. I share the above information to show you that financial struggle is not a recent development for married couples. In the early days of our marriage, I said the same and my mum would always say to me, that financial struggles exist in every age. Whether you are single or married, it is very critical that you acquire skills to manage personal and family finances.
Many husbands and wives quarrel with themselves about money instead of coming together as a team to deal with their inadequate financial resources. The skills you require include but aren’t limited to:
1. Ability to clearly define what your basic needs are.
2. Ability to be honest with yourself about what you currently earn and whether it is sufficient to cover all the needs you identified in No 1 above.
3. Ability to DISPASSIONATELY prioritise where your income will go if it is much lower than what you require to meet your basic needs
4. Ability to commit to focusing on activities that actually bring in income instead of those that protect your status.
5. Willingness to accept that both husband and wife need to apply themselves to bringing in income to the common family purse. Remember the saying, “United we stand, divided we fall”? It applies in marriage too.
6. Putting some amount away in savings, no matter how little you earn.
7. Ability to build a passive income and invest your savings. Salary may never be enough. You will always need other sources of income.
8. Financial Openness. Hiding your finances from your spouse is like shooting yourself in the legs. Don’t expect your spouse to be reasonable you’re hiding something.
Quote: Many couples are naked sexually buy not naked financially.
Prophetic Decree: I break the backbone of the strongman in charge of your finances, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus
1. Spirit of financial wisdom overshadow my marriage, in Jesus name.
2. Satanic financial tantrums thrown into my marriage, backfire, in Jesus name.
3. Every arrow of financial crisis fired into my home, backfire, in Jesus name.
4. My foundation receive deliverance from financial hardship, in Jesus name.
5. I receive wisdom and favour to live above the current financial hardship, in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 1-2, 15, 22-24, 47, 68