Lord, the money ran out before the bills did. I am asking for food today, a place to sleep, and one clear next step. Help me tell the truth about what I owe, and help me ask the people who can help. Amen.
When money has run short for so long that lack feels like the family name, these points give you words to bring it to God, one verse at a time.
When you want help finding words for the bill in front of you, Prayer Copilot is the app for that.
Get Prayer CopilotIf food, rent, or a shutoff notice is the problem today, talk to your pastor and ask whether the church has a benevolence fund. For debts, look for free counseling from a nonprofit agency that belongs to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC).
The verses below are from the King James Version (KJV).
Matthew 6:11 is one line of the prayer Jesus taught his disciples. It asks for the day in front of you.
Proverbs 30:8-9 is Agur's prayer. He asks God for a middle place and for food that is enough, so that fullness does not turn him to denial and emptiness does not turn him to theft.
Psalm 34:6 is David's account, inside the psalm, of a time he cried out and the Lord heard him. This prayer joins that cry and asks to be heard.
In Matthew 6:31-33, Jesus names food, drink, and clothing. When he says "all these things," he is speaking of those necessities. The lines sit in the Sermon on the Mount, in his words about anxiety.
Hebrews 13:5 tells believers to keep their lives free of covetousness and to be content with what they have. The promise in the verse is God's presence. He will never leave you, nor forsake you.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, Paul urges that church to live quietly, tend their own work, and work with their hands, so their conduct toward outsiders is honest. Ask for strength to work when there is work, and for fitting help when illness, age, or a closed hiring door means there is no job to do.
Proverbs 21:5 is a proverb about plans. Diligent thoughts tend toward plenty, and haste tends toward want. Bring it to God as a request for patience and for a plan you can read on paper.
James 1:5 tells anyone who lacks wisdom to ask God, who gives liberally and does not scold the person for asking. The gift named in this verse is wisdom.
Colossians 3:23 sits in Paul's words about daily work, including the work of servants, done heartily for the Lord rather than to impress people. The prayer asks for guidance and for honest work in the shop or on the job.
Proverbs 22:7 says the rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. It warns about the power a debt hands to the lender. Pray it as a request for a clear head, and pair it with the free counseling named above.
Deuteronomy 15:7-8 is a command in Israel's law. A person who has enough is told to keep an open hand toward a poor brother and to lend what the need requires. That command is why this page tells you to ask about a church benevolence fund.
2 Corinthians 8:9 comes in Paul's appeal for the collection for poor believers in Jerusalem. He points the Corinthians to the grace of Christ while he asks them to finish that gift. Read the sentence with that chapter, as a word about grace and giving. The riches Paul means are the grace of Christ, not a promise of money. The Macedonian churches he praises in the same chapter gave out of deep poverty.
Pray the short prayer at the top when you need words in the next minute. Use the twelve points one at a time, or read straight through on a morning when the bills are on the table. Put the real detail in your own mouth: the due date, the shoes a child has outgrown, the notice from the utility company.
Philippians 4:6 (KJV): "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."
Paul is writing to the church at Philippi about their anxieties. He tells them to bring requests to God, with thanksgiving. Say the request in plain words. Then do the thing that matches it. Write what you owe. Call the person you owe, or take the letter to someone who can read it with you. Talk to your pastor. Ask about the benevolence fund. If the debts need a counselor, find a nonprofit agency in the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
1 Timothy 6:7-8 (KJV): "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."
Paul names food and clothing as the contentment he is describing in these two verses. You can ask God for food and for clothes, and you can ask him for a settled heart on a thin week.
Luke 12:15 (KJV): "And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth."
Jesus says this to a crowd after a man asks him to settle a family inheritance. Keep that warning beside every prayer on this page. The life you are asking God to keep is larger than the things in the house.
Prayer points against poverty are short prayers for a person whose money keeps running out. Each point on this page asks God for help and sits beside a King James verse. Say them as requests you can pray today, and pair them with a pastor, a church benevolence fund, or free nonprofit debt counseling.
Start with the short prayer at the top when you need words right now. Then pray the twelve points in one sitting or across the week, and name the bill, the rent date, or the person you are carrying. Philippians 4:6 tells you to let your requests be made known to God. Talk with your pastor, ask about a church benevolence fund, and look for free nonprofit debt counseling from an NFCC member agency. Write down what comes in and what goes out.
Yes. Pray beside a friend, or say their name when you are alone. Ask what they need before you share their situation with anyone else. A meal, a ride to a counseling appointment, or a quiet seat while they call a creditor can sit alongside the prayer.