Prayers for Finances

3 traditional prayers for finances, and 14 passages from the Bible to pray with them. Choose one, read it aloud, or print it as a card to keep.

Prayers

For Faithfulness in the Use of This World's Goods

Almighty God, whose loving hand hath given us all that we possess; Grant us grace that we may honour thee with our substance, and remembering the account which we must one day give, may be faithful stewards of thy bounty; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

From the Book of Common Prayer (1928)

Prayer to Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Times of Need

O Mother of Perpetual Help, numerous clients continually surround thy holy Picture, all imploring thy mercy. All bless thee as the assured help of the miserable; all feel the benefit of thy maternal protection. With confidence, then, do I present myself before thee in my misery. See, dear Mother, the many evils to which we are exposed; see how numerous are our wants. Trials and sorrows often depress us; reverses of fortune and privations are grievous, bring misery into our homes; everywhere we meet the cross. Have pity, compassionate Mother, on us and on our families; especially in this my necessity (here mention it). Help me, O my Mother, in my distress; deliver me from all my ills; or if it be the will of God that I should suffer still longer, grant that I may endure all with love and patience. This grace I expect of thee with confidence, because thou art our Perpetual Help. Amen.

From a 1927 Perpetual Help confraternity booklet

Also on Our Lady of Perpetual Help Prayer

Collect of St Matthew

O Almighty God, who by thy blessed Son didst call Matthew from the receipt of custom to be an Apostle and Evangelist; Grant us grace to forsake all covetous desires, and inordinate love of riches, and to follow the same thy Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

From the Book of Common Prayer (1928)

Also on Prayer to St Matthew

Bible verses

Trust in the Lord, and Do Good

3Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. 6And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. 7Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

Psalm 37:3-7, King James Version

The Eyes of All Wait upon Thee

15The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. 16Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.

Psalm 145:15-16, King James Version

Also on Thanksgiving Prayers

The Prayer of Jabez

10And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

1 Chronicles 4:10, King James Version

Also on The Prayer of Jabez

Take No Thought for Your Life

25Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? 27Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Matthew 6:25-34, King James Version

My God Shall Supply All Your Need

19But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19, King James Version

I Will Never Leave Thee

5Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Hebrews 13:5-6, King James Version

It Is He That Giveth Thee Power to Get Wealth

18But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

Deuteronomy 8:18, King James Version

Thine, O Lord, Is the Greatness

11Thine, O LORD is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. 12Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. 13Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.

1 Chronicles 29:11-13, King James Version

Also on Thanksgiving Prayers

Bring Ye All the Tithes into the Storehouse

10Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Malachi 3:10, King James Version

Give, and It Shall Be Given unto You

38Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

Luke 6:38, King James Version

God Loveth a Cheerful Giver

6But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 7Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

2 Corinthians 9:6-8, King James Version

The Blessing of the Lord, It Maketh Rich

22The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

Proverbs 10:22, King James Version

I Have Not Seen the Righteous Forsaken

25I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

Psalm 37:25, King James Version

Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

11Give us this day our daily bread.

Matthew 6:11, King James Version

Questions

Which prayer for finances should I start with?

Start with "For Faithfulness in the Use of This World's Goods" and pray it each day, with Trust in the Lord, and Do Good (Psalm 37:3-7) to read alongside it.

Are these Catholic or Protestant prayers?

Both. They come from Catholic prayer books, the Anglican Book of Common Prayer and the Bible. Most can be prayed by any Christian.

Can I change the words to fit my situation?

Yes. Where a prayer says "N." or "thy servant", put in the name of the person you are praying for.

Why are the prayers in old-fashioned English?

They keep the words of the older prayer books and the King James Bible, the words generations have prayed. "Thee" and "thou" are the old familiar forms of "you".