A Blueprint for Spiritual Prosperity

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We all want spiritual prosperity. What I mean is that we all want our spiritual lives to be strong and healthy and growing. All of the Bible exists so we can achieve just that but there are some short passages that really speak to the idea of spiritual prosperity. This is one of them.

See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

1 Thessalonians 5:15–24 (ESV)

Here are the points Paul makes for us in this scripture.

Do good to everyone

We live in a world of conflict. Some conflicts are dangerous to life itself, others result in animosity and hard feelings. Revenge is not something we do. We are to seek to do good to everyone, starting with those in the church. The best way to ‘get even’ is to repay evil with good. Although it may not solve the problem, it could keep it from getting worse.

Rejoice

We need to live lives of joy. In fact, we need to rejoice always! An attitude of praise and joy can certainly change your life. You will feel different, see things differently and experience life in a new way. A joyful person is visible evidence of someone living in spiritual prosperity.

Pray

We are to be continually praying. We can be in constant conversation with God. He is always with us. There may be moments of silence as in any conversation, but we should always be aware of his presence. Expressions to him of every event and emotion of the day are entirely appropriate. It is important to have times of focused and intense prayer, but our daily prayer experience should never end there!

Be thankful

No matter what is happening in your life, give thanks. That is an amazing command. But even the worst of circumstances can be turned around by God. The greatest example of that is the life of Jesus! All the enemies of God’s plan thought they had won when Jesus died. It was a horrific event for him but God used that event to bring salvation and eternal life to countless millions. He can and will do the same for you in any situation so be thankful!

Embrace the Spirit

Sometimes the Spirit of God prompts us to do something uncomfortable. Sometimes we find ourselves in the presence of someone gripped by the Spirit and doing something that feels uncomfortable to us. We must ask ourselves if this is something that seems contrary to the ways and will of God or is it something that we are just unfamiliar with.

I heard this story once (and I am sorry to say, I can’t remember the source). Someone was in a worship service and everyone was on their faces worshiping and praying. He said to himself, “Why are these people all on their faces?” Then he heard what he was sure was the voice of God, “Why aren’t you?” Since he didn’t want to quench the Spirit, he promptly got on his face in obedience and worship!

Listen to the word

Prophecy here is simply speaking forth the word of God. It may be about a future event but is more often simply a declaration of the will of God. When someone speaks a word of prophecy it must be consistent with the known will of God. God never contradicts himself. It means you must have a thorough knowledge of scripture so you can discern a false word. The Holy Spirit will help you with that as well.

Grip the good

Not only are we to do good we are to hold fast to the good. The Bible tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17). Holding tightly to the good will put you squarely in a life of spiritual prosperity!

Shun evil

If it looks wrong, run away! We should never flirt with temptation, contemplate a little selfishness or rationalize disobedience. We must abhor everything in the Bible that God defines as sin. While some may argue that some sins are okay today because the behavior is culturally acceptable, God’s definition of evil is unchanging. What was sin then is still sin. It can be challenging at times to accept that but we must.

Be sanctified

God wants to finish the work of purifying your life. He wants you to be free of sin and guilt – blameless when he comes again. This is God’s will and he will do it if we let him. Our spiritual prosperity depends on this final and ongoing work of God in our lives making us holy and pure. Trust him to do it for you as you consecrate your life to him.

Your turn

Understand that the things here are God’s will for you. Pray that you will live like this. Ask God to empower you to live the life he wants you to live – a life of spiritual prosperity!