Day 1 - Generosity comes from the Heart 

2 Corinthians 9:6-12 

PAUSE – 

As we prepare for prayer, let’s pause to clear our hearts and minds to invite God’s Spirit to guide us with the words of Psalm 63:1 

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; 

I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, 

In a dry and parched land where there is no water… 

In a divided and broken world, we long for a fresh flow of God’s living water – the Holy Spirit 

REJOICE in God’s goodness with the words Psalm 34:1-3 

I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. 

I will glory in the Lord; 

Let the afflicted hear and rejoice. 

Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt His name together. 

Now we REFLECT on our Generosity challenge today. 

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 

In this familiar passage generosity has often been misrepresented and manipulated to coerce people to give money to a cause or a person. However, Paul makes it clear that true generosity is an expression of a heart overflowing and cheerful. In fact manipulation seeks to move someone from reluctance to compulsion, which is exactly the opposite of the invitation in this passage. 

Reread verses 6-7 above. If possible, read it aloud and listen for a word or phrase that stands out to you today. 

The phrase that stood out to me is “decided in your heart.” Often when I sense a tug to give generously, I second-guess my heart. And yet I find that further prayer and reflection will give me clarity. It becomes especially clear if my wife, Kim, has a similar conviction. Today I’m reminded that when my heart is abiding in Christ, I can trust his prompts. Lord, quicken my heart to your prompts to be generous toward others today, not just in what I do, but how I see others. Paul is speaking about an overflowing desire that seeks opportunities for expression. Imagine a 5-year-old child who has been crafting a special gift at school to present to their mother for Mother’s Day. The expectation of their mother’s delight is almost too much to contain. The gift is wrapped carefully, the ride home from school on Friday is agonizing as they anticipate sharing this gift with the one for whom it is intended. And then they are told they must wait 2 days, nearly an eternity, until they can share the gift with their mother. Every time they pass by the gift, they begin to feel a thumping in their chest – the anticipation building. Then finally on Sunday morning, Mother’s Day has arrived and they bring the gift proudly and thrust it out to their Mommy and stand there waiting. As Mom opens the gift the child squirms with anticipation, and as it is finally opened and Mom’s eyes light up, they begin to jump and dance around. This is a cheerful giver whose heart is overflowing in grace-filled generosity. 

ASK - 

Take a few moments to pray for someone who needs a blessing today. Pray for God to provide exactly what they need and to encourage them with His goodness. Ask the Lord to reveal opportunities to be generous today. 

YIELD - 

Open your hands as a sign of an open heart to receive the word the Lord has for you. Release your worries, challenges, and unhealthy patterns to Him. What heartache or struggle has snuffed out the joy and generosity in your heart? What might reawaken cheerful giving? What is the Lord calling you to yield to or say “Yes” to today? 

Let the words from Seph Schlueter’s song “Counting my blessings” draw us back to God’s grace.

God, I’m still counting my blessings - All that You’ve done in my life 

The more that I look at the details - The more of your goodness I find 

Father, on this side of Heaven – I know that I’ll run out of time 

But I will keep counting my blessings – Knowing I can’t count that high 

Listen to Counting My Blessings.