When You’re in Debt and Don’t Know What to Do Next Look Around the House

Money is one of the hardest things to talk about honestly, especially when debt is involved.

Debt carries fear. Pressure. Shame. The feeling that you are running out of time and options. Many people pray for a miracle, but they do not know what obedience looks like when money is tight.

Scripture gives us a powerful and grounded example.

In 2 Kings 4:1–7, we meet a widow who is desperate. Her husband has died, she is drowning in debt, and her sons are about to be taken as slaves to pay what she owes. She goes to the prophet Elisha and cries out for help.

Elisha asks her a question that seems almost too simple.

“What do you have in your house?”

She answers honestly.
Nothing of value. Only a small jar of oil.

That detail matters.

God did not start by giving her something new. He started with what she already had.

Elisha instructs her to borrow empty jars from her neighbors. Not a few. As many as she can gather. Then she is told to go inside, shut the door, and begin pouring the oil she already possesses into the empty jars.

As she obeys, the oil continues to flow. It does not stop until there are no more empty jars left.

Only then does the oil stop.

She sells the oil, pays her debts, and lives on what remains.

This story teaches us something important about how God often works in seasons of financial pressure.

God’s provision frequently requires participation.

The miracle did not cancel responsibility. The widow still had to borrow the jars. She still had to pour. She still had to sell the oil. God multiplied what she had, but she had to act in faith and obedience.

Prayer and action are not enemies.

Sometimes we are waiting for God to do something supernatural when He is asking us to steward what is already in our hands. Skills. Time. Resources. Creativity. Discipline. Willingness to do what is necessary, not just what is comfortable.

This does not mean debt is your fault. It does not mean God is disappointed in you. It means He is involved and inviting you to partner with Him.

God is not intimidated by your numbers.
He is not surprised by your situation.
He is not limited by what looks small to you.

But He does ask us to move:

To budget.
To plan.
To work.
To be honest.
To take the next right step.

Prayer in seasons of debt is not just asking for relief. It is asking for wisdom, courage, discipline, and obedience.

And God is faithful to provide what is needed, often starting with what is already in your house.

Prayer for Finances

Lord, I come to you as humbly as I know how. Lord, I thank you for the gift of life and the ability to continue to honor and serve you with the time you have given me. Lord, I am struggling with debt and I have been dwelling in the spirit of lack for so long. Lord, I declare in this next season you will bless me to be the giver not the borrower. I declare and I decree I am no longer practicing any bad habits that keeps me broke. Lord, please bless me with the wisdom I need to be a better steward of my money, opportunities, energy, time, and resources. Lord, bless me with the plan and strategy to use what I already have to take action and move in faith towards what you have promised me. Lord, I intercede on any attack of the enemy. I declare and I decree that not one thing from the kingdom of darkness has any power over me or my bloodline. In the mighty and the matchless name of Jesus, Amen.