By Oshea Davis 

29, 2025 

Today, let’s start with the prayer of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:10: “Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.’ And God granted his request” (NIV). 

Boom—God didn’t rebuke Jabez for asking big; He answered yes. Prosperity isn’t a side hustle; it’s God’s original blueprint, lost in sin, partially restored to Abraham, and fully unleashed in Jesus. And get this: It’s yours by faith, in ways that make reprobates squirm. 

First off, prosperity was God’s idea from the jump—Creation itself screams abundance. Genesis 1:1 kicks off with God crafting a universe teeming with riches: gold in Havilah (Genesis 2:12), fruitful trees, rivers flowing, animals multiplying. He didn’t make a barren wasteland; He engineered a paradise of plenty. He called this overabundance “Good,” and so lack and poverty are “bad.” God didn’t design scarcity and then call it good. No, prosperity reflects His nature—generous, overflowing, unstoppable. He spoke, and wealth materialized: stars for navigation, soil for crops, seas for trade. Creation wasn’t neutral; it was loaded with provision, a divine trust fund for humanity. God likes big—big universes, big blessings, big faith. If you’re thinking small, that’s your human empiricism talking, not God’s Word. 

Enter Adam: God handed him the keys to this prosperous kingdom. Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'” Dominion! Adam wasn’t scratching for scraps; he ruled a garden where “gold… and onyx” abounded (Genesis 2:11-12), food grew effortlessly, and work was stewardship, not toil. The Garden was not Adam working to get rich; rather, it was God making Adam rich and then Adam managing this wealth. Eden defines prosperity mainly and directly as very material. However, there are other blessings involved such as authority, relational harmony, physical health. Adam walked with God in opulence, no lack, no limits. This was the original deal: Man as God’s image-bearer, prospering in every sphere because God supplied it all (as per Maxim 13: “God’s unmerited favor supplies man, man does not supply God”). But reprobates twist this, saying wealth corrupts. Nonsense—Adam’s prosperity was pure until sin crashed the party. 

Ah, the Fall—where prosperity got hijacked. Genesis 3:17-19: Cursed ground, thorns, sweat for bread. Adam’s rebellion didn’t just bring spiritual death; it unleashed poverty, sickness, and struggle. The abundant earth turned hostile, mirroring man’s death. Sin didn’t erase God’s prosperous design; it veiled it under a curse. Humanity toiled in lack, empires rose on exploitation, and scarcity became the norm in many places. But here’s the kicker: Even in judgment, God hinted at restoration (Genesis 3:15). Prosperity wasn’t revoked forever; it was postponed for the faithful. Those who peddle “poverty vows” as holiness? They’re glorifying the curse, siding with Satan—the ultimate thief who comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). Defective ethics at its worst. 

Then God kickstarts the comeback with Abraham. Genesis 12:2-3: “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing… and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Abraham wasn’t some ascetic monk; he got filthy rich—livestock, silver, gold, king’s ransoms (Genesis 13:2). Why? Faith. He believed God’s promise, and prosperity flowed: land enlargements, victories over kings, supernatural favor. This was a substantial and multifaceted prosperity restoration, even if it wasn’t perfected heaven itself. Thus, even when Abraham faced famines and foes, he still came out victorious and rich. This fallen world, with all its curses and problems, kneeled under the boot of Abraham’s blessing to be prosperous. What God promised Abraham was a down payment, bypassing the curse. Galatians 3:14 calls it “the blessing of Abraham,” including the Spirit and miracles, but don’t sleep on the wealth: Deuteronomy 8:18 echoes it, “It is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” God began reversing Adam’s loss through covenant faith, proving prosperity honors Him when rooted in faith. Reprobates who bash “prosperity gospel”? They’re blind to this—Abraham’s blessing was God’s wealth transfer program, started with one man in faith, but completely fulfilled in Christ. 

Fast-forward to Jesus: Full restoration, no holds barred. Galatians 3:13-14: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us… so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” And that promise? Abraham’s blessing, but amplified through Jesus. Jesus became poor so we could become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). The context is not spiritual wealth, but filthy money and material riches. He ministered wealth as part of His high-priest gig: righteousness, wealth, and healing. Only God’s thoughts matter. In the mind of God, He thinks the atonement swapped our poverty for Jesus’ riches, our sickness for health, our curse for blessing. Post-resurrection, we’re new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17), seated with Him above lack (Ephesians 2:6). Our Maxim 12 roars: “They financially prosper and are healed by faith in the gospel of Jesus.” In Christ, prosperity isn’t optional—it’s inheritance. Doubt it? You’re limiting God (Psalm 78:41), confessing empiricism instead of God’s word. 

Now, how does God grant this prosperity by faith? Not some cookie-cutter formula but simply believing His Word. First, direct asking in Jesus’ name—John 16:23: “My Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” Jabez-style: “Enlarge my borders!” Faith confession moves mountains (Mark 11:23), including financial ones. Speak wealth into existence, because reality obeys faith. Second, through wisdom and favor—Proverbs 8:18: “With me are riches and honor.” God gives ideas, opportunities, divine connections (like Abraham’s alliances). Third, sowing and reaping—2 Corinthians 9:6-8: Generous giving multiplies back, not as works, but by God’s promise received by faith. Fourth, miraculous provision—Matthew 17:27: Fish with coins? Why not? It’s available to faith. Agree that God is correct. Assent to God’s promises, act on them, and watch. But beware—unbelief blocks it, like the Israelites’ evil report. Defective faith-fumblers say, “Prosperity’s not for today.” Wrong! It’s for insiders, co-heirs who boldly approach the throne (Hebrews 4:16). If they choose to not see themselves as insiders and not boldly approach and receive, then they must hate their lives. Why join the dead? Why join with the faithless? Why join those who toss away their own lives as trash? 

Reprobates focus on men; but the faithful focus on God (Maxim 14). Chase Him, and wealth chases you. If you are chasing God without healing and prosperity and blessings chasing you, then it means you are chasing God while you disbelieve Him. This is the sad and degrading life of the faithless. Chasing something they hate and distrust. 

In sum, prosperity’s God’s brainchild from Creation, gifted to Adam, snatched by sin, rebooted with Abraham, and maxed out in Christ. Jabez nailed it—ask big, get big. If you’re not prospering, check your faith, not God’s will (see Maxim 19: “God’s Word is His will”). Prosperity is God’s idea, from creation to Abraham and finally in Jesus. When you pray for prosperity you are not asking a reluctant God. You are agreeing with God and receiving what He has already provided. “You have given me wealth in Abraham’s blessing and in Your Son’s atonement, and I agree with you. You are correct. I thank you for prosperity and receive it through the unmerited favor you gave it in.”