You would be hard pressed to find people more in debt than my husband, Joe, and I were for most of our marriage. Not only did we make a lot of poor financial decisions over the years, but I was a stay-at-home mom the entire time we were raising our two sons, and we only had my husband's income to depend on. Joe always worked at least two jobs, and on top of that, he took college classes in the evenings to earn his four-year degree. Times were hard, and I spent most of my time home alone with our children.

I didn't surrender my life to the Lord for real until I was almost 40 years old. By then, we were so deeply in debt that we pretty much resigned ourselves to staying that way. It wasn't until I began studying the Bible in-depth that I realized that God wanted His people debt free. I began earnestly praying for God's wisdom for Joe and me for every area of our lives, including our finances. And I began studying and memorizing biblical promises of increase, provision, and prosperity, and praying them every day. One of my favorites was Psalm 127:2 (ERV): "It is a waste of time to get up early and stay up late, trying to make a living. The Lord provides for those He loves, even while they are sleeping." In other words, what counts most is not how hard we work, but the quality of our personal relationship with God, who is able to give blessings to His beloved ones even while they sleep. The Lord is not advocating laziness here, but He's emphasizing the fact that He must be our first priority. Jesus Himself stresses this truth when He says: "Your heavenly Father already knows perfectly well [the things you need], and He will give them to you if you give Him first place in your life and live as He wants you to." (Matthew 6:32-33 TLB)

The older Joe and I got, the more people we encountered who tried to make us fearful about our retirement. Financial planners warned us that we would not have enough money after Joe stopped working. But each day, I would turn to the Lord in prayer, and He would remind me again of His promise in Psalm 127:2 (TPT): "It really is senseless to work so hard from early morning till late at night, toiling to make a living for fear of not having enough. God can provide for His devoted lovers even while they sleep!" Each night, I went to sleep on this promise, trusting the Lord to provide for us abundantly as we slept. When Joe gave his retirement notice to his employer one full year before he left his job, we were still in debt. But right before his last day at work, God opened up the windows of heaven and supplied us with enough money to pay off all of our debts, including our mortgage, and we have been debt free ever since. Today, if you are in need of a financial miracle yourself, remember this truth - "God takes care of His own, even while they sleep!"

Prayer: Lord, don't ever let me be driven by the fear of not having enough. Remind me often that if I will just make my relationship with You my number one priority, You will abundantly supply all of my needs, and You will give me the desires of my heart. (Philippians 4:19; Psalm 37:4) Thank You that as I sleep on Your promises of provision, I will wake up rested, refreshed, and energized!