Give, and you will receive.

Clare, from Esher Green Baptist Church, observes some of the prayer challenges of ‘giving things’ as part of our core team. 

Saint Augustine said, “Charity is a virtue which, when our affections are perfectly ordered, unites us to God, for by it, we love Him.” In other words, lovingly giving to the poor, increases our intimacy with God because He has such compassion for them. 

In giving some of my time to help run Besom, I have found Jesus faithful to His promise: “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap”. (Luke 6:38) 

It’s my privilege to give some time and admin skills regularly.  For this, I am richly rewarded by the frequent blessing of witnessing the inflow of items needed by our recipients  - sometimes soon after we have prayed for them on a Monday.  Last week it was a pair of sofas that will bless two families - once our wonderful van team negotiates them up several flights of stairs!  

In turn, it encourages me to persist in prayer even when our database shows that bed poverty in Elmbridge is significant and that sometimes we pray for months before some recipients’ basic needs are met. 

Sadly, I also witness kind offers we must refuse since our insurance no longer allows us to supply second-hand fridges, freezers, cookers, microwaves or washing machines (although smaller kitchen appliances are still fine).  This means that when a recipient has no other recourse, we offer to buy new white goods for them.   It’s frustrating that we can’t help upcycle and prevent these items from further burdening the environment. Of course, it increases our need for financial donations and godly wisdom to solve the dilemma of how best to allocate funds: to provide items that satisfy immediate needs or for our longer-term premises renovation and rising running costs.