7 Signs of a Spirit of Poverty

Next LIVE webinar: Healing from the Trauma of Poverty|April 3, 2024

7 Signs of a Spirit of Poverty | FromHisPresence.com

I’ve been very burdened lately for God’s people, specifically in the area of finances. I see so many precious people being tricked by a spirit of poverty–a demonic force that wants to rob God’s sons and daughters of blessing and provision.

And beloveds, it’s time to kick the spirit of poverty to the curb.

What does the spirit of poverty do?

It deceives, deludes, and blinds God’s people. It eclipses the truth of God’s Word with lies straight from the enemy–lies that say that somehow poor is better, or poor is more holy, or poor is … (insert anything good here).

Get our free PDF Prayer to Reverse Unjust Situations when you sign up for our free email encouragement program!

    we SEND OUT urgent PROPHETIC UPDATES AND ALL FREE GIFTS BY EMAIL ONLY, SO we HOPE YOU’LL LOVE our EMAIL program. BUT, YOU CAN UNSUBSCRIBE ANYTIME if not. no hard feelings.

    It often works hand-in-hand with discouraging spirits, also. Anything the devil can do to get you down, he will.

    But the good news is that God is stronger, and Papa God says He’s going to bless you.

    One of my favorite preachers, Randy Caldwell, eloquently points out that being poor is always a curse in the Bible. The first time I ever heard him say that was the first time I had heard that truth spoken so clearly and understandably from anyone, anywhere.

    And he’s right.

    ALL of God’s Word consistently reveals God as our good, good Father who wants to bless us abundantly.

    AVAILABLE IN EBOOK OR PAPERBACK FORMAT!

    Over Not Under: Financial Prosperity God’s Way

    Do you want God to empower you to get wealth, as He promised in Deuteronomy 8:18? Then this book is for you!

    Over Not Under will help you gain deep insight about God’s financial principles—and about how to activate His provision, blessing, and abundance in your life!

    God’s Word reveals Him to be the Source of every good and perfect gift; a generous Giver, and the Provider of abundant life and of everything necessary for life and godliness.

    1 Corinthians 2:9 says:

    “But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.'”

    And then James 1:17 says: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

    And: “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit (Psalm 51:12).

    Then there’s Jesus: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

    And how about: “And the Lord will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.

    The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

    And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them” (Deuteronomy 28:11-13).

    (Emphases mine on all Scriptures above.)

    There are Scriptures telling us that God wants to bless His people with abundance throughout the entirety of Scripture. I don’t have space to quote them all, and this post isn’t a lesson on blessing.

    Related: Read this Prophetic Word About God’s Provision for more about how God has been challenging me in this area recently.

    This post is about how to identify a poverty spirit so you can GET RID OF IT if you’ve embraced it.

    Because God’s people perish for lack of knowledge. If you don’t know that you’ve let the enemy deceive you, you won’t know that you need to get free … and you’ll never see the change you desire to see.

    So let’s look at 7 signs of a spirit of poverty:

    (And if you see any of these in yourself, don’t get all condemned about it. Just:

    • Speak out loud that you renounce agreement with the spirit of poverty;
    • Speak out loud that you receive and embrace God’s abundance and prosperity instead;
    • Command that spirit of poverty to leave you in Jesus’ name; and
    • Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you where that was, and to teach you the truth of His Word about His desire to bless and provide for you.

    Ok? Here goes:

    Sign #1 of a spirit of poverty: Chronic, long-term lack.

    Lots of people have been through slim times financially for brief periods. However, if you’re stuck in a chronic, long-term pattern of lack, odds are very good that a spirit of poverty (or even of limitation) may be oppressing you.

    How to nip it in the bud? Do this:

    • After you’ve prayed as per above, begin to look up Scriptures about abundance and provision.
    • Read said Scriptures. Meditate on them.
    • Pray over each of God’s promises aggressively.
    • Get them deeeeeeeep into your mind, soul, and spirit.
    • Speak them out loud over yourself.

    Faith comes by hearing, and hearing comes by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). If you have been in lack a long time, stretch your faith and dig deeply into prayer over God’s promises to bless you. As you transform your mindset through God’s Word, the enemy won’t be able to tempt you or rob you of your faith for reward and provision.

    Sign #2 of a spirit of poverty: Thinking you have to give your work away.

    (Pulling soapbox over so I can stand on it awhile.) 🙂

    Ok. Ahem.

    This is one of my BIGGEST PET PEEVES that I see with Christians in business. Guys ‘n’ gals, in the corporate world, we know our work has value. Nobody’s coming in from 8 AM – 5 PM every day because they think they shouldn’t be paid. We want to be paid, and we want to be paid more. #ThankYouVeryMuch

    And yet Christians do this thing all the time where they think they should give their work away.

    Oh, yeah. Especially Christians in ministry.

    The result? Your giving everything away means you’re not earning the income with which God is trying so hard!! to bless you. It means you’re slaving away blessing people, ministering to people, and providing for others so they can INVEST NOTHING in themselves. And like it or not, YOUR ATTITUDE about your work devalues your work in your consumer’s eyes. It makes your work worth nothing in their estimation–because your work is worth nothing in your estimation.

    Selah.

    It’s about stewardship and honoring the Holy Spirit–or not.

    I’m not being arrogant here, when I say I’m not going to give away work for free in general.

    I do occasionally do a limited giveaway or two; and I do offer LOTS of free gifts to my email subscribers. But I don’t do those things because I have to; I do them because I want to bless people. I’m sowing, and I’m sowing into YOU. Being a blessing and sowing is not a sign of the spirit of poverty; living generously is simply the Christ-like thing to do.

    But this IS about stewardship. If I feel like I am not allowed to charge for my work–or that people won’t pay for my work or subscribe to my message–then I am saying that the anointing and message the Holy Spirit has placed on my life is worth nothing.

    And that, my friend, is an insult to the Holy Spirit.

    Another key point here: If I gave away everything for free, I would also be robbing you of a blessing. People value what they have to invest in. And if something costs you nothing, you’ll care nothing about it … and I have actually done you a disservice, because the revelation contained in the teaching/book/ministry I gave away could have changed your life forever.

    Yet because people demonstrate by their actions that their messages have no value in their own estimation, people get robbed of transforming change and revelation, because the message of “no value” is communicated loud and clear.

    That’s why I’ve seen guest preachers who, before they preach, will offer their products to the congregation. They’ll hold up a USB drive and say:

    “There are 50 sermons on here. You can purchase one at the back table for $500. If you want somebody else’s, you can buy it for $75. But if you want this revelation God gave me, it’s $500.”

    And they sell everything they have.

    Why? Because:

    • They know their message and work is valuable.
    • They know that the hell they went through to get that revelation is valuable, and that you might not have to go through that same hell if you can learn from their mistakes. 
    • They know that that revelation cost them years of fasting until their hearts beat out of rhythm and their bodies almost shut down. Years of praying at 1 AM until their knees were bruised. Years of tears and snot cried into their carpets, until the carpet is ruined and discolored.

    And you can reap the benefit and blessing of all that–IF you esteem their work as valuable and honor it by investing in yourself.

    THAT is why I personally place high value on my work, and I don’t feel obligated to give it all away. I love blessing people and sowing into them. But, I don’t embrace poverty because I was created in the image of God, and my life and message have value.

    To sum up Sign #2: YOU have value. Your message has value.

    The call God has placed on your life has value. The mess you have been through in order to get the message you carry has VALUE. And YOUR life was ordained for such a time as this, because THE WORLD NEEDS YOUR MESSAGE.

    And you have value.

    So whether you’re a babysitter, a work-at-home mom, a CEO, an artist, a professional athlete, a writer, a preacher, or anything else, you have value. Don’t feel that you have to give your work away, ok?

    Sign #3 of a spirit of poverty: Refusing to pay others for their labor.

    First Timothy 5:18 says:

    Start-quote

    For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,’ and, ‘The laborer is worthy of his wages.'”

    The person who does the work deserves to be compensated for it. This is true whether you dig ditches, wash dishes, cook, program computers, write, or preach for a living.

    So if you have someone do work for you? Be prepared to pay them. Honor God’s Word enough to pay them.

    They might not expect to be paid; I know that I’ve been paid before when I didn’t expect to be paid. I’ve done work many times just to help somebody out, or just because I was delighted to do it. And still had people pay me, even though I was just helping out.

    Was I surprised? Yes! Absolutely. Would I have done it without pay? Yes!

    But that doesn’t negate the truth of God’s Word that says: When we have somebody work for us, they are worthy of their hire.

    For that reason, I pay people who help with this ministry. Would they help for free? In many cases, yes. But I got convicted about it because of this verse:

    Start-quote

    Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).

    When I went to Nicaragua a few years ago, I asked my friend Bobbi to share with you. She would have done it for free, because she was just doing me a favor.

    But you know what? I got convicted about it because I like to be paid for my work, so I felt like I should pay her too.

    So I did. I also paid the other ladies who have written for this blog lately. Why? I valued their work, and I wanted you to hear their words. It took them valuable time to write for me, and a workwoman is worthy of her hire.

    And I haven’t suffered for it in the least, and I’m SUPER-GLAD I paid them.

    Now, I have some other people who are helping me right now by translating, and they have refused payment because they genuinely just want to bless me and participate in the Kingdom work that we’re all doing through this blog. And you know what? I’m grateful for them. I receive that blessing, and I believe God will honor them and bless them for sowing into me like that.

    But, I still offered to pay them. 🙂

    So. Beloveds. If you have people help you, remember the words of Jesus. Do you want people to pay you when you work? Then pay them when they work. And I promise you that God will multiply back to you the honor you sow towards others by honoring THEIR work, time, anointing, and message.

    Why is not paying others for their work a sign of the spirit of poverty?

    Because it’s deception by a demonic spirit which is trying to rob you of a blessing. If you won’t pay others for their work, then the way Kingdom economy works is that God can’t bless you the way He wants to.

    But if you DO honor others and give them their due, God can do the same for you.

    To make a long story short: The enemy doesn’t want you to pay others because he doesn’t want YOU to be paid.

    So hand it over, dear. You’ll be glad you did. I promise. 🙂

    Sign #4 of a spirit of poverty: Not tithing or offering to the Lord.

    Everything in heaven and earth belongs to God. Psalm 24:1 says:

    Start-quote

    The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.”

    And one of my FAVORITE passages in the whole Bible–1 Chronicles 29:10-13–says:

    Start-quote

    Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said:

    ‘Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.

    Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all.

    Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

    Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name.'”

    It’s all His. All the money; all the real estate; all the people; all the gold, silver, jewels, cars, houses, animals, trees, and everything else belong to God.

    And He asks us for a minimum of 10% in the Old Testament. Malachi 3:8-12 says:

    Start-quote

    Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.

    You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.

    ‘And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,’ says the Lord of hosts; ‘And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

    For those of you who prefer the New Testament (NT) standard to the Old Testament one, here’s the NT standard (hint: selling everything):

    Start-quote

    Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need” (Acts 2:44-45).

    When we refuse to tithe and offer to the Lord, we are yielding to the lies and delusions of the enemy which state that the money actually belongs to us.

    But the money doesn’t belong to us, and we have no right to steal it. We are merely stewards. And when we steward God’s money well, He can and will bless us.

    The Hebrew meaning of the tithing blessing is that He will open the windows of Heaven and pour out such a blessing THAT IT FILLS UP ALL THE NEED, until there is no more need. Isn’t that cool? So if we will obey His Word by tithing and offering, God can fulfill His promises to bless us. (All His promises come with conditions.)

    Reader Faves

    Pray PROPEL Over Your Destiny!

    Using fun prayer acronyms can help you focus your prayers to cover a subject thoroughly! Read this powerful prayer guide and believe God to PROPEL you forward into everything He has for you!

    But the spirit of poverty tells you that we don’t have to tithe and offer–all because it doesn’t want us to be blessed or have the devourer (the devil) rebuked off our lives.

    Do you see the evil conspiracy around this not-tithing thing? It’s heinous! Not tithing and offering is a trick from the devil. If you want to be blessed, punch that spirit of poverty out and tithe and give to the Lord no matter what.

    I know it’s hard sometimes. I’ve given away my last $2 before. I’ve had an empty wallet and not known where my next provision was coming from. I know.

    But you know what? EVERY time, I gave anyway. I tithed anyway. And Papa God has ALWAYS provided for me–and He’s never been late either. 🙂

    Ok. ‘Nuff said about that. 🙂 Are you still with me?

    Sign #5 of a poverty spirit: Resenting the wealthy.

    This is a short one. Just use this as a thermometer, if you will. If you resent the wealthy, you have a poverty spirit. If, on the other hand, you’re happy for the wealthy and glad that they’re wealthy, that is a good thing.

    I’ve heard SO many people in my life say horrible things about the wealthy.

    Sometimes I’ve heard people talk about XYZ specific person–saying this one or that one must be dishonest since they’ve done well for themselves. Or they just say horrible things about wealthy people in general–saying that they’re mean, or stingy, etc etc etc.

    Give me a break.

    Some of the nicest people I’ve ever met are also some of the wealthiest.

    God tends to bless people who are nice, who obey Him, who do good, who give generously, and who make wise decisions all their lives. And people like that often develop some measure of wealth, whether over a few years or over a lifetime.

    Just to be clear: I don’t know a single mean, wealthy person–but I do know tons of really sweet, wealthy people. The most generous, friendliest people I know, actually, are the wealthiest.

    And I’m as happy for them as I can be.

    I’m thrilled that they live in beautiful homes. I’m thrilled that they get to travel. I’m thrilled that they are blessed. I’m thrilled that God has rewarded them for a lifetime of faithfulness.

    And since I can be happy for them, God can bless me too–because I don’t hold resentment or jealousy in my heart toward wealthy people.

    But you know what? If I held hatred or resentment in my heart toward them, I would actually have developed a theology that says “Wealth is bad. Wealth is offensive.” And you can’t attract wealth if you think wealth is bad.

    So if you despise wealth and wealthy people, please: get free of that resentment, unforgiveness, AND JEALOUSY/ENVY (because jealousy is the core of the issue, really). You won’t have the faith to believe God for yourself until you get free, so you can start believing that WEALTH IS GOOD.

    Say it with me: “Wealth is good. Wealth is a blessing from the Lord.” 🙂

    Selah. 🙂

    Sign #6 of the spirit of poverty: A habit of making poor financial decisions.

    This is another sign to use as a thermometer or barometer (whichever kind of meter you prefer). 🙂 If you have a habit of making poor financial decisions, you could be under the influence of a poverty spirit.

    I’m not going to go into detail about this one, because you know perfectly well what poor financial decisions look like. Spending more than you earn. Wasting money. Going into debt. All of these decisions, and many other types of decisions, will keep you poor. They prevent you from getting your financial head above water and keeping it there.

    The best way I’ve found to fix this? Educate yourself.

    I HIGHLY recommend Dave Ramsey’s book The Total Money Makeover (affiliate link).

    I first read The Total Money Makeover after I had been working in the corporate world a few years, but I didn’t have a handle on how to really get ahead financially yet. I had some credit card debt, a variable-interest-rate second mortgage (purchase money mortgage) that was killing me, and zero savings. Financial fear was always hanging over my head.

    But this book changed everything. It’s moving, Biblical, inspirational, transparent, and PRACTICAL. Dave gives baby steps you take in order to get out of financial chaos and into financial freedom.

    And within a few days–literally–of reading this book and starting to work Dave’s baby steps, I had my first $500 emergency fund I had ever had in my life. I got out of credit card debt after that, and have never gone back. God has been so good.

    But in order to get ahead financially, I had to educate myself.

    See, the enemy doesn’t want you to study and show yourself approved unto God. The enemy doesn’t want you to understand how tithing and blessing are connected. The enemy doesn’t want you to understand how sowing and reaping work in personal finance.

    Because the enemy wants you to be, and stay, poor.

    But if you will make a point to learn as much as you can about money! Then, oh, then, beloved … everything can change!

    For example:

    You won’t know how to bring in extra money until you learn about how odd jobs work in today’s virtual/solopreneur economy. But as soon as you learn about how to start a home-based business–whether you’re a seamstress, Ebay reseller, blogger, or day care owner–then the sky is the limit!

    You won’t know how to save for retirement until you learn what a mutual fund is, and how to diversify your portfolio. But once you learn the wonder of dollar-cost averaging, the sky’s the limit!

    You won’t learn how to get out of debt until you learn how to make a spending and debt-elimination plan. But once you do … you guessed it! The sky is the limit!

    You can change your financial decisions and defeat the devil in many ways by simply educating yourself! When you learn about money, you’ll become empowered to choose the path that will get you to your long-term goals.

    So go for it! You can do it!

    Sign #7 of a spirit of poverty: Criticizing someone for spending money they have.

    “That money was wasted on that nice ____. It should have been given to the Kingdom.”

    “I don’t think that church should have built that     (swimming pool, giant metal cross, arcade, whatever)     on their property. What a waste of money.”

    “Well, they just travel all the time. They probably spend all their money traveling, and have nothing left to put their kids in a decent school.”

    Do any of these sound familiar?

    For your sake, I hope not. Because EVERY time, without fail, that I have ever heard someone making critical comments like this, the following two things have been true:

    • The person making the comment has been extremely poor, with a long and unfortunate history of not thriving.
    • The party that made the purchase did so with money they had to spend, and they felt released by God to do it.

    The reason I say this is a sign of the spirit of poverty is because you can put two and two together and come up with four.

    If you see people in chronic lack continuing to criticize others’ financial decisions, it doesn’t take long before you notice that criticism of this sort is demonic and must be tied to the person’s own lack.

    Why do I say it’s demonic? Because it’s judging their motives. There’s no judging of their financial status; it’s judging that their hearts weren’t right when they made the purchase. Statements like the ones above are actually saying, “This person’s priorities aren’t right because they didn’t do what I think they should do, and I’m making the decision that they weren’t right with God.”

    And we have no right to do that.

    We SHOULD absolutely discern good from evil; yes.

    If a church is spending money buying lottery tickets, go ahead and criticize that all you want. It doesn’t line up with the Word of God (which says that wealth hastily gained will dwindle, but he who gathers little by little will increase) (Proverbs 13:11). Playing the lottery is also bad math–which equals bad stewardship and no wisdom–which is clearly against God’s standards.

    But if someone isn’t in sin, but is just using their money in a way that you disapprove of–and you’re in the habit of criticizing them–please, stop it!

    If you aren’t sure whether or not you do this, ask a trusted friend. Ask a spouse. Ask someone who will tell you the truth.

    You might even want to ask them if they feel like they have to justify their purchases when they tell you about something new they have acquired. (Ouch!)

    Bottom line: The way someone spends the money for which they are responsible is their business. The way a church or organization spends the money they have is between them, God, and their public auditors. Leave it that way. 🙂

    Ok, the hard part is over. Thanks for bearing with me on that one! 🙂

    So what do you do if you see any of these signs of the poverty spirit in yourself?

    Here are several things I’d encourage you to do:

    • Pray. Ask the Lord to show you any sin in your own heart.
    • Repent of anything about which He convicts you.
    • Ask the Lord to show you any thought patterns you have that are too low, too base.
    • Ask Him to show you any ways in which you have come into agreement with the poverty spirit.
    • Ask Him to show you any hindrances in your heart that keep you from receiving Papa God’s abundant blessing.
    • Educate yourself about how money works in today’s economy.
    • Educate yourself from the pages of Scripture about how money works in God’s Kingdom economy.

    Then begin to aggressively follow God’s plan for your finances. Seek Him in prayer. Pray about your finances, and pray for wisdom. Follow God’s instructions as written in His Word.

    And ask Him to help you build your faith for His abundance and total shalom–the Hebrew word meaning “nothing missing, nothing broken.”

    Does this message speak to your heart today? Do you feel the Lord showing you some ways in which you find freedom from the poverty spirit? If so, please leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you!

    65 Comments

    1. Thank you for this. Will definitely study more about it.

      1. I pray Papa would reveal to you any way at all where He wants to increase you, and help you receive everything He’s got, June! Have a wonderful day, and thank you for reading and being part of this family! <3

    2. Rebecca L Jones says:

      I get it! I write poetry and a blog for nothing and wanted to encourage women as much as possible. I do know the value of the Holy Spirit’s anointing and seek to follow that wisdom.

      1. Yes, anyone who carries an anointing paid a price to get it. And that is extremely valuable. 🙂

        1. Annanson John says:

          Most very grateful for the insights. Thank you, Prophetess Jamie.

    3. NdleleniE Ndukuya says:

      Great teaching Jammie, this was an eye opener for me on some of these Spirits of poverty that i have but did not realise it is wrong. Thanks once more for bringing it clear to take note and consider a change, of which i need to pray for repetence from God.

      Please help me pray!!

      1. Amen. I just stopped and prayed for you, friend. May Papa God continue to reveal things to you as only He can, so you can receive EVERYTHING He has for you! In Jesus’ name!

    4. I needed this was just seeking God on my issue with this. Thank you.

      1. It can be a tough thing to notice, Tyran, because it just blinds you if you let it. But as soon as you start seeking God’s Word about the matter, the lights come on! His Word is sooo clear. He desires to bless us exceeding abundantly above and beyond all we can ask, hope, or think!

    5. I needed this today, thank you. And thank you for your personal prayer and response to me.

      1. It’s my pleasure, Lyn. Thank you for reading! I pray Papa would bless you hugely today and show you the answers to your prayers also, so you would be encouraged and STRENGTHENED. In Jesus’ name. 🙂

    6. What a blessing of a revelation and conviction. Thank you so much for this, Jamie. I have repented and asked God to bring me into agreement with His heart on the matter, and to lead me and educate me as you’ve said.

      Amen, sis! 🙂

      1. I’m so glad it blessed you, Kelsey. Papa has so much in store for you and may He open your eyes to His abundant generosity so you can receive more and more and MORE than ever before!

    7. Elsie LaForge says:

      Thank you for this! I praise our Father for letting me see some of the errors/sin I have been committing while being influenced by the spirit of poverty. Thank you Jesus’, you have opened my eyes!

      1. Amen and amen. May He shower you with His ridiculously-abundant provision as you receive His truth about His willingness and eagerness to bless you, Elsie! In Jesus’ name!

    8. Rafael Somma says:

      Three points Jamie:

      First, you told me you would send me a follow-up to our conversation. Never got it.

      Second, I sent you another private message, I never got a reply.

      Third, I offer to translate your work in french and I never got a reply.

      That’s why I say that’s it’s hard for me to be able to trust people again, because I truly feel people don’t care about me or they like making fun of me. 🙁

      1. Rafael, hi. I’m sorry you feel hurt over the items above, but I want you to know I haven’t forgotten about you. I haven’t been able to answer my emails for a week and a half. It’s not personal. It’s simply that, as stated in the note above, I’m only one person still working a massive amount of hours, and I can’t handle everything quickly. That is why it takes me time. I will reply to your email, and I’m praying about how best to help with the other thing we discussed. I’m also interested in having you help translate into French, but I simply haven’t had time to address that yet. (I’m also having work translated into Spanish, and I’m just trying to figure out how to handle the translations in general.)
        So I do care, but I cannot always answer quickly, and I apologize for that; but it’s not personal.
        Your sister in Christ,
        Jamie

        1. Rafael Somma says:

          I’m sorry Jamie, it’s my fault I reacted too fast and it wasn’t necessary of reacting that way. I hope I didn’t hurt you and I ask God to forgive me for reacting that way.

          Regards,

          Rafael

          1. Lynne L. Schantzen says:

            I too jump to conclusions about things like this. I know it is the spirit of abandonment and the orphan spirit and yet I still fall prey to the evil twisting serpent leviathan that twists everything into the opposite of the true meanings. I hope this helps because it is very hard for me to explain something’s lately

    9. Thanks Jamie for this relevant teaching, seems I have prospered and not prospered according to what decade I am going through. I have a mindset that is bent towards prospering but legal glitches that trip me up, even after years of success I can nose dive. Funny enough to my self reflection…….I have a peace about ultimately having a smooth landing, no matter how bumpy the ride.
      I see clearer. TY

      1. You’re welcome, Kay. Thanks for reading! I pray that the Lord would remove any hindrances or obstacles that would stand in the way of your receiving full and perfect provision from our Abba Father, in Jesus’ name, and that He would show you what any of those hindrances or obstacles are so that you may kick them to the curb with the left foot of fellowship! 😉
        Hugs!

    10. Joel Canders says:

      Thank you again Jamie for this eye-opening message. This is very helpful, & I will educate myself concerning finances. I’ve been praying about my financial issues, & I come to realize that I was in agreement with this spirit, but from this day on, it’s gotta go! God bless you for sharing this post.

      1. Yes! It’s gotta go! Kick that thing to the curb in Jesus’ name!
        Thank you for reading–and thank you for caring enough about your own victorious living in Christ that you’re willing to study and seek God and obey His principles as laid out in His Word! I know Papa God is VERY pleased with you and that your humility is incense in His nostrils.
        May you be blessed in all things today in Jesus’ name. I felt like I should speak the high-priestly blessing over you, so in the name of Jesus, I declare:

        “The Lord bless you and keep you;
        The Lord make His face shine upon you,
        And be gracious to you;
        The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
        And give you peace.”’
        Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV

    11. Carlo Grobler says:

      Thank you Jamie for sharing the 7 signs of poverty. I have never thought of it this way and I’m so glad that I read your blog tonight. I’ve been struggling for a very very long time and I’ve had enough. At the start of this year I was crying before the Lord saying “Lord I’m thankful for sustaining me like the Israelites in the desert but please bring me into the Promise Land now. I’m tired of eating from the crumbs that fall from the table”. I felt so bad praying that way but I now know, after reading your blog, that the devil want me to feel bad. So I’ve prayed the prayer you’ve put down under Sign No 1. Thank you once again. I’ve read all applicable blogs and it’s totally in line with what God has stirred my spirit on the last couple of weeks. I’ve had a good cry while a prayed another prayer you put down about having a dream again – the same dream God has for me. So it’s been an incredible few hours I’ve spent reading all your blogs – and tiring because it’s so intense and in line with God’s journey for me – like I said BUT that’s what I want. To stay close to Him. Although I’m now totally drained – I’m happy and actually refreshed. Hope it makes sense. Bless you.

    12. Marlene Bond says:

      Yes Jamie. Aspects of this teaching speak to me.

      Thank you

    13. Rumbidzai Mwedzi says:

      this is my Word in season…thank you so much Jamie.

      will definitely make time and put my effort in this series of financial abundance.

    14. Janet L Condron says:

      Jamie,
      I think all of your thoughts sound interesting. I’m still a little torn because of verses talking about “not wearying yourself to gain wealth, cease from your consideration of it. For wealth certainly makes itself wings like an eagle that flies to the heavens.” And “fix your eyes on things above and not on things of earth.” And “For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” I guess the last verse is saying if we seek God first He will bless us with all of our needs. But it seems like he doesn’t want us to pursue it. I could use some feedback – thank you! Jan

      1. Hey, Janet. Great questions! First of all, there’s a big difference between not wearying yourself vs. being a good steward and walking in the abundance Father commanded. There’s also a big difference between where you fix your eyes (Jesus) and fixing your eyes on money–but again, that doesn’t exclude us from taking care of what God gives us and believing His Word that we should be profitable servants.

        In the parable of the 10 talents, Jesus explained that it is extremely offensive to Father God when we do not do business and make money on His behalf. That’s why He told us to “Occupy ’til I come,” which literally means “Do business ’til I come.”

        Also, when Jesus said seek first the Kingdom, He didn’t say not to be diligent to take care of the other things. He simply said not to worry about them, and to seek God first, putting God first where He belongs; and all these things shall be added.

        The Bible has a recurring theme that God’s people are commanded to prosper. Scripture after Scripture throughout the Bible confirms this, from Genesis through Revelation. You have to take all the passages in context, and look for the principle. We can’t take one verse, or three verses, and say that they supersede the rest of Scripture.

        For example, I know of a guy who wrote a whole book one time saying that Christians shouldn’t vote, be involved in government, or be in the military. His entire thesis–which had so many holes it was worse than a Swiss cheese–was based on the fact that Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” While Jesus certainly DID say that the peacemakers are blessed, He also said that He did not come to bring peace, but a sword. And throughout Scripture, God actually anointed, gifted, and called many people into government AND war. Think of Saul, David, Jonathan, Deborah, Barack, and soooo many more. And yet that man took one verse and made an entire theology out of it, which was absolute heresy.

        Long story short, we have to look at the totality of Scripture. Scripture interprets itself. So when we read the whole thing in context, we look for how one thing and the other work TOGETHER, not contradict each other. (God cannot contradict Himself!) And then we see the whole pattern together: that we are called to seek God first and worship only Him; that we cannot serve God and mammon, therefore we must serve God with all our heart; and in serving Him, we look for how He wants us to do everything, including handling money; so then we notice that He says the worker is worthy of their hire; that back wages should not be withheld from workers; that we are to lend to many nations, but never borrow; that we should not cosign; that we should tithe; and that we are commanded to make a profit. And on and on and on.

        When it comes to money, we handle money God’s way because money belongs to Him, and because we want to obey Him in everything. And He commands us to prosper. So we obey His commands and expect Him to prosper us when we do, because that is what He promised.

        I hope this helps. It’s a great question. Thanks so much for reading!

      2. Judith Makunga says:

        Thank you for sharing this critical message with us. I tend to overlook certain principles that are stoping us from rising out of poverty despite being faithful in tithing. Lord will help me with my critical spirit.

    15. Wonderful teaching. Truly blessed to have found your website and your webinar a are fantastic.
      I am now learning that this is an issue in my life and am working to fix it diligently. May God always bless you Jamie. Thank you

    16. Sara Stephens says:

      This was very helpful. I have a bad habit of spending every penny! I get plenty but I cant hang onto it… This will be very helpful. I had a person tell me in the spirit i had this affliction. Thankful God brought me revelation

    17. Thanks, now I know what poverty looks and smells like.
      Holy Spirit has made the desire of my heart clear. This long term demonic lack with jealousy, critical spirit, giving away my creative gifting as a spiritual offering . . .

      So clear, so clear . . . Thanks be to God for forgiveness and His grace to restore all things His way in His time.

      Thanks for caring to share.

      Grateful,
      Ron

    18. Ariel Paz says:

      Hi, Jamie. Just saw this on Pinterest. Wow. My mother has a spirit of poverty. She does several of these. How to bring this to someone’s attention in a kind way? She usually tells me I’m lecturing her, but I am just bringing things to her so she is aware. I guess unless the spirit of God opens someone’s heart, words fall on hard ground. Thank you for this and blessings above and beyone!

    19. Julie Ann Filter says:

      I totally have this, and I’m pretty sure I have since my really really early childhood years. I was raised Catholic and a “vow of poverty” is highly coveted in that religion. I even tested with a “spirit of poverty” in a protestant spiritual gifts test a few years ago, and this was said like it was a great thing. And now, when I’m trying to move forward in a calling I can feel in my Spirit, this is for sure the next stone in my wall that needs to be broken down. Time to get breaking! Thank you for your ministry, Jamie! I am so thankful I stumbled onto your work. <3

    20. lalola bees says:

      All the spirits where lingering around me but i walk out .i refuse to be poor .i walk into a new path of abandance.The reality is how ..to get from Z to A..to move into that shift?Great eye opener Thankyou

    21. I needed this, thank you so much! I pray blessings over you as I am sure you have helped many!
      I have tried for a long time to break the habit of going to the casino. I have won many times but I have lost many times! The more I grow my faith the more I feel attacked. I have prayed strong holds away and everyelse I can think of! I even pray when I feel attacked but go anyway? The best way I can describe it is that I am not even in my body. It is weird I know. I am determined to break this. I know I am being attacked because we have been doing very well paying off debt, almost debt free and when we are deep in the Bible I am attacked. Reading the spirit of poverty really makes sense and hits close to home on some of the ones listed. Thank you for your words.

    22. Ton Destiny Rusere says:

      Wow wow thank u so much man of God.i hate poverty with a passion

    23. yontai Elvis says:

      papa God bless u for this wonderful teaching. I have been empowered. pastor Elvis from Cameroon

    24. Thank you Jamie. I am in a lot of debt. I keep taking loan after loan . I don’t pay tithe and have a tough time just trying to put food on the table. This was an eyeopener for me.
      With God’s help, I’m going to be a good steward of the monies he bless me with.

    25. Tapiwa Tawonezvi says:

      Thank you. This is life changing. I actually came across this today, which is my fourth day of fasting and prayer, seeking for more understanding and revelation and spiritual authority against the spirit of poverty. Thank you once again. God bless you.

    26. Henrietta says:

      Thank you for this post Jamie! I needed this! I have done a lot of work for free and felt quite uncomfortable about it afterwards. This clears it and now I understand why I felt like that. I had things to repent about… Thanks for being such a blessing to me!
      God bless you!

    27. Thank you so much for this writing; I do not have the space to share with you how informative and on target this is for this season of the church. Since 1990, We have been attacked and recovered by the Spirit. My husband was addicted. We recovered by the Spirit. My husband was fired. We recovered by the Spirit. My husband’s was leg was broken and he developed blood clots. We recovered by the Spirit of God. My son had cancer and died. We recovered by the Spirit of God. My husband was in a fire with his car. We recovered by the power of God. My husband was in a deadly wreck with an 18 wheeler. We recovered by the power of the living God. This is the first time I have looked at this and the patterns here. I am taking this case of poverty attack to the courts of the living God and present my case in faith in the power of God. I believe God is going to make the thief pay us 7 times because we caught him by the pattern of his attack and have identified him as the spirit of poverty. In the courts of the God said if I catch him (the enemy he must pay me back 7 times) Thank you for such an awakening in my soul.

    28. Bishop Connex Kadumah says:

      Powerful teaching. Please allow me to teach this to my congregants.

      1. Yes, you’re welcome to do so, as long as you tell them where you got the information and provide information about my site as your reference. Thanks!

    29. I really thank the Holy spirit to tap into this article. Poverty was a closed book. Now devil is a liar. My life will never be same again. I come.from poor background but I will stand for my generation. I Hate poverty.

    30. patrickwanyonyi says:

      iam very much pleased about message Go bless you.

    31. But all of your signs are human behaviors. If it’s free will, it’s not a spirit. Spiritual warfare is separate from human behavior. To me warfare is someone doing their level best to produce resources and cannot, no matter how many right things they do. It’s a curse they cannot get out from under no matter how hard and how long they try. Also people live their entire lives, in evil even, with all the money in the world so if you can catch it for not tithing all of rich America should be destitute. Do you see what I mean? Why should Christians have this threat hanging over their heads when no one else does.

      1. Hi Donna. If you have given your life to Christ, then you cannot be controlled by demons. You can only be influenced by them, and you make the choice. The spirit of poverty tells you to disobey God in relation to your finances so that it can keep you poor by influencing you to disobey. And oddly enough, many unsaved people are better at obeying God’s financial principles than Christians are. That’s why the world prospers and Christians do not, in many cases.

    32. Steven Galli says:

      Great article! I see some of this in me. I’m a disabled veteran with numerous health conditions; we live check to check. I’m currently on disability, but disability is designed to keep people at a low place financially. I will pray for God’s grace to be rid of the demons .
      that plague me and my family. Help!

      1. Great attitude, Steven! You can get out of that low place if you believe you can and are willing to cooperate with the Lord and work at it! I will pray for you!

    33. Fernando Vaino says:

      wow i find away to my destiny i thought it was ok to be poor because i founded myself on a poor foundation, please man of God here iam help me pray for me my life is totally down iam very poor my family very poor financial and materials.

    34. Mathew Bailey says:

      This is upsetting & frustrating. The reason it is is because I feel it’s too long for me to read because I’m autistic. I ask you to please make it shorter & easier for people like me to read. Thank you.

    35. What a mighty word/lesson Jamie, and I thank you and bless you for all that you provide and minister to me/us. You are truly God sent. May God always Bless you.

      Thank you Jesus
      Thank you Jamie

    36. Faaonea Daniells says:

      Hi Jamie,
      Thank you for invaluable information and imparting to the readers your special revelation from the Lord. May His abundant blessings be upon you always.
      I actually ordered a book from your products “praying for your children for 7 days” I do not live in US, I live in Australia, I sent an email to you. God Bless
      F. Daniells

    37. Thank you Jamie, I needed this more thank ever. God bless you

    38. Hi, Jamie.
      Well, you sure put it out there! I think the major problem is #6, people making poor financial decisions. It’s a shame they don’t teach financial management in schools. When you come from a poor family, like I did, you have to educate yourself. I trusted my ex-husband and he got us into way too much debt with his poor decisions. Well, he is out of my life, and I am debt-free and live in abundance. I give a lot to charities too, praise God. God is faithful and when we obey his principles, we too shall prosper. May you prosper and be in good health, as your soul prospers. Blessings to all.

    39. Thankyou Jamie this has opened my eyes in many ways God bless your work

    40. Rotimi Elijah says:

      This is illuminating and highly educative , it has opened my eyes to many things that were hitherto taken for granted which might be a hinderance to my breakthrough.
      Thank you and more greeze to your elbow

    41. Thank you for your valuable insight and the immense amount of time you put into your blog and these specific prayers and guidelines. Finally, after all the times I have heard you recommend it, I clicked the link and got Dave Ramsey’s book! Just reading a prayer or hearing a word from God is not enough – we have to ACT and move forward with the Word that is given. Bless you for all you do.

    42. I am almost 71, my husband has been supporting us for all of these years. I have been the only emotional support for our 4 kids and a stay at home Mom for the most part. I have seen the financial poverty mindset in my Grandmother, my Mom, and me. I now have no car. No matter that my husband has 2 cars, he won’t let me use them….Anyway, I AM RICH, in Jesus’ name!
      I have more than I need so I can give to whatever the Lord says to do! BUT, I need prayers and God’s wisdom!
      Thank you for all of your work and words from the Lord!

      1. You don’t have a car and your husband won’t let you drive his? Help me, Jesus. Is there an issue with your driving? If not, this sounds controlling to me. What if something, God forbid, happens to your husband? Do you know anything about the family finances? Girl, get with the program! Women need to know what’s going on with the finances and have equal say. You are a partnership and a team with God. Sorry but something doesn’t sound right here.

    43. You don’t have a car and your husband won’t let you drive his? Help me, Jesus. Is there an issue with your driving? If not, this sounds controlling to me. What if something, God forbid, happens to your husband? Do you know anything about the family finances? Girl, get with the program! Women need to know what’s going on with the finances and have equal say. You are a partnership and a team with God. Sorry but something doesn’t sound right here.

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.