Promise 8: The Generous Soul Will Be Made Rich!

“The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself” (Proverbs 11:25).

Do you love to bless other people? Are you generous with others, giving from your heart with love? If so, then you have the right to have your soul made rich–and to be be blessed in every way in return!

Proverbs 11:25 tells us that “The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.” What does this mean?

First, who is the generous soul?

When the Bible speaks of a “soul,” it can refer to two things:

1. Your personal soul, which consists of your mind, will, and emotions; or
2. A human being, especially with reference to that person’s eternal value–as in, “he who wins souls is wise.”

Therefore, YOU are a generous soul if:

1. If you love to give your time, money (which is God’s money), and effort to bless other people.
2. If you do these things freely, cheerfully, and willingly. Whether you’re blessing a single parent with groceries, or helping someone mow their lawn, or making a casserole for someone who just had surgery, the act of giving has to be from your heart. No matter what your act of giving or service looks like, you are a generous SOUL if you are doing these things from your heart, manifesting the love of God toward others–in other words, from your soul. 🙂
3. Finally, you are a generous soul if your entire being resonates with generosity toward others, and to the Lord.

And if you are a generous soul, you have the right to be made rich.

This applies to every type of richness:

• Financial wealth is the obvious kind of richness that everybody probably thinks of first, and it does apply. The Bible does teach us that financial blessing is a benefit that comes with obeying God, and He definitely wants everybody to obey Him. But also, think of these things:
• Spiritual “richness” means you are always feeling full of God’s manifest presence, love, anointing, power, glory, comfort, hope, joy, and all the fruit of the Spirit. You walk in communion with the Lord every moment of every day, hearing His voice, following Him, abiding in Him, obeying Him, and growing in intimacy with Jesus–and growing in the power and revelation that comes with intimacy with Jesus.
• Emotional richness is when you are so satisfied emotionally that you walk through the day feeling extremely grateful, blessed, whole, healed, and SEEN by God. When you are emotionally rich, you feel “taken care of”; in other words, NOT abandoned, not forsaken, not desolate, not in lack. You have everything you need and you know that you are in your place to belong (which is God’s presence); you have a Person to belong to (our Abba Father and our Lord Jesus Christ), and you are not sad or lonely in any way, but are instead filled with peace, hope, and joy.
• Physical richness would be walking in divine health and strength in your body.
• Relational richness is when all your relationships are healthy; you have good, godly, covenant friends that you spend time with in community; and you have every kind of relationship that you desire–all godly, of course. A person who has friends, family, and healthy relationships with those friends and family is blessed indeed!

When we study what God’s Word says about prosperity, we have to include all of these types of “wealth” in our understanding of prosperity.

Think of what the apostle John wrote in the book of 3 John 1:2:

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 1:2).

“Prosperity” is not just a financial thing, although of course it does include financial prosperity. But, “prosperity” simply means that everything about your life is full of the fullness and blessing of God, and that those blessings help you demonstrate who He is on the earth through your own personal example. “Prosperity,” in its truest meaning, means demonstrating “on earth as it is in Heaven.”

And that, my friend, is God’s will for all of us.

This is why Jesus taught us to pray that our lives on earth would look as things look in Heaven.

He specifically told us to pray this way in Matthew 6, during the Sermon on the Mount:

“In this manner, therefore, pray:

‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen’” (Matthew 6:9-13 NKJV).

So when your life aligns with God’s highest and most perfect will in every area, it will look on earth like things look in Heaven. And THAT, my friend, is God’s will for all of us. That is true prosperity and “richness.” Therefore, when we think about how “the generous soul will be made rich,” we should pray it back to the Lord with this mindset–that we are praying for “on earth as it is in Heaven” to happen in our lives in every way.

When I pray about Proverbs 11:25 and how “the generous soul will be made rich,” I pray it both ways to the Lord.

First, I point out to the Lord that I believe I meet His conditions of being a generous soul. That is important; God’s promises are conditional. Therefore, I humbly remind the Lord that I LOVE to give. Giving is my strongest spiritual gift, so my passion is to bless other people and give, give, give in every way. This points out to the Lord that I do qualify to receive what He has promised here.

But, after that, I ask the Lord two things:

1. I pray that the Lord would make my soul–in other words, my mind, will, and emotions–to be “rich,” or “fat,” as the Bible refers to it. In other words, I am asking the Lord to refresh me, strengthen me, energize me, fill me with hope and joy, and help me feel satisfied and well-watered in my soul.
2. I also pray to the Lord as a human “soul,” a child of God, and I point out that I am a generous person, and therefore I ask Him to make me rich in every way. (“Richness,” or wealth, can and should be manifest spiritually, physically, financially, emotionally, and relationally.)

You can pray this way too, and you should. But, there’s more.

Let’s look at our key Bible promise for today again:

“The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself” (Proverbs 11:25).

Not only does this verse promise you that you will be made rich if you are a generous soul, but it also promises something else:

That if you “water” people, you will also be “watered” yourself.

What does it mean to “water” others?

According to Strong’s Concordance, literally in the Hebrew, it means:

to slake the thirst; bathe, make drunk, satiate, (abundantly) satisfy, soak, water (abundantly); to be satiated or saturated, have or drink one’s fill; to be drunk, be intoxicated; to drench, water abundantly, saturate; … cause to drink.

Now, this intoxication referenced in the Hebrew definition of this word is not from alcohol, because the Bible tells us not to be drunk with wine, but to be ever filled with the Spirit. The Bible also tells us that it is not for kings to drink wine or intoxicating drink, and we are all kings and priests unto God. Therefore, we’re not talking about that kind of drinking or intoxication.

Well, what is this intoxication that you can give to someone else, then?

Just this:

• It is the watering of someone else so that they become filled with the Spirit.
• It is blessing someone and giving them so much joy that they encounter Jesus and His radical goodness.
• It is comforting someone with the words of the Lord when they have a need, so that tears of joy run down their faces and they begin to magnify the Lord and bless His name.
• It is to meet someone’s need at the point of their need, so they know that God came through for them once again.

And if you water others, God’s Word says that you will also be watered yourself.

So does your soul feel dry today? Do you need the saturating, bathing, refreshing watering of God?

Do you have a need, and you need God to meet it? Are you weary and worn out, and you just need to feel fresh and new and satisfied and joyous again?

If so, and IF you have watered others, then point out to the Lord that you have watered others, and ask Him to water you Himself today. And if you have not been watering others, but have instead been focusing solely on your own needs, then run right now to do something for somebody else that makes them gasp, cry, and whisper because they needed that touch from the Lord right then.

“The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself” (Proverbs 11:25).

It’s an outrageous promise if you think about the depth and richness of it. And if you are a generous soul who blesses and waters other people, you have the right to ask the Lord to make you rich in every way today. You also have the right to be “watered” in your own soul today, and taken care of by the King and His people.

(And if you are not yet a generous soul, then today’s the day to become one. There’s not a moment to lose; generosity will become one of the biggest sources of joy in your life. That’s why God’s Word teaches us that it is more blessed to give than to receive.)

Beloved, does this Bible promise from Proverbs 11:25, about how the generous soul will be made rich, hit home with you today?

If so, stop and pray about it. Claim this promise in prayer, and ask the Lord to perform His Word for you right now! And also, please do leave a comment below and let me know what the Father is speaking to you about His glorious promise.