Money and Prayer: How Prayer Became a Financial Habit

Prayer can help reduce financial stress and clear your head to manifest your goals. Kiana Blaylock shares her journey with money and prayer.

Guest author: After graduating with her bachelor’s in communication, Kiana Blaylock doubled down her efforts into becoming a writer. One of her proudest moments is that she created her blog, kianamorgan.com, in 2019. Her main goal with her writing is to spread the lessons she learned in her life and to uplift other women.

Being on the Gen Z /Millennial cusp means I’m a free thinker as much as I’m a pessimist.

So of course that means I believe I have access to monetary abundance, but I don't always have faith that someone like me will be able to see it in their lifetime. I’m a Black girl with a degree in communications and a dream of being a writer — sometimes it looks pretty iffy.

I say all that to say: Money stresses me out. Thinking about money, saving money, "attracting" money — I can't keep up with all the rules. The only thing that keeps me grounded is prayer.

Across religions, prayer looks and sounds different. When I was younger, I was taught prayer had to look a specific way. First, I had to call God all these names I didn’t understand. Basically, butter God up. Next, I had to tell God I was grateful. Then, and only then, I could tell God what I needed. 

Now I understand prayer is just talking to God.

And, that’s it. That’s all prayer could be. Now I understand prayer is just talking to God. In the Christian faith, we believe in "laying" it all at God's feet. That means being transparent with God AND trusting that God has your best interest in mind. It’s also about knowing that your words are more powerful than you think.

Being transparent about everything, prayer helps me gain understanding about my journey. Long story short, God is my bestie who always has the best advice. 

I come from a working family. Both my parents worked multiple jobs. My mother went to nursing school by day and worked at a nursing home at night. My dad was a bus driver, a park ranger and a limo driver. Living in New York, it seemed that no one had enough. There was always more money to be made.

But they always had a good time. 

I’ve seen my mom pray to God to open doors and windows to opportunities. I watched my mother’s prayers move us to Florida. I watched her prayers get my sister and me into college. I watched my parents’ prayers help us start businesses.

As I grew older, I realized it was time to be in charge of my relationship with prayer. 

As college graduation approached, I felt a sense of dread. It was about to be my turn to become a “real” adult. I would be expected to pay bills and own property, but I had no job lined up. I wanted to be a journalist, and no one was hiring. Being a writer looked more and more like a pipe dream. 

I did the only thing I knew how — putting it on the altar. That means telling God your troubles and believing God has the best plan. After that, you have faith that God will give you what you need. 

Prayer alone didn’t make the worry about money go away. But it allowed God’s plan to play out.

From April to August 2019, I was unemployed. Every day, I prayed. I told God all the plans I had for the money I wanted to have. To be honest, prayer alone didn’t make the worry about money go away. But it did allow God’s plan to play out. What I didn’t know while I was crying to God about all the money that wasn’t in my bank account in April was that, in May, I would need to help my grandmother take care of my grandfather. That meant I needed as much free time as possible. 

Now that I’m a 25-year-old Black woman, I know money will come and go if I’m not intentional about spending and saving. Thus, my prayer language has become more confident and transparent. When I’m going into an opportunity, when I’m struggling and when I’m grateful, I tell God. I let God know when I’m stressed, happy, nervous, etc. Expressing those emotions to a compassionate, loving deity who always says the right thing in return helps clear my mind. After that, I can make the right financial decisions for me. 

Prayer is now a financial habit, in a way. 

Prayer has impacted my relationship with money. As I’ve grown, I understand that prayer impacts what you believe. Money is just a resource, but God is the source. My belief is in God, not material things. Prayer has the power to change things. 

The Bible says in Proverbs 18:21, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” That just means what you say affects the outcome — the Christian version of manifestation. Through prayer, I know I will be connected to abundance and all my needs will be supplied. 

Image by @pascalphotographs via Nappy