Today’s Open Heaven devotional from Pastor E.A. Adeboye confronts a lie that has quietly crippled the Church for generations — the idea that an empty wallet is somehow proof of a full heart. If you have ever felt guilty for wanting more, or watched someone dismiss Christianity because of how little believers seemed to have, this message is a timely gift. Pull up a chair, open your Bible to 2 Kings 4, and let God reframe what abundance really means in the life of a believer.
Open Heaven for June 13, 2026
Topic: Poverty ≠ Godliness
Devotional: Open Heaven (RCCG)
Date: 2026-06-13
Bible reading: 2 Kings 4:1-7 (KJV)
Memory verse: Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. – 3 John 2 (KJV)
In the 70s, when I became born again, it was widely believed among Christians that poverty is one of the criteria for being a true child of God. This belief was so strong that when someone gifted me a Mercedes- Benz, I parked it in my garage unused for months until the Lord told me I was hindering the blessings of the person who gave me the car by not using it. I was afraid that people would think I had backslidden if they saw me in such an expensive car. Because of what the Lord had said to me, I decided to drive the car just once, and I recall that I felt so ashamed that day. After that day, I said, “Lord, I have driven the car, can I sell it now?” He agreed, and I sold it. Not long after that, someone gave me a limousine with six doors. When I saw it, I said, “Lord, you know that even if they put my dead body in this car, it will jump out of it.” That is how much we thought that poverty was directly proportional to godliness in those days, and because of that, the devil cheated us. He raised people to take over companies and industries until Christians were at the mercy of evil people running different economies around the world.
There is nothing godly about poverty; it has sent many people to hell, just as riches have done. Poverty has made many youths decide never to follow the path of their Christian parents because of how badly they suffered while growing up. It has made the people of the world mock the Almighty God because they thought that Christians were dumb as a result of their devotion to God. In today’s Bible reading, one of Elisha’s proteges died in poverty and left an inheritance of debt for his family. If his wife had not run to Elisha and received the word of the Lord that turned their poverty to wealth, his two sons, who were facing a lifetime of slavery, could have grown up hating God even though their father was a godly man.
God is not poor (Haggai 2:8), so poverty is not godliness. God gives his children power to make wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18), and it is His desire to prosper them even as their soul prospers (3 John 1:2). Beloved, reject poverty! It is not the will of God for your life.
Source: Open Heaven (RCCG) — official devotional
Open Heaven Prayer Points for Today
These Open Heaven prayer points for today are original PrayerPrompt content — declarations and a reflection to turn today’s message into prayer.
Prayer Points
- Lord, uproot every false belief I have inherited — consciously or unconsciously — that ties suffering to spirituality or lack to loyalty to You.
- Father, release over my life the same creative provision You released through Elisha; let what is already in my house become more than enough.
- God of all wealth, awaken in me the wisdom, diligence, and courage to occupy the economic spaces You have prepared for Your people.
- Holy Spirit, heal every wound in my heart that was caused by growing up in lack, and replace bitterness with faith in Your abundant promises.
- Lord, let my financial testimony silence every voice that has mocked Your name because of how little Your children appeared to possess.
- Father, I pray for every young person on the edge of walking away from faith because of poverty — meet them with a miracle that restores their trust in You.
- Give me, Lord, a soul that prospers in step with every material blessing You release, so that wealth becomes a tool for Your kingdom and not a trap for my heart.
- Teach me to receive generously, to steward faithfully, and to give freely — so that the full cycle of Your provision flows unhindered through my life.
Declarations
- I am a child of the God who owns the silver, the gold, and the cattle on a thousand hills — lack does not define me or my destiny.
- I refuse to wear poverty as a badge of devotion; I walk in the prosperity God has already willed for my spirit, my body, and my finances.
- The power to create wealth lives inside me by the Spirit of God, and I activate it today through faith, wisdom, and obedient action.
- My life is a testimony of God's goodness, and the world around me will see His generosity at work and give Him glory.
- Every generational pattern of debt, lack, and financial shame ends with me — my household steps into a new legacy of abundance and freedom.
Reflection
Take a quiet moment today and ask yourself honestly: have you been calling resignation ‘contentment’ or dressing up passivity as ‘trusting God’? There is a real difference between a heart free from greed and a heart that has simply stopped believing God can do better. The widow in 2 Kings 4 did not sit quietly with her debt — she ran to a prophet, followed an unusual instruction, and kept pouring until the oil stopped. Your action step today is small but powerful: identify one area of financial passivity in your life and replace it with one concrete, faith-fueled move forward.
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Test Your Understanding
Answer these 5 questions on today's devotional, then see how you did.
