Sometime late last year, Jenny, a dear friend of mine prayed abundance over my life. The word stirred something in me. I felt honored, but also undeserving. As someone who has suffered from complex trauma, I have a hard time receiving compliments or any accolades for that matter. But for some reason, this word has stayed with me.

Towards the end of the year, I was introduced to a special way of praying for my friends. I would ask 52 friends to provide me with a verse. I would then randomly assign each friend one week of the year to pray over them. It’s a pretty ingenious idea that keeps in the Word and my friends at the forefront of my mind.

Because I love definitions, most days, I read the particular verse and study a word that pops out to me. One of the very first verses a friend shared was John 10:10. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly”.

By definition, abundantly means “in large quantities; plentifully”. Not satisfied with that definition, I turned to my Tony Evans Bible Commentary and gleaned the wonderful definition: to be fulfilled in His spirit, His blessings, and His purpose in my earthly life (paraphrased).

When Jenny prayed the word abundance over my life, she was not praying for extravagance (in case you are curious of its meaning; lack of restraint in spending money or use of resources) as some could interpret the word abundance to mean. Specifically, she was praying for the day when the cost of living wouldn’t be a burden.

God desires the same for us! Tony Evans says it best in his commentary of John 10:10, “Jesus doesn’t want you merely to possess eternal life but also to possess the full experience of life. Following the Shepherd leads to blessing and joy and a growing experience of eternal life. It allows Him to rebuke and reverse the enemy’s attempts at blocking the blessings, purpose, and spiritual fulfillment God has for your life.”

So, yes, I/you don’t deserve to live extravagantly, but because of Jesus, we are called to live abundantly. And there is nothing wrong with going after it, which I intend to do.