The Bible tells us Give and it shall be given back to you, a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and overflowing. (Luke 6:38)
We can therefore extrapolate the principle of Give What You Need from this Bible verse and we can see it in action from the following examples in the Bible.
The Widow and Elijah
The story of Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath in 1 Kings 17:8-16 shows us this principle of Give What You Need.
We can see that when there was a drought in Israel, God told Elijah to go to Zarephath as he had commanded a widow to provide for him, when he arrived at the gate of the city, he found her gathering sticks. He asked her to bring him a little water in a cup to drink and as she was going to get it, he also asked her for a morsel of bread.
The widow replied and told him, "I do not have bread. I only have a handful of flour in a bin and a little oil in a jar and I am gathering sticks so that I can prepare it for myself and my son so that we can eat i and die." (1 Kings 17:12)
Elijah said to her, "Do not fear, go and do as you have said but first make a small cake and bring it to me and then make some for you and your son. For thus says the Lord God: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up nor shall the jar of oil run dry until the day the Lord sends rain.'" (1 Kings 17:13-14)
The widow went away and did what Elijah had said and she, him and her household ate fro many days. The bin of flour was not used up and the jar of oil did not run dry according to the Word of God which He spoke through Elijah. (1 Kings 17:16)
From this incident we can see that the Widow and her son needed food because when she met Elijah she was going to prepare their last meal.
However, she gave Elijah what she needed which was food for she prepared a cake for him before she prepared for her son and herself. Therefore give what you need even from your meagre resources.
The second lesson we learn from this story is that you should continue giving because this Widow, Elijah and her household ate for many days. (1 Kings 17:15) Thus we can see that she did not just feed Elijah once, she kept feeding him for many days and that contributed to her miracle.
God was sustaining her flour and her oil because she was feeding Elijah. Had she stopped feeding Elijah, them who knows, maybe her oil and flour would have dried up.
Therefore if you are in a drought situation, consult God and find out which Prophet or Servant of God you should give what you need and give it to them.
However, once you have given once, continue giving if you do not want your miracle to dry up.
We can also see that her continuous giving also resulted in her receiving a second miracle of her son being restored to life. (1 Kings 17:17-24)
This story also teaches us that we have to stand on The Promises of God which are in the Bible.
Therefore go through your Bible and find the Promises of God which pertain to your drought situation and stand on them as you continue giving and believing for your miracle from God.
Cornelius and Peter
The story of Cornelius and Peter in Acts 10: 1- also shows us this principle of Give What You Need.
Cornelius was an Italian Centurion who gave alms generously and Always prayed to God. (Acts 10:2) One day as he was praying in the 9th hour, he way a vision of an Angel of God coming to him. The Angel told him, Your prayers and alms have come up as a memorial before God. (Acts 10:4)
God then told him to send men to Joppa and send for Simon Peter. As his servants were travelling to Joppa, God was speaking to Simon Peter who was on praying in the 6th hour. Peter also saw a vision and in which he was told, "What God has cleansed you must not call common." (Acts 10:15)
While Peter was still thinking about the vision he had seen, God's Spirit told him to go with the three men who were looking for him. He went with them to Cornelius' house and he preached the Good News about Jesus and as he was doing so, the Holy Spirit fell on those who were present and they spoke in tongues and magnified God. In addition those present were also baptized with water. (Acts 10:44-48)
This preaching of Simon Peter in the house of Cornelius was a miracle because as Simon Peter said, it is Unlawful for a Jewish man to keep company with or visit someone of another nation. (Acts 10:28)
However God had stepped in and shown Simon Peter a vision 3 times whose message was what God has cleansed he should not call unclean and thus he had no choice but to obey God and go to the house of Cornelius who was a gentile - an Italian centurion.
In addition to Simon Peter being a Jew, he was also the man Jesus Christ left the Church and therefore he was not just a regular man. He was an important person but he had to break the protocol and traditions because of the visions and God's Spirit telling him to go to Cornelius house.
Furthermore, God visited them and Poured out the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44) in the home of Cornelius the Gentile.
Thus we can see that Cornelius Always prayed to God (Acts 10:2) and in return he received an abundance of Prayers in his own home. Prayers from Simon Peter and God pouring out his Holy Spirit as well as being baptized.
Therefore if you are believing for a move of God in your life, do not pray once, Always prayed to God (Acts 10:2) and Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
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