My First Vow
I’ll never forget the first vow l made. As a child, l grew up in Ghana where vows are normal. We grew up being taught that a vow made to God is important. I don’t remember hearing anyone teach about vows from the Bible, but it was such a part of our culture that l understood how serious and vital they were. l can tell that God loves vows. Throughout history, He has worked mighty miracles when people have made and fulfilled vows.
There are many examples in Scripture of people making vows. The first vow recorded in the Bible is in Genesis:
Jacob vowed a vow, saying , “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that l go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that l come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: And this stone, which l have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me l will surely give the tenth unto thee.”Genesis 28:20-22“
Jacob made this vow on the way to the house of Laban. He had walked all the way from present-day Israel to present -day Iraq. He was in trouble. He had lost his home. His life was in danger. His brother had threatened to kill him.
People generally don’t make vows unless they are in trouble and they are backed into a corner.
Jacob was obviously aware that his survival was obviously aware that his survival was at stake. Where would he get food and water? How could he protected from the dangers he faced?
That’s when he vowed that if God would get him where he was going and back, he would give a tenth of everything he owned.
He was protected. He served his Uncle Laban for twenty – one years. Then God spoke to Jacob:
The angel of God spake unto me in a dream, saying, Jacob: And l said, Here am l. And he said, Lift up now thine eyes, and see, all the rams which leap upon the cattle are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled: for l have seen all that Laban doeth unto thee. I am the God of Bethel, where thou anointedst the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the land of thy kindred.(Genesis 31:11-13)
God showed Jacob all he had been given, and then came the reminder about the vow. Perhaps Jacob had forgotten about the vow he had made twenty-one years before, but God never forgets.
MAKING A VOW
Making a vow is very serious. Fulfilling your part of the vow is critical. We know that Absalom, King David’s son, made a vow and broke it (2 samuel 15:7-8) Absalom’s life was restored as a result of the vow, but God ended up taking his life because he broke it.
God never forgets vows. We are told, “Offer unto God thanksgiving, and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: l will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me” ( Psalm 50:14-15).
Likewise, we are taught, “l will go into thy house with burnt offerings: l will pay thee my vows, which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when l was in trouble” (Psalm 66:13-14)
The psalmist knew that when God’s people are in trouble, making and fulfilling a vow is the only way out. David himself made a vow because he was in trouble, and the Lord got him out of it as a result of his vow. whenever l have faced serious challenges and have made and fulfilled a vow, God has answered every time.
THE POWER OF YOUR VOW
Are you facing impossible circumstances? It is biblical to made a vow when you are in those difficult situations.
Go to God and say, Lord, here’s what l’m facing. l need this to be solved in my life. And here is what l’ll do.” make a commitment. tell God the amount you are promising. This is not a seed. This is not an offering. There is a difference between a vow and an offering or seed. A vow gets God’s attention in a way that a seed or offering canot. People make vows when they are in danger or face impossible situation. And when they make vows to God, He will listen.
Whatever you do, be sure to fulfill your vow, for God’s Word tells us, “When thou vowest a vow unto God’s defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed” (Ecclesiastes 5:4)
It is my prayer as you make your vow that God will lead you out of bondage, bring you and your loved ones out of danger, and pour out kingly inheritance. fr He is a Worthy God and He loves us. I also wishc to share this song with you…Praise him for he a God who keeps his Vows to his people
Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty of silver. For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall haer thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows. (Job 22:25-27)
Make a vow as God speaks to you, then prepare to see His power unleashed in your life in an unprecedented way. There is power in a vow!
VOWS AND THE WORLD OF FAITH
One of my favorite biblical accounts of making a vow is when Hannah asked God to give her a son:
She vowed a vow, and said, O lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then l will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.(1 samuel 11)
My mother made a vow similar to Hannah’s, asking for a made child and promising to give me back to God. l found out that Oral Robert’s mother made the same vow. l have been reminded of those women’s vows each time l have made a vow. We are in the world and we must deal with the world with faith not reason, for the world of faith rules the world of reason.
So what is that vow that you have made that has made you Great or Is keeping you from getting to your destiny? Want to share with us in comments below? Please like and share as you always do by God’s grace lets spread his word and goodness. Do consider joining our Facebook Community if you find value and lets show him that he is worthy of our praise!
As always
thank you for this. I dont think I truly understood a vow before reading this.I can testify that I made my first Vow to God over a year ago. God answered my prayer and its now on me to complete the vow I made to God.
My Dear Sister Taya,
I am so happy for you that you have found your Spiritual voice and I pray that your Vow is kept and more abundance manifest in your life!
Don’t hide your light under a bushel again. Its a beacon for someone’s soul!
Good morning pastor. I found myself in serious debt that led to the loss of my job and dignity. Before l lost my job l vowed to God that if he will deliver me from debt l will dedicate my life to serving him . That was before l lost my job and now am even facing court trial. Things getting worse! Is my vow going to materialise?. Am sad and low. Thanks
Hi Mark, Sorry to hear about your situation. If you focus on The Good in your life and we all have some however bad life seems to be. Even just Breathing normally, and being alive can be that positive thing. Focus on how glorious your life could be tomorrow, FOCUS ON HIS LOVE. And something will turn up. You are in our prayers!
Good day all,
Making a vow is something you have to be very careful about. Never be quick to make a vow if you are unstable in keeping promises or changing your mind. From the little I know and my background, I come to realize that when you make a vow to a spirit being, you have signed a spiritual agreement that can either ruin your life or uplift you to an unexpected level of achievement in life.
Permit me to use this opportunity to share a little experience of my life with respect to vow. I will be as brief as possible. I finished my university struggling to survive. it was not easy for my parents to finance my education. Being the first child in the family of six, they also had the responsibility of taking care of my siblings. After my university education, I was fortunate to get a job immediately. I felt the job will bring a little relief to my parents but later got to know that the pay could not sustain me or could it be enough to make me live the kind of comfortable life I have dreamt of. I found myself struggling to survive. It was in this situation I made a vow before God Almighty. To be frank, I would not say I actually know God well enough to make such a vow. Neither did I know what the future implication will be.
I told God that if he would wipe away shame from me and make me not to lack anything good, then I will give him 10% of my income as offering in addition to 10% of my tithe. I started this immediately without waiting to see if God will play his own role. At first it was very easy because the salary was not so much, but I had to take off 20% of every of my income for God’s work. Most time things will be so tough, but I still have to give out this percentage out of my salary. Though financially I was not happy with the situation in my life and thanks to God I married a wife who understands. Before I got married to her I told her the vow I made before God. So, it was not new that when we don’t know how to survive with the little salary I still have to give out 20% of it for God’s service. As human, I sometimes default but will always ask God to show mercy and I will start off again. To be frank, for years things did not get better and the economy of the country I found myself was not helping issues. I could not maintain my car neither could I pay my children school fees without stress or pleading with the school authority to give me more time to offset my debt. In all this, my wife will always support me to give God his own. I am almost in tears right now as I put down my memories in writing for people to know that God will always play his path of every bargain only if we can be consistent.
Here comes God in action. I have always had this dream of getting a job and working outside the shore of my country. I applied to several organisation without success. Most times when you feel the interview was successful and hoping to hear from the company, it turn out negative. I decided to further my education possibly that will give me an added advantage. But how to finance my studies was definitely another issue that has to be sorted out. I applied to several schools and finally I got one that my entire annual salary cannot pay for the tuition fees. Even if I save all without spending a penny every month. I could not actually tell what came over me and I kept on telling my friends that God will make away and that I will not miss this opportunity. The good thing about the program was that it came with work placement. I was given a date to pay initial deposit or forfeit the admission. I applied for scholarship from the school and was given a discount of 20% of the total fee. With this discount, it was still a mountain to be able to afford the balance. I wrote back to the school that I may not be able to make it because the tuition fee was still too high for me. Finally, I was offered a discount of 45% from the school. The road was actually very rough, because I had to quit my job as my place of work offered me study leave without pay. My wife job was not lucrative enough to take care of my family and so I had to take them to my parent.
When I rounded up with my program, I got a job that 20% I return to God is now more 50 times what I initially give for his service. My family have joined me and we are now together. He lifted me high. I don’t think of how to pay my children school fees anymore and by God’s grace feeding is not a thing of thought to me anymore. My friends consider me blessed. Though I might not have everything but for sure he that have lifted me to this height will supply all my needs. GOD DOES NOT FAIL. HE WILL ALWAYS KEEP HIS OWN SIDE OF THE BARGAIN. May His name be praised.
Wow what a testimony, in fact most would have given up and stopped the 20% with times getting worse, We are glad you kept your Vow and your Faith. God doesn’t need us to go into pain while keeping our promises to Him, that said God does come through for all His children in His allotted time. Thank you for sharing and stay blessed.
Shalom beloved what a wonderful testimony of faith… More grace beloved
Hello Victor
How are you doing? l trust that everything is fine with you.
God bless
Can we pay vows in installments..I have made vows and paid in full but in installments. I never forget the balance amount but all my vows are in installments. Is that fine?
Hello Clari, please follow our Giving page and do what you need to do, Vows are what you choose to give. But let me ask Pastor if this info is correct. Better still, reach out using our contact page for a faster response.
Stay Blessed and thanks for stopping by.