Vows
and the Word of Faith
God loves vows. Throughout history, He has worked
mighty miracles when people have made and fulfilled vows. There are many, many examples in
Scripture of people making vows—Jacob (Genesis 28:20-22), Jephthah (Judges
11:30), Hannah (1 Samuel 1:11), David (Psalm 56:12), Solomon (Proverbs 7:14),
Jonah (Jonah 2:9), and the apostle Paul (Acts 18:18).
There is
power in a vow! And if making a vow is serious, then fulfilling your part of
the vow is critical. God never forgets vows.
If you are facing an especially large challenge or
a dangerous situation—financially or otherwise—not knowing what to do, not
knowing where to turn, it may be time for you to consider making a vow before
God.
It’s worth
sharing these verses again:
“Offer
unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most High: And call upon Me in
the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me” (Psalm
50:14-15).
What’s the significance of paying
your vows?
My dear
friend, the late Paul Crouch, told me about a situation a few years ago when he
and Jan faced a very serious situation with the Trinity Broadcasting Network.
In the midst of that looming problem, he went to a church in Southern
California by himself. The building was empty as he walked in, got on his knees
before God, and made a vow. That vow, according to Paul, literally saved TBN.
A Childhood Vow That Changed My Life
As he was
telling me this testimony, I was reminded once again of a vow I made as a
child. I grew up in Israel 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 I understood
how serious and vital they were.
During the
mid-1960s, as the situation grew tense around Jaffa, where we lived, and
throughout Israel, my father decided to move our family to a safer place.
Because he had been involved with the government of Israel in ways I didn’t
know about until after he died, we were turned down.
Israel2-BackEven as a child I was always
religious and had a great reverence for the church. Though I wasn’t a Christian
yet, I went to church every Sunday and served as an altar boy in the Greek
Orthodox Church. I went to a Catholic school, as well, so we went to mass
nearly every morning.
When the
Israeli government told my father that we could not leave, our family was
greatly disappointed. We felt defeated. My uncles had already emigrated. By
then it was 1966, and the tension kept building. Then in 1967, the Six-Day War
erupted, and we were under even more pressure as a family.
During that
time, I made a decision to go by myself and pray in the Greek Orthodox Church.
I was all alone as I talked to God. I said, “If You will get us out of Israel,
I will give You a can of olive oil.”
I knew the
church used olive oil for the lamps. Truthfully, I had no idea that vows were
in the Bible. I had just heard people talking about making vows. And I was
serious about what I said as I prayed and made my vow.
It was early
1968 by then, and I remember so vividly what happened. We received notice that
the Israeli government had decided to allow us to emigrate. On the very same
day, the Canadian Embassy also agreed to allow us into their country and guaranteed
us passports. It was truly a miracle!
My mother
told me to run and tell our father. I ran as hard as I could. I will never
forget the sights and sounds. My father was standing in old Jaffa, right beside
the house of Simon the Tanner, where Peter received the vision that changed his
life. My father was meeting with some people there. I told him the good news,
and our life changed completely from that point. In July of 1968 we moved to
Canada.
“Where is the oil…?”
Not long afterward, as I lay on a bed in our new
home in Toronto, I heard a Voice: “Where is the oil you promised?”
I didn’t
recognize it as the Lord’s Voice, but I heard the Words as surely as anything.
I quickly got out of bed, rushed to the store, and bought the largest container
of olive oil I could get with the money I had and carried it to the Greek
Orthodox Church in downtown Toronto.
I’ll never
forget the look in the priest’s eyes as he watched this kid bringing in a big
container of oil, setting it down, and hearing me say, “I made a vow to God.
Here’s the oil.” And I walked out, leaving the poor fellow staring at me.
It was my
first experience with making a vow to God, and what happened has stuck with me
throughout my life.
I can look
back to several dangerous moments since then when I have made a vow. And I can
tell you that if you are
facing an especially large challenge, not knowing what to do, it may be time
for you to consider making a vow before God.