Playing the lottery versus trusting God

[Lara 0]

Hello everyone,
I would like to hear your thoughts on playing the lottery and my situation. When I was younger I was told Christians shouldn't play the lottery as it was gambling. So I didn't. Also, mathematics being one of my strong points I knew the chances of winning were quite small, so even when the thought came into my mind that I could play I pushed it away. The irony is that my stepfather won a sizable amount in the past playing the lottery and last year won another useful amount.

Fast forward to today. I am broke and I need to find a new apartment or flat share within the coming week since my sublet contract expires at the end of next week. I haven't been able to find an available place and even if I do I still need money for the deposit and the rent. I have no one to ask for help. My mother has already helped me twice this month with my living expenses and I know that she is all tapped out.

I believe that God can do miracles as I have had 2 small miracles this week but something in the back of my mind is like where is this money going to come from? My situation has made me consider playing the lottery. I read articles tonight on why I shouldn't play the lottery but none of them are ringing true with me since I am not trying to become rich quick. I just want a few thousand for my deposit and rent. The thought that comes into my mind is how is God going to help me if I don't do something. That I can pray to win the amount of money I need but if I sit and just pray where is the money going to come from?

I am literally facing homelessness soon. What should I do? I feel like if I play the lottery I won't be trusting God but my situation seems so impossible...

[Daisy 0]

Lara, I will be praying about ur situation. I'm so sorry ur going through this. I pray the lord will give u divine wisdom in ur distress, and open the door for ur provision!

[Cholette 0]

Wellll, I will say this...This scripture comes to mind, as I read your post:

A faithful man will abound with blessings,
But he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished. (Proverbs 28:20)

Wisdom will say, you will be throwing away money that you need, that will go towards your move...just to give it to someone else (the winner), who may not need it as badly as you do right now.

The first part of that scripture says "a faithful man (or woman)"...I see this as one who is "full of faith". Trust God and maybe fast and pray for a day and seek God for His direction on what to do. He will never fail you...sometimes these things come up just so he can see where our faith is.

I will be praying as well. I can be touched by what you are going though.

[Lara 0]

Thanks for your responses.

@Cholette, like I said in my post I am not seeking to become rich but I think I started worrying to the point where I was wondering how I would get the money and accomodation.


Last week I viewed a flatshare and before I went I was hopeful.However, when I went to the appartment it turned out that my flatmate was going to be a man who is a rock musician. I didn't feel comfortable with that. I had a glance at a few of his books and he had stuff on Krishna and some other weird things. I am very sensitive to that kind of stuff as I believe that having certain things in your home can open the door for the enemy to come in.

He said I could move in this week once I signed the contract and paid the deposit. After I shook his hand to say good bye. My hand felt odd. It was as if the centre of my hand was burning. I prayed about it and then discussed it my mother. When I told her he was a rock musician she told me no not to take it because you never know what these people are into.

I also had a dream the following night about the pathway near to my appartment building which has some construction going on in real life. I dream that there was this 34 ft hole in the shape of a square and that this big yellow thing like a roller crossed with a truck was gong to fall into if it reversed straight back. Without going into to the rest of the dream I'll just say that this 34ft hole featured twice in that particular dream and I took it as a sign that I shouldn't take the flat.

The next day I discussed the matter with a christian friend and she said that the situation wasn't ideal that its not a nice situation for me to sharing a flat with a male. She there are some issues which could arise. The market being what is in this town, it was snapped up and is now off the market. I had texted him anyway to tell him I wasn't going to take it.

Now I'm wondering if I didn't turn down God's provision since I'd been praying about it all along. I am wondering if I shouldn't have taken it and then just have to worry about the deposit and rent.

What are your thoughts?

[lola21st 2]

Hi Lara -

I would encourage you to remain in prayer. Sometimes when we're fasting and praying about something, an option will present itself but we need to assess whether it's really from God. In this case, I don't think the Lord would place you in a roommate situation with a male rock musician who has Krishna books unless. I don't mean to judge the fellow, I just see more things that could have gone awry in this situation than could have gone well.

What does stand out in your post is the lack of peace you felt regarding this situation. You mentioned a few things in your post that you felt were weird or just didn't sit right in your spirit. When God has blessed us or instructed us, we should feel His peace. When I'm praying/fasting, that's the sign I'm looking for to know when the prayer/fasting can cease or if a decision is from Him.

The other way you'll know it's from God is that everything falls together effortlessly. Things that would normally be barriers aren't, obstacles are no more.

So keep praying/fasting until you receive His guidance and instruction. God is able and He will be faithful in your situation. I will pray for you as well.

Please keep us posted on how things turn out, ok?

[Lara 0]

Thanks for your advice. I will let you know how things go.