A. W. Tozer: No help and no helpers

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find him, though He is not far from any one of us. ‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’ Acts 17:24-28

“Almighty God, just because He is almighty, needs no support. The picture of a nervous, ingratiating God fawning over men to win their favor is not a pleasant one; yet if we look at the popular conception of God that is precisely what we see. Twentieth century Christianity has put God on charity. So lofty is our opinion of ourselves that we find it quite easy, not to say enjoyable, to believe that we are necessary to God. But the truth is that God is not greater for our being, nor would He be less if we did not exist.

That we do exist is altogether of God’s free determination, not by our desert nor by divine necessity. Probably the hardest thought of all for our natural egotism to entertain is that God does not need our help. We commonly represent Him as a busy, eager, somewhat frustrated Father hurrying about seeking help to carry out His benevolent plan to bring peace and salvation to the world, but, as said the Lady Julian, “I saw truly that God doeth all-thing, be it never so little.” The God who worketh all things surely needs no help and no helpers.

Too many missionary appeals are based upon this fancied frustration of Almighty God. An effective speaker can easily excite pity in his listeners, not only for the heathen but for the God who has tried so hard and so long to save them and has failed for want of support. I fear that thousands of younger persons enter Christian service from no higher motive than to help deliver God from the embarrassing situation His love has gotten Him into and His limited abilities seem unable to get Him out of. Add to this a certain degree of commendable idealism and a fair amount of compassion for the underprivileged and you have the true drive behind much Christian activity today.”

A. W. Tozer (1897-1963) in Knowledge of the Holy, 26.

For the next seven days we will explore what is needful through the eyes of A. W. Tozer in his classic work, Knowledge of the Holy. Click here to download it freely.

It is needful for us to understand that God does not need help or helpers. The key word here is need. We must go from thinking too highly of ourselves to showing through our actions we think more highly of Him.

God is the Almighty! This should humble each of us. As Tozer notes, we should not speak of God as needing our help in our Christian efforts. Rather, He redeemed us for doing good works that bring glory to our Father in Heaven.

He wants us to live by faith and show our reliance on Him. This positions Him to get glory for anything that happens through us. But often, we who have been blessed with resources, trust in what we have rather than in God.

God wants us to know Him. When we do, we become overcome by His goodness, His faithfulness, His absolute trustworthiness, and His matchless generosity.

In response, our actions show a growing willingness to give not a portion of ourselves and our resources to Him but all we are and all we have because we know He bought us with the price of His blood.

Where do you fit in this picture?

Are you speaking of God as one who needs help or helpers. If so, please stop. Instead, join the ranks of those who show that because God helped them for the purpose of doing good works that bring Him glory, they surrender everything to Him.

I have arrived safely in Adelaide, Australia, for the International Society of Biblical Literature conference. It runs from 6-9 July 2026. I speak on the last day. More on that later.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him! Matthew 7:7-11

“Prayer is not about changing God, but being willing to let God change us… Jesus goes so far as to say that true prayer is always answered (Matthew 7:7–11). Now we all know that is not factually true—unless He is talking about prayer in the sense that I am trying to describe it. If you are able to switch minds to the mind of Christ, your prayer has already been answered! That new mind knows, understands, accepts, and sees correctly, widely, and wisely. Its prayers are always answered because they are, in fact, the prayers of God too… Paul puts it this way: “You are hidden with Christ in God. When Christ is revealed — and He is your life — you too will be revealed in all your glory within Him” (Colossians 3:3–4). It does not get any better than that, and you are now personally in on the deal. Basically prayer is an exercise in divine participation — you opting in and God always there!”

Richard Rohr in Breathing Under Water (London: SPCK, 2016), 75.

This marks the last post in exploring what is needful from this book by Richard Rohr.

We live in a time when the idea of “opting in” takes our minds to choosing to put our name on a list, or deciding to join some group. Today Rohr suggests that it is needful for us to see prayer as opting in.

I like this notion because all too often prayer appears as us asking God for what we need.

This exposes the fact that we see ourselves and our needs at the center of all things. Alternatively, when prayer is an exercise in divine participation, we discover that God is always there and in Him we have all we need.

This relates to generosity because it transforms the person whose life is hidden with Christ in God.

We shift from feeling anxiety about the future or whatever petition we want to bring to the Lord to feeling confident that He will give us bread and fish if we need them and not stones and snakes.

What is the meaning of these words for us practically?

The significance of God giving us bread over stones in the Scripture is giving something useful to sustain us instead of something useless. The link to fish and snakes is giving something beneficial instead of harmful.

We can live, give, serve, and love generously because that’s God’s posture toward us when we opt in with Him in prayer. We are participating with the One who is always ready to do good toward us.

This is a good word on Independence Day in USA.

While the nation celebrates 250 years, I am over the Pacific heading to Australia. I want to remind readers in USA and anywhere else where they can pray and worship God freely to pause and give thanks to God.

And let us lift up and brothers and sisters around the world who do not have this same freedom.

Give us today our daily bread. Matthew 6:11

“It is important that you ask, seek, and knock to keep yourself in right relationship with life itself. Life is a gift, totally given to you without cost, every day of it, and every part of it. A daily and chosen “attitude of
gratitude” will keep your hands open to expect that life, allow that life, and receive life at ever-deeper levels of satisfaction — but never to think you deserve it.

Those who live with such open and humble hands receive life’s “gifts, full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over into their lap” (Luke 6:38). In my experience, if you are not radically grateful every day, resentment always takes over. For some reason, to ask “for your daily bread” is to know that it is being given. To not ask is to take your own efforts, needs, and goals — and yourself — far too seriously. Consider if that is not true in your own life.”

Richard Rohr in Breathing Under Water (London: SPCK, 2016), 57.

Yesterday we saw the need to radically change.

Today Rohr beckons us to be radically grateful every day so resentment does not take over and so we do not take ourselves too seriously. Let me explain this in plain terms.

Those who give thanks every day for God’s blessings with an attitude of gratitude and who trust God for daily bread experience deep satisfaction and grasp life as it was intended to be lived.

Those who don’t respond with a different attitude when things not go their way. Immediately they question God. “Why did you allow this or that to happen, God.” And, just like that, resentment has taken over.

These people then take it upon themselves to provide for their needs – because they did not find God faithful – and they act as if God is not the good Provider any longer, so they sort things for themselves.

God does not force these people to grasp life as He wants them to live it, so He lets them limp along with resentment. Despite their hard hearts, His goodness and mercy still pursue them all the days of their lives.

Where are you in this picture? Are you radically grateful or resentful. Be honest with yourself. You can choose the life of ask, seek, knock, and give thanks daily for daily bread received with open and humble hands.

Or you can open the door for resentment. The choice is yours. Or rather, you have already made the choice based on who your actions demonstrate you trust to supply your daily bread and everything else.

I fly to Australia today to speak at the International Society of Biblical Literature conference from 5-9 July 2026. Thanks for your prayers. Stay tuned for more information and a copy of the paper I will deliver.

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24

“How you do life is your real and final truth, not what ideas you believe. We are all and forever beggars before God and the universe. We can never engineer or guide our own transformation or conversion. If we try, it will be a self-centered and well-controlled version of conversion, with most of my preferences and addictions still fully in place but now well disguised. Any attempts at self-conversion would be like an active alcoholic trying to determine his own rules for sobriety. God has to radically change the central reference point of our lives.”

Richard Rohr in Breathing Under Water (London: SPCK, 2016), 55.

“How you do life is your real and final truth, not what ideas you believe.”

Many people think Jesus cares what you believe. He doesn’t. James, the half brother of Jesus tells us, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder” (James 2:19).

Jesus cares what you do. He wants to see us radically change directions.

Someone asked me yesterday what it will look like to aim to take Generosity Monk global. I quoted Victor Hugo in reply. “Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.”

The time has come to awaken the global church to do life in a manner that demonstrates radical change.

Specifically, I am speaking about how we handle God’s money and how we live simply, give sacrificially, serve humbly, and love generously before a watching world.

“How you do life is your real and final truth, not what ideas you believe.”

Rohr is right. And consider yourself warned. Why? Most people do life in a self-centered and well-controlled version of conversion, which is no conversion at all.

When God is the central reference point of our lives, we do life different from the world.

Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. Luke 18:25

“The death of any relationship with anybody is to have a sense of entitlement. Any notion that “I deserve,” “I am owed,” “I have a right to,” “I am higher than you” absolutely undermines any notion of faith, hope, or love between the involved parties. This is certainly why Jesus made one of his strongest statements found in all three Synoptic Gospels, and yet one of his most denied and ignored.

He says, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:25). Jesus says that about no other group. The mind of a rich person is invariably one of entitlement. “I deserve this because I worked hard for this!” we think. Or, “I am owed this by reason of my station in life” as even many clergy or famous people have imagined (with full cooperation and codependency from the crowds, I must add).

To undo and undercut this arrogant and soul-destructive attitude, Jesus told us all to stay in the position of a beggar, a petitioner, a radical dependent, which is always spiritually true, if we are honest. To know that you don’t know, to know that you are always in need, to know you are a “nomad and stranger on this earth” (Hebrews 11:14)”

Richard Rohr in Breathing Under Water (London: SPCK, 2016), 54.

Where do you find yourself in this reading? Many people do not plan to appear in the “entitlement” camp. The system puts them there. It goes something like this: They get a job. It promises many benefits. The language of “I deserve,” “I am owed,” and “I have a right to” become part of their vocabulary in this system.

Thought the Scriptures reminds them that God gave them the ability to produce that wealth, the world tells them otherwise, repeatedly. While they worked hard, everything they got came to them as gifts from a gracious God. And God desires that they live simply, give sacrificially, serve humbly, and love generously and willingly take a posture of a beggar, a petitioner, and a radical dependent.

Living the Christian life generously is not about making a gift from what you own. It’s about becoming a giver from all God has supplied and to look like a nomad and stranger on the earth.

Today, I am officially a nomad and a stranger. Yesterday was my last day as staff at GTP. Pray for the Generosity Monk team as they complete the new website this month. And thanks for your prayers as I depend on God for provision. He’s led to me to grow the Generosity Monk team to get the message of Christian generosity to the world. To partner with our team, set up monthly giving or a one time gift here.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21

“God resists our evil and conquers it with good, or how could God ask the same of us?! Think about that. God shocks and stuns us into love. God does not love us if we change, God loves us so that we can change. Only love affects true inner transformation, not duress, guilt, shunning, or social pressure. Love is not love unless it is totally free. Grace is not grace unless it is totally free. You would think Christian people would know that by now, but it is still a secret of the soul.”

Richard Rohr in Breathing Under Water (London: SPCK, 2016), 44.

Today’s post leans into the function of God’s generosity toward us and how we can multiply it toward others. God shocks and stuns us into love and we get to do the same for others.

God loves us so we can change and we get to do the same for others. God gives us love and grace freely and calls us to extend them to others. We should look strange to the watching world.

I am enjoying this book. Email me if you want a free PDF copy. I can’t share it through my GTP Dropbox as today is my last day on the staff of GTP. I will continue to volunteer in the days and weeks to come.

Why? GTP is a great channel for spreading good. Starting tomorrow, look for me to expand Generosity Monk to reach the world and collaborate with ministries that advance the gospel especially in hard places.

Consider Kazakhstan for example. Last night a dear brother arrived in my home from there. I took him to his first Major League Baseball game last night.

We are planning to minister together in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan in September 2026. Stay tuned for more information on that. For now, see my Facebook for a post on our game experience.

Father in Heaven, empower us by your Holy Spirit to shock and stun people with love and grace right where we live and in dangerous places so we overcome the evil in this world with good. Do this we pray in Jesus name. Amen.

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14

“Now do you know what is the most common and, in fact, almost universal, substitute for renouncing our will? Dedicated people have made it into its own form of religion, and I will call it “the myth of heroic” sacrifice. The common way of renouncing the self, while not really renouncing the self at all, is being sacrificial! It looks so generous and loving, and sometimes it is. But usually it is still all about me. It is the classic “first half of life” gesture that gives the self boundaries, identity, superiority, definition, admiration, and a real control of the scene… It is just not the Gospel, but only its most common substitute…

All zealots and “true believers” tend to be immensely sacrificial on one highly visible level, and fool almost everybody. “I sacrifice myself by obeying these laws and attending these services or even serving the poor” and by being more heroic than you are, they might think. Often they do not love God or others in such heroic “obedience,” they are merely seeking moral high ground for themselves and the social esteem that comes with it (See Luke 18:11–12). Or as Paul puts it, “I can give my body to be burned, but without love, it is worth nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3). Most bogus religion, in my opinion, is highly sacrificial in one or another visible way, but not loving at all. Yet it fools most people. I will not dare to name names here, but you can fill in the blanks.”

Richard Rohr in Breathing Under Water (London: SPCK, 2016), 31-33.

In calling people to lives of authentic surrender and generosity, Rohr alerts us to avoid reflecting the myth of heroic sacrifice which propagates nothing but bogus religion. He uses a key biblical text with giving in view to make the point.

The Pharisee in the Scripture appears to have everything sorted in life. And his sacrifices take shape as fasting and giving. For viewers, it seems this bloke has the Christian life figured out. Many want to imitate him. But don’t go there.

A closer look reveals a prideful person, thinking he is better than robbers, evildoers, adulterers, and tax collectors and that his actions will justify him. Rohr is right in saying this is “not the Gospel, but only its most common substitute.”

Alternatively, Jesus celebrates the humility of the tax collector. And we can envision his generosity through the example of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10. In that scene he gives generously in response to the invitation to have relationship with Jesus.

So what is needful for us today to make sure we grow in authentic Christian generosity? We need to be sure that our generosity is coupled with humility and charity (or gracious love) to avoid the myth of heroic sacrifice and bogus religion.

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

“I cannot pretend to understand God, but this is what I see: people who have moved from seeming success to seeming success seldom understand success at all, except a very limited version of their own. People who fail to do it right, by even their own definition of right, are those who often break through to enlightenment and compassion.

It is still a mystery to me, and will still be a mystery for you, even if you read this book to the end. The big difference, and it is big, is that you will hopefully be able to accept and even revel in this cosmic economy of grace. It is God’s greatest surprise and God’s constant disguise, but you only know it to be true by going through it and coming out the other side yourself. You cannot know it by just going to church, reading Scriptures, or listening to someone else talk about it, even if you agree with them.

Until you bottom out, and come to the limits of your own fuel supply, there is no reason for you to switch to a higher octane of fuel. For that is what is happening! Why would you? You will not learn to actively draw upon a larger source until your usual resources are depleted and revealed as wanting. In fact, you will not even know there is a larger source until your own sources and resources fail you.”

Richard Rohr in Breathing Under Water (London: SPCK, 2016), 20.

Tomorrow marks my last day as a staff member of GTP.

I thank God for the privilege of founding and launching this global ministry and for the privilege of teaching and training more than 10,000 workers in 140+ countries and territories.

I knew God wanted me to do this for a season. But I did not discern until now what that purpose was.

God wanted me to build a global network. Now He wants me to mentor them in generosity and provide educational pathways for their growth. But I needed to understand grace – God’s greatest surprise and God’s constant disguise – to do this.

If that does not make sense, hear this. I also needed to learn to tap a larger source of power.

Each of us has talents, abilities, and resources. I put my talents and abilities to work and emptied myself over the last 7+ years. I poured all I am and all I have into this work. Now God says, trust me for something bigger.

Maybe God has you on a similar journey. You can’t imagine something more. So how do you navigate it? Grace.

I declare today the need for grace for the next steps for Generosity Monk. The need courage to face an unknown and bigger future than I could have ever imagined. And I can do it not because of my ability, but because of God’s grace.

I pray today that if you feel stretched that this post encourages you to rely on grace, a larger source of power.

As we explore this book by Rohr this week and link it to generosity, I hope it inspires you to tap grace for the future God has for you. We can do all things through Christ who gives us strength because His grace is sufficient.

God, thanks for your grace which is sufficient for us. Thanks that even though we don’t understand it, your power is made perfect in our weakness. Pour out your grace to help us pursue the path you have for each of us. Amen.

And in case you missed a sneak peak at the Generosity Monk website that is under development, click here. And though the site is still under construction, I draw your attention to three videos. I hope you love them. Click each one to view them.

1. Welcome to Generosity Monk
2. About the Monk
3. Welcome to the YouTube channel

And to  set up monthly or one-time support to help Generosity Monk go global, click here.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, deliver me, O Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I go unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Rafael Merry del Val (1865-1930) in “the Litany of Humility.”

Today marks the seventh and final post exploring this needful litany. We conclude by highlighting the need for grace to desire what is good and right for others.

Seven is a number that points to maturity. Imagine praying seven times: “grant me the grace to desire it.”

This implies that to pray that others may be loved and esteemed more than us, that others may increase and we decrease, that others may be chosen, praised, preferred to us, and become holier than us, requires grace.

This points to supernatural strength from God; it is not possible without His help.

Today’s Scripture describes this grace as sufficient. It means that it is enough to help us in our weakness to have the power we need from Christ.

I hope this prayer has helped deliver you from your desires and fears. I pray you value others ahead of yourself. I pray that God’s grace has been sufficient to develop humility in you so you can live, give, serve, and love generously.

And I pray that God’s power rests on you and touches all those around you for God’s glory. Amen.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. Philippians 2:3

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, deliver me, O Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I go unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Rafael Merry del Val (1865-1930) in “the Litany of Humility.”

Sending a heads up to sure to read my post tomorrow – Friday 26 June 2026 – as that day marks 17 years of Daily Meditations and so I have something special to share.

You will get a sneak peek at the new Daily Meditation template for just one day.

Then since the new Generosity Monk website will not be operational until sometime in July, we will go back to the old template. Thanks for your patience. On Saturday I will share a final post linked to this litany.

Today I find it needful to consider the function of the word ‘others’ in the final section of this litany.

We do will to take a posture of humility and value others ahead of ourselves. This does not mean to devalue or not give value to ourselves or not take care of ourselves. I have been guilty of that. Perhaps you can relate?

Here Rafael urges us to pray that others may be loved and esteemed more than us, that others may increase and we decrease, that others may be chosen, praised, preferred to us, and become holier than us.

This is not easy. But it reflects what Jesus did. He made himself nothing for us.

How does this sit with you? Are you willing to walk this path of humility with Jesus? I find it interesting that the apostle Paul reveals the opposite of humility. He calls it selfish ambition and vain conceit.

When we put ourselves ahead of others, it reveals our selfishness and futile or vain conceit. He wants us to do nothing from that posture. The ‘others’ aspect of this verse includes everyone that is not you.

Pick a person that is hard for you to value above yourself. Ask God to help you value that person above yourself today.