ANOTHER Prosperity Message?! with L. A. Sprague

Somebody told you the miracle comes after you “believe hard enough.” Somebody else hinted that anxiety means you’re outside God’s will. If you live with chronic illness, chronic pain, depression, panic attacks, or any long-term condition, that kind of teaching doesn’t just miss the point, it can bury you in shame. I’m responding to a sermon that echoes prosperity gospel ideas and walking through why I believe it’s toxic, especially for believers already carrying heavy burdens.

We open up 2 Kings 3:9–20, the story of three kings running out of water in the desert, and we pay attention to what’s actually happening in the text. The leaders are scared. They doubt. They assume God has abandoned them. And still, God provides water in a way they cannot control, predict, or manufacture. That matters because it challenges the idea that obedience or emotional certainty is the price tag for God’s care.

From there, I zoom out to Jesus: the one who refuses to blame the sick for being sick, who spends time with sinners and outcasts, and who doesn’t treat healing like a reward system. I can’t tell you why God hasn’t healed you, but I can tell you what I believe with my whole chest: your illness is not proof that you are failing God, and faith can exist inside uncertainty.

If this hits home, share it with a friend who’s tired of being told their suffering is their fault, subscribe for more conversations about Christian faith and chronic illness, and leave a review so others can find this community. What’s the most harmful thing you’ve been told about sickness and faith?

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Transcript

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Welcome And How To Reach Us

L. A. Sprague 0:00

I'm your Jesus loving and potty host, Elise Frank. Welcome to Christians with Chronic Illnesses. Well, hello everybody. Thank you very much for listening. How's it going? How are you listening? If you're here and you're hearing my voice, that's because you've chosen to listen to Christians with chronic illnesses. And I cannot thank you enough for that. Seriously, it blows my mind every single day that people are actually listening to this show. So thank you very much. How's it going? I genuinely would absolutely love to know. Feel free to comment below or email cwcapodcast at gmail.com to let us know how you're doing, what y'all up to. And of course, if you don't know what to say, you can always comment in Orange Heart. First and foremost, today I just want to thank everybody who supports this show, who follows along. Thank you guys so much for subcrib for subscribing, for subscribing, liking, sharing, posts, doing all those things,

Patreon Perks And Community Updates

L. A. Sprague 1:10

and especially my Patreon members.

unknown 1:12

Woo!

L. A. Sprague 1:13

We love you guys so very much, and we're really, really grateful that you're here. And in case you didn't know, we are in what even is this month, guys? August of 2026, right now. And this promotion will only last a short time. But if you are a Patreon member or if you become a Patreon member today, the link is in the show notes. You can get a t-shirt for $5 off of our Christians with Chronic Illnesses logo. I love our logo. Shout out to my friend Brie for making it. Fantastic artwork. Anyway, thanks for being here. Thanks for everybody who's a member of the Patreon. And thanks for spending your time with CWCI. Love you. And if you don't know, of course, we're the podcast and community magnifying the voices of chronically ill brothers and sisters who inspired their health journeys and their faith. Happy you're here. Every other week we do the halftime show, which is where I just yap about my life or other things related to Christianity and chronic illness. Sometimes they're really dark and deep, and other times they're so stupid. So I highly recommend you go check out some halftime shows. But my favorite are the full-length episodes

Season Two Interview Invitation

L. A. Sprague 2:35

every other week where we interview chronically ill Christians. Also, we are opening up interviews for season two of the show. So season one finishes November, like late November, and so season two will premiere early December. Something like that. So if you want to be on the show, if you've been listening and you're like, I don't know, is that even possible? Is that a thing I should do? You should actually well pray about it first. Abby. Abby. But if you're interested, email cwcipodcast at gmail.com. Anyway, onto the episode. Today's episode is a little different. I heard a sermon. And to say the least, I passionately reacted or responded to a sermon in the video that I'm about to play for you guys in my car. And I am gonna do some editing to it. There are a few things that I'm like, okay, let me buffer

Why This Sermon Sparked A Response

L. A. Sprague 3:35

that out a little bit. And I want to add a little bit of clarification and also keep the community vague that I heard this sermon from. Long story short, I heard a sermon recently, and I was kind of dumbfounded and shocked to hear the prosperity gospel actually being shared still. And I know that might sound silly, but it I don't know. I just I think because I'm more aware of the prosperity gospel now, even though I kind of grew up in it, I kind of assume that with internet and social media and documentaries, most of the church knows about the prosperity gospel and is against it now, right? Right? Wrong, unfortunately. Sorry if y'all hear some bumps upstairs. I have upstairs neighbors now, so anyway, so I hope you enjoy this episode where I discuss what exactly that sermon had to talk about and the toxic teachings that were shared, and why I personally believe that those teachings are toxic, and why I personally believe is more biblical and a more Christ-like teaching to give, whether based on the scripture that that person preached from or not. A little disclaimer here. I am not going to confront this pastor, and that's the reason why I'm keeping them anonymous. It is not my church, it's not my congregation, it's not my pastor. And so I personally do not feel convicted to confront this person. Personally, okay. So take that as you will. I know we all have our opinions. Listen, I'm just trying to follow the spirit as I find appropriate. So I am not personally going to confront this pastor. I am also not a pastor or a spiritual leader or scholar in the Bible per se. I went to Bible school, but I would not by any means consider myself a theologian or a professional.

Reading 2 Kings 3 Together

L. A. Sprague 5:40

So that being said, take what I have to say with a grain of salt. But I am all about getting information out there. So here we go. Let's talk about the prosperity gospel and this message I believe that was toxic and was shared at a congregation. Tonight they were preaching from 2 Kings 3:9 through 20. And it's a story where some kings were going against Moab to take over Moab because Moab like wasn't paying their taxes or something. This isn't something I typically do on my channel, but I'm just gonna go ahead and read all the scripture real quick. Alright. So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and when they had made a circuitous march of seven days, there was no water for the armory for the animals that followed them. Then the king of Israel said, Alas, the Lord has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord? And then the one of the kings of Israel's servants answered, Elisha, son of Shaphat, is here, who poured a water on the hands of Elijah. And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the Lord is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him. And Elijah said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother. But the king of Israel said to him, No, it is the Lord who called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab. And Elisha said to the Lord, As the Lord of hosts lives before whom I stand, were it not that I have regard for Jehosaphat, the king of Judah, I would neither look at nor see you. But now bring me a musician. And when the musician played, the hand of the Lord came upon him, and he said, Thus says the Lord, I will make this dry steam bed full of pools, for thus says the Lord, you shall not see wind nor rain, but that steam bed shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink you, your livestock, and your animals. This is a light thing in the sight of the Lord. He will also give the Moabites into your hand, and you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree and stop up all springs of water, and ruin every good piece of land of stones. The next morning, about the time of offering the sacrifice, behold, water came from the direction of Eodonim, till the country was filled with water. So this group of three kings got together, and basically the armies ran out of water. And so they're like, Oh my gosh, what's gonna happen? You know, they're kind of freaking out, like God's gonna leave us to die here and be led in the hands of the Moabites or whatever. So then he talks to, you know, a prophet and is like all grumpy or whatever, you know, rightfully so. You think you're gonna literally die of thirst. And the prophet's like, hey, like, God's gonna provide for you, he's gonna provide these people into your hands, you know, he's gonna provide you guys water, whatever, all that good old Old Testament war stuff. Anyway, but the thing that really got me was it was really a sermon about needing God, and

The Claim About Faith And Miracles

L. A. Sprague 9:05

that in of itself isn't necessarily crazy, right? If you're a Christian, you believe that. That's why you're a Christian, that's why you believe in God. It's probably because you believe that you need Him. And for the most part, the sermon was going fine. I was taking some interesting notes like I've never taken before, and it was it was good, it was fun. I did a little doodle of a of a sun and a moon. But let me let me tell y'all what I'm even recording or reacting to. The the last point of the sermon was essentially you must have faith, a miracle could happen before it can. Essentially, from my understanding and what I grew up with, this is the belief that miracles do and can happen because God can do miracles and actively does them. But before he does, you must put your belief and your mind in a place to truly have faith or trust or believe that a miracle could happen before he will make it happen. And some examples she gave were that God blessing finances. She said that you need to be obedient first, and God asks you to tithe. Okay, if you're anxious, she says to cast your cares on God, right? The Bible does say that to her credit. And she says that if you're living in fear and anxiety, you're not living in God's will for you. So the the problem I have with this is essentially the phrasing that God can essentially do miracles, but he probably won't until you believe it. Or he probably won't until you're obedient. I do think that the the message that okay, God can do miracles, but he will only do them once you are lining up your life for him to do them, and then you just have to wait. And again, to kind of her credit, she was like in the waiting part, you know, that doesn't always like go the way that we want it to, right? And but still the message is just this like I feel like black and white idea of if you're obedient and if you have faith, a miracle could happen, then it will. When? But it will. The problem I have with this message, with this thought of God can do miracles and he will if you obey and have faith, is that the takeaway that has happened many, many, many a times for Christians who are chronically ill, mentally ill, is that okay, so God could heal me right now, and he would heal me if

How That Message Creates Shame

L. A. Sprague 12:16

I were walking in obedience or if I had enough faith. So, why am I sick? I am sick because I'm either sinning or I am sick because I'm doubting. And in my opinion, how I have read the Bible is that Jesus preaches the opposite message: that if you are sick, like he said to the blind man, it's not because he or his family sinned that he's sick. In that moment, Jesus said he's sick so that the works of God could be glorified through him. And in a Psalm, I believe it's Psalm 103, I'll have to look again, but God says that he remembers that we're dust. And to me, that means that he understands that we're gonna go through emotions like severe anxiety, we're gonna have mental health conditions like depression and anxiety and panic attacks and all sorts of things like that. And is it true that if we are living in anxiety and fear, we are quote not living in God's will for you? I'm not sure about that. If by that you mean God is sad with me that I'm living in fear and anxiety, sure. But the way that that sounds is like God has the set plan and will for me, and if I walk in obedience in that will and choose to walk in that will, then I wouldn't be afraid and I wouldn't be anxious. But I personally believe that this is a very harmful way of thinking. I think that it makes people who are already full of so much shame and incapacity, and yeah, it's just like when you pile on top the message of the gospel and of Jesus that's supposed to be comforting and life-saving and life-giving to chronically ill Christians, to mentally ill believers, it turns into something that actually feels so shameful, and it makes you feel like you're sick because of you. If you were obedient, if you were giving more money to the church, which has been a scam used over and over again, allegedly allegedly by people like Richard Oral Roberts Ministry, for example, Joel Osteen, allegedly, for example. It has been used over and over again. If you're obedient, if you gave more money to the church, maybe you would be healed. If you had more faith and just believed, then you would be healed. What I think is beautifully ironic, which my husband pointed out, is that this is also kind of the opposite of the scripture that we read, right? If this is a story that's supposed to communicate anything about faith and how that relates

What The Text Actually Shows

L. A. Sprague 15:26

to God delivering, it's not that the king had faith that there would be water, and so then God provided water. It was actually the opposite. It was that he was scared. All the kings and potentially the armies, I don't remember, but thought they were gonna die, thought they were gonna be handed over to their enemies, right? And it's because they were terrified that they were gonna die that then they sought, you know, a prophet or whatever, and the prophet was like, dude, don't even worry about it. God's gonna provide water, and then God provided water. It seems to have had nothing to do with the king's faith. Maybe, potentially, I doubt it. You could like really, really like kind of try to skew the text there, or try to like really pick at it and say, Oh, it's because the king went to the prophet that God made that promise that he'd bring water. But didn't he literally say to the prophet, like, God has brought us to deliver us over to our enemies? I don't think that's what this message is presenting. The message is presenting when you're obedient and when you have faith and when you've lined up your life. So let's say in the example of the scripture that we read, if the king decides to continue to go to war, despite his soldiers being thirsty and dying of thirst, and if he believes enough that there will be water, then therefore God will provide water. But what we see actually is the kings and potentially armies doubting, and actually in a lot of anguish and anxiety, that God isn't going to provide water, and then going to the prophet and essentially kind of accusing God that God isn't gonna provide for them and is going to hand them over to their enemies, and then God promises he's gonna give them water and then fulfills that promise and gave them water. So it's kind of interesting that at least in my perspective, thanks to my husband for also being smart and pointing that out, the message seems to insinuate the opposite. Just a food for thought. Let me let me know your thoughts in the comments. So, what

Jesus And The Question Of Suffering

L. A. Sprague 18:01

I what I want to say to chronically ill Christians out there, whoever you are, what I want you to know right now is that I personally believe that Jesus came right to seek those who are sick, to seek and heal those who are broken. And when he was on this earth, a lot of times it did look like miracles, but a lot of times what you might not know is that it didn't. There were times where he would literally hide from thousands of people surrounding him and trying to find him to heal their sick, to heal the people that are dying. And there were times that he believed I believe, let people die and let them remain sick. Why did Jesus do that? Was it because they didn't have enough faith? Was it because they were sinners? No, Jesus literally spent time with tax collectors and sinners. He defended a prostitute from being stoned to death when she was a sinner. So, no, I don't believe by any stretch of the imagination it is your fault that you are sick. I don't believe that you're anxious because you're not putting enough trust in God. I don't believe that you are chronically ill, that you are poor because you're not being obedient with your tithes, because you're not believing that God could do a miracle. You know that. You know that he could do that. You've probably prayed and begged on your hands and knees for him to heal you with full faith and full confidence that he could do that and he didn't. And I can't tell you, I cannot give you the answer as to why God has not healed you. That is not my responsibility. I'm not God. I do not have that answer for you. But what I can tell you, what I believe, is that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He came to spend time with sinners and to bring us to the light. He came to spend time with the sick and the poor and to elevate them in a society that suppresses them, not because they weren't sinning, not because they were walking in his will or obedience, not because they had enough faith that he would heal them, but because that's what he wanted to do, because that was his good plan. So if you're sick and if you're a Christian, I hope you know it's not because of your doubt. I hope you know it's not because of your disobedience. And again, I can't promise you that I'm not God, but that's what I would probably wager on. Is it's not because of you. I believe it's because we live in an unperfect world. It's fallen, it's sinful, people die, people get sick, and God isn't our genie. And that I don't I'm sorry, I don't want that to sound aggressive because it's fair for us to expect and want him to heal us, especially when he says things that sound like promises. If you knock the door will be opened, if you seek, you will find, right? It sounds black and white, and he's God, he could heal, so why wouldn't he? And again, I I don't have the answer for that. But at least me in my journey, I am choosing, or maybe not even choosing, I just believe that I'm sick as a quant consequence of the way that the world is, and Jesus gives me hope in the midst of that consequence. I believe that I have a God who hears me when I'm sad and who sits with me when I'm sad. And I hope that there's an eternal plan for maybe healing someday. But I'm not spending every day hoping for healing at the end. I'm not hoping to die so that I'm better. I am living every day in my sickness, but making purpose out of my sickness, hoping that it'll turn out for the j for the good. Just like whenever God took, what was his name? Joseph. The dude that yeah, Joseph, the dude that they like sold or his brothers, and then he ended up becoming the like pharaoh of Egypt, essentially. And he was like, What you meant for evil, God meant for good. And so my hope for myself as a chronically ill Christian, and my encouragement for you as someone who's chronically ill and or maybe not a Christian is this sucks, this isn't your fault. I don't think God is blaming you or punishing you. And I think He loves you, and I think no matter what, we can make a good purpose and a good life out of the lot that we have been dealt with. Okay. Thanks for listening to my rant. Love you. Yeah, so long story short, like she said, I love you guys. Thank you so much for listening.

Final Encouragement And Next Steps

L. A. Sprague 23:16

Don't fall for the prosperity gospel. Just because you try to have enough faith and you try to have enough obedience and do all the right things, doesn't mean that you are going to guarantee God doing miracles in your life at any point. Just because you're sick doesn't mean it's your fault, doesn't mean you're sinning, doesn't mean that you're not believing enough. In fact, faith equals uncertainty, and perhaps even belief in uncertainty. So don't beat yourself up. Look out for toxic messages like this. Take care of your soul, your mind, your body, all those good things. And seriously, thank you so much for being here. I love you guys so, so, so much. I pray that God knocks the shame out of you because there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. And I also hope you join our Patreon because it's fun over there. We also have a Discord chat, and it's even more fun over there, to be honest. Okay, the Discord chat is free and we chat. It's a good time. Anyway, you can see those in the show notes below. Love you guys. Thanks so much for watching. Thank you so much for being a part of the Christians with Chronic Illnesses community. Please remember to follow rate and subscribe to the show. You can also follow us on our socials at CWCI Podcast. And if you're interested in sharing your story, please email us at cwcipodcast at gmail.com. If you are interested in contributing to the production of Christians with chronic illnesses, please see the show notes below for subscriptions starting as low as $1 a month, or email us for a more direct way to give. This show is hosted and produced by Ellie Sprague, and our incredible logo, thumbnail, and overall CWCI artist is Brianna Middleton. This show is intended for entertainment and encouragement purposes only. Please talk to your doctor before trying anything you hear on this show. Until next Monday.