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It is only in what was formerly known as 'Christendom', where faith has grown flabby and is failing. I believe it is because God has already provided very well for all of our needs. Because it is our 'wants' that remain unfulfilled, 'prosperity' churches grow so much in the West and, so many have fallen away. Jesus never promised to provide our 'wants', only our needs, ofter through fellow believers. It is where there is oppression that the Gospel is spreading like wildfire. In general, we practice a very weak form of Christian faith in the West.

While it is natural to try to avoid pain and discomfort, God often asks us to live 'dangerously', stepping out in faith, holding on loosely to what he has given us. Not all Believers seem to accept that what they 'possess', is merely 'on loan' from the Creator of everything and everyone, that He may ask us to relinquish our claims on our 'stuff', for the benefit of His Kingdom.

I heard Nabeel Qureshi speaking of visiting Bethel Church in Redding, CA. This charismatic church apparently has the reputation of teaching the 'prosperity gospel', yet Nabeel saw none of that. In fact, he was amazed that there was a real sense expectation that God WOULD fullfil the prayers of His people. He found it very exciting versus the typical Evangelical churches he attends. Here is a link to his comments.

And those who acknowledge it is on loan, often don’t recognize how powerful it is or what purpose it has.

Or, that it is love-driven from heaven. This can seem to violate all manner of earthly laws, but earthly laws only enforce common patterns of the love for neighbor that the Lord commands. They can’t deal with every contingency case, and God does not expect them to.

See genuine Christian faith — and you see miracles. The Lion of Judah busts out of man’s cages, even the cages that God had willed to permit to exist.

A prosperity gospel can also sometimes be nearer to the truth than people might think.

If the material prosperity occurs as a distinctly secondary effect of spiritual prosperity, then now the biblical horse is pulling the biblical cart, as it ought to.

Jesus did not want people to be married to their earthly riches, as these riches’ proper role would come to an end some day. This attitude “makes it as hard to enter the kingdom of heaven as it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.” Many formerly poor but now wealthy and Christian people, did not get born or even born again with a silver spoon in their mouths. They had to undergo spiritual exercise under the Lord’s sovereign direction to teach them that, when they have a silver spoon, they are desired by the Lord, in love, to use that spoon to bless others. Then they too will see blessings in proper measure.

Trying to make the proper distinctions — in biblical lingo, rightly dividing the word of truth — is distinctly helpful.