Andrew Wommack is a Colorado preacher with a show on Trinity Broadcasting Network and has some interesting ideas about how to keep a tidy house. Well, more specifically, on how to ask God to keep a tidy house. That’s because Wommack recently shared a story on his Charis Daily Live Bible Study about how he and his wife moved into a small house that developed a mildew problem. Hey, mildew happens. Just one of those normal house-annoyances that needs to be dealt with, right? Wrong. Wommack tells his viewers that
Instead of taking something and cleaning it off and repainting or something? I took Deuteronomy 28 and read it: “Mildew, you are a curse.”
Then I turned over to Galatians 3:13: “I’m redeemed from you!” And I spoke to mildew and cursed it! And did you know, it went away without me having to clean it and do something.
Here’s the full story.
You ever notice how some televangelists treat prayer like just asking to speak with a manager at a restaurant? Asking God to take care of something “without me having to clean it and do something” feels like peak “can I speak with a manager?” energy.
Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with asking God for help with problems. All things considered, a lot of us should probably be doing more of it. But in this case, there are a few issues. For one thing, the Deuteronomy 28 passage Wommack refers to isn’t about the curse of “mildew” or anything. It’s Moses telling the Israelites about God’s curses for being disobedient. Even stranger is his invoking of Galatian 3:13, which is about how God’s people have been redeemed from the Law. There are many practical applications of these Bible verses, but mildew removal is not obviously one of them. Similarly, there’s nothing wrong with praying about everyday irritations like mildew, or expecting God to come through for little things, but elevating these things to God’s blessings and curses does a disservice to what the Bible actually says about blessings and curses.
