Renting out houses comes with its own challenges. I’m sure you are familiar with them. One of such challenges is getting a good tenant. Tenants are human beings and they come with a variety of characters. Also, human beings have a tendency to hide their true intentions especially the wicked ones.
For this reason, it is important to get a good tenant; a tenant who will not cause you any trouble. But how should you go about getting such a tenant? Well, because you are a believer, you can always pray. But does God really concern Himself with such matters or is it up to you to figure out a way to get a good tenant?
Some people do argue that since the house is yours and you are the one who came up with the idea, you should bear the burden that comes with it. But is that really how things work?
In this article, I will tackle these and more questions related to praying for a good tenant.
Does God answer prayers for a good tenant?
There is no better place to begin talking about praying for a good tenant than to ask ourselves if God cares about such a request. It is only after you are sure that God cares about your need for a good tenant that you can have the boldness to approach Him in prayer.
From the Bible in Psalms 55:22, the Bible urges us to cast our burdens unto the Lord. Also, in Matthew 11:28, Jesus asks all those who are weary and heavily laden to go to Him and find rest.
These scriptures do not specify the type of burdens we should cast unto the Lord. Because the Bible doesn’t specify, it means whatever you consider a burden is eligible to be cast to the Lord. It is obvious that some issues may seem trivial to some believers but burdensome to others. After all, we are raised differently.
Because of this, getting a good tenant is definitely a burden that is eligible to be cast to the Lord. If you are having sleepless nights because you can’t find a good tenant, that is a burden that you need to cast to the Lord. The Lord surely wants you to have peace and good sleep at night. Isn’t He your loving Father?
Therefore, be bold when you make your prayer for a good tenant because it is a valid burden and the Lord is eager to lift it off your shoulders.
How do I start praying for a good tenant?
Now that you know praying for a good tenant is a valid prayer before God, where do you begin? Well, you need to prepare yourself for this prayer by aligning yourself to the will of God in a few areas.
One of such areas is your devotion to God. I’m assuming you are devoted to God because you are seeking guidance on how you can pray for a need you have. If you were not devoted to God, you wouldn’t be here reading this article.
When you are devoted to God, you earn the right to get help from the Lord. The level of your devotion plays an important role in how quick the Lord responds to your prayer. How quick you respond to the commands of God sets the standard of how quick God reacts to your prayers.
For people who are devoted to God, they earn the privilege of getting help from God even for the tiniest of requests. The Lord is a righteous judge who makes sure everyone gets what they deserve based on their character.
Therefore, to stand a good chance of getting your prayer for a good tenant answered, make sure you uphold your devotion to God. Don’t be the believer who only seeks God when you are in trouble but you forget Him when the sailing is smooth.
The second area you need to align yourself in before asking God for a good tenant is your faithfulness in managing the resources you have. As the Bible tells us in the book of John 3:27 that a man can have nothing unless it is given to him from heaven, so you need to be a good steward of the resources God has given you.
It is obvious that you must have been a good steward to be the owner of houses to rent. However, every new level of resources requires a new level of managerial skills. God cares about how you run the rental business that you have. How you run your rental business speaks a lot about how you run your relationship with God.
When you pray to God for a good tenant, God checks if you deserve good tenants. God does this because He doesn’t want to disappoint good tenants by sending them to bad landlords. Remember that good tenants also pray to God to show them good houses to move into.
Therefore, make sure that you have set a good standard as a landlord so that God will see it fit to send you good tenants.
What should I expect when I pray for a good tenant?
After you align yourself in the areas I have mentioned above and make the prayer for a good tenant, God will respond. The response of God will be favorable if you are in right standing with Him.
Of course the outcome you are hoping for is for a good tenant to come to you. That is possible. However, there is something important you need to know; God may choose to test you. God will test you if He sees that your faith is wanting. As you know from the book of Hebrews 11:6, the Bible tells us that it is impossible to please God without faith.
Because of this, God desires that we have faith in Him. Any opportunity that God finds to test our faith, He does not hesitate. When you are in need of God’s assistance like in this case of praying for a good tenant, it is a good opportunity for God to test your faith.
I am telling you this so that in case God chooses to test your faith, it doesn’t catch you by surprise. It is a good thing for God to test your faith. In fact, you should be desiring for a test from God.
The beauty of tests from God is that they are fair and when you pass them, He rewards you bountifully. You may be scared during the test but no harm will befall you because the Lord will be with you.
Therefore, when you pray for a good tenant but you don’t get a straightforward answer, hold onto your faith because the test of God will only last for a short while. If you get a straightforward answer, it means your faith is good and doesn’t need testing. In that case, praise the name of the Lord and keep nourishing your faith.
What should I do after praying for a good tenant?
After you have made your prayer for a good tenant, concern yourself with being a good landlord. Make sure the houses you want to rent are in good condition and other managerial aspects of your business are in check. God will answer your prayer while you are busy preparing the houses you want to rent to be in the best condition possible.
Love the houses you want to rent out and make them so good that you almost wish you could rent one for yourself. This is in line with the principle that Jesus taught us to do to others what we would like to be done to us. Assume you are the tenant coming to rent one of your own houses and put in the work to make your renting experience the best it can be.
When you do all these diligently, the Lord will bring you good tenants before you know it.
Sample Prayer for a good tenant
Heavenly Father, I thank you for you have enabled me to own houses to rent out. Today Lord I pray that you may send good tenants to come and occupy the houses that I have prepared. I did my preparation in love and it is my desire that you may send people to come and benefit from the love I have put in these houses. I also pray that you teach me to be a good landlord that the tenants you send me may bless your name because of me. I love you my Lord and I trust that my houses shall always be occupied with good tenants. Thank you for you always hear me when I pray. Amen!