Day 782: All I ask - Proverbs 30 vs 7-9

7-9 Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. Proverbs 30:7-9 English Standard Version

If we were asked to pray for just two things, I wonder what they would be? I suspect that, living in New Testament days, we might pray a little differently to this Old Testament man named Agur. But that doesn't make his prayer less meaningful. In fact, his prayer for neither wealth nor poverty, but just his needful food, is echoed by Jesus when He taught the disciples to pray: “Give us today our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11)

Looking at his prayer again, what word comes to you mind for the sort of life he desires?

I'm sure many words could apply. The one that came to me was 'contentment'. Agur wanted to live a life of being content with God's daily provision and didn't want to go down the road of those who lie and steal. The apostle Paul said something similar in a letter he wrote. “There are people who think that godliness is a means to financial gain! But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:5-10)

Do you think his prayer for God to remove falsehood and lying far from him was about his own life, or was he asking God to keep such people far away from him?

I think the writer of the paraphrased Bible called 'The Message' was on the right track when he translated that verse as “banish lies from my lips - and liars from my presence.” Thinking again of that prayer Jesus gave the disciples, He taught them to say to the Father: “Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:13) While it's really up to us to put lies far from our lips and not keep company with deceitful people, we likely will need God's help and strength to overcome the temptation to get out of a tight spot, or to gain something, by telling lies.

It's not wrong to pray about practical issues. There's a similar prayer in the Bible by a man named Jabez. We're told that his mother called him 'Jabez' (which means 'sorrowful') as she had borne him in pain. I suspect those circumstances affected his childhood and growth because we read: “Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, 'Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!'” And we read that “God granted what he asked.” (1 Chronicles 4:9-10)

In our praying we must never forget to seek God's glory first, and that His name will be sanctified in the world. We mustn't forget to pray for the gospel to spread throughout the nations, and to ask God's protection and strength upon preachers and missionaries. And we must certainly ask daily for the forgiveness we need.

But there’s also a place to ask God for things such as Agur, and even Jabez, asked. We can ask for help to overcome those sins we are more vulnerable to, and even for God's protection from things we most fear. But may we, like Agur, be willing to not ask for riches! That doesn't mean we want to live in poverty, it simply means we don't look upon religion as a route to financial gain. We love God for who He is and for what He has done in Christ for us, not so that He will give us the riches and fame so many people rush after. We will be content if He feeds us with the food that is needful – both physical and spiritual.