Daily, we all ask for one thing or the other from God. Yes, we are free to ask because He said we should ask.
Dear Pilgrim on earth, were for God to come to you as He did to Solomon, and that you should ask whatever you want! It behoves you, and the rest of us, to follow in Solomon’s footstep by not giving Him a catalogue. Daily, we all ask for one thing or the other from God. Yes, we are free to ask because He said we should ask. He is not angry when we fail to ask (as some may claim He is); rather, what happen is somehow described by Joseph Scriven in that precious hymn “What a friend we have in Jesus” thus: Oh! What peace we often forfeit,
Oh! What needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer
All through the Bible, God has been very gracious to us by often taking us back to age eons ago to the prayer rooms of Saints of old to glean from their prayer lives. Such is the prayer of Agur the son of Jakeh as recorded in our opening scripture for this chapter. All those that love God must have the heart of Agur as we can learn from his prayers. Let’s meditate on the lessons together:
First and foremost, our cry in prayer must be directed to the God that answers prayer.
I have asked two things from You (God) . . . . v.7
To You who hears prayer, all flesh comes. – Ps. 65:2
My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Jehovah; in the morning I will direct my prayer to You, and I will look up. – Ps. 5:3
Jehovah will command His loving-kindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, my prayer to the God of my life. – Ps. 42:8
Surely God has heard; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed is God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me. – Ps. 66:19-20
Our prayers must demonstrate conciseness. Be sure of what you want God to do for you and be direct. He will not hear you because of long prayers.
I have asked two things from You (God) . . . . v.7
Listen to our Master’s advice:
But when you pray, do not babble vain words, as the nations. For they think that in their much speaking they shall be heard. Therefore do not be like them, for your Father knows what things you have need of, before you ask Him. Therefore pray in this way: Our Father, who is in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil. For Yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. – Mt. 6:7-13
Hannah wanted a man-child, and she was clear about this in her cry to God:
. . . . O, Lord of Hosts, if You will indeed look upon the affliction of Your handmaid and remember me, and not forget Your handmaid, but will give to Your handmaid a man-child. . . . – 1 Sam. 1:11
Jabez got a transformation of his life through the conciseness and candidness of his prayer:
And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that You would bless me indeed, and make my border larger, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, so that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he asked. – 1 Chr. 4:10
Your clamour in prayer must show consistency and compliance with the will of God as declared in His Word, the Bible. Hear Agur pray again:
Remove far from me vanity and a lying word; give me neither poverty nor riches; tear for me my portion of bread. v.8
Imagine someone going to steal asking for God’s guidance. Or for a liar to plead that his sin should not be detected. Oh that we all individually cry, “Lord, remove from me vanity and a lying word”! That is very consistent with God’s will for us. Such heart cry for cleansing will not go unheeded.
Emulate the chi or courage demonstrated in his requests.
First, he confessed his need for cleansing: “remove far from me vanity and a lying word;” and second, his need for comfort: “give me neither poverty nor riches; tear for me my portion of bread.” His plea for cleansing preceded his need for comfort.
Oh! How I cherish his desire to make heaven. That is why he sought for spiritual cleansing before he dies. “Deny me not, O Lord, BEFORE I DIE,” he prayed. Prayer for cleansing and comfort is needed here on earth only. It should be the desire of every human to be where Jesus has gone to prepare for us. Earth is our temporary abode. We shall return home someday, sometime.
This should make you live everyday as if it is your last day on earth. Come one day, you’ll be right!
When the pearly gates shall open, To a sinner saved by grace
When through everlasting heaven, I behold my Saviour’s face
When I enter in the mansion, Of the city bright and fair
I shall have a royal welcome. For I’ll be no stranger there.
I shall be no stranger there, Jesus will my place prepare
He will meet me; He will greet me; I shall be no stranger there
Agur also teaches us lesson on contentment in his plea for comfort: “tear for me my portion of bread.”
. . . . Give me only as much food as I need (GNB)
. . . . Feed me only the food I need (GW)
. . . . Give me just what I need (CEV)
. . . . Feed me with the food that is needful for me (HNV)
. . . . Give me enough food to live on, neither too much nor too little (MSG)
. . . . Feed me with food convenient for me (KJV)
Jesus concurred to Agur’s contentment plea when He taught us to pray:
. . . . Give us this day our daily bread. Mt. 6:11 (KJV)
Agur likens you to a leech when you are never contented. And many of us are! All our prayer cry is “Give me, Give me!”
What concerns do you take to God in prayer? Agur is not done with us until we learn from him on prayer concerns. Hear him pray again:
. . . . Give me neither poverty nor riches; tear for me my portion of bread, lest I be full and deceive, and say, Who is Jehovah? Or lest I be poor, and steal, and violate the name of my God. vv. 8-9
His concerns are basically two but primarily one (please bear with my tautology).
First,
. . . . Give me neither poverty nor riches; . . . . lest I be full and deceive
. . . . Or lest I be poor, and steal.
Agur shows his hatred for sin by praying against it and all desires that may lead him to sin. His condition must not be an excuse to sin. Blessed be your descendants, brother Agur! May mine be blessed likewise! Amen.
Second,
. . . . Lest I . . . . say, Who is Jehovah? Or lest I . . . . violate the name of my God.
Why should I have the gift and lose the Giver? The gift will come and go, but the Giver remains! So should my dependence on Him. These were the concerns of Agur.
Oh the folly in riches! It has brought many down. Let’s mourn over King Uzziah. He fell a prey of success:
But then the strength and success went to his head. Arrogant and proud, he fell. One day, contemptuous of GOD, he walked into The Temple of GOD like he owned it and took over, burning incense on the Incense Altar . . . . . Uzziah had his skin disease for the rest of his life and had to live in quarantine; he was not permitted to set foot in The Temple of GOD. 2 Chr. 26: 16, 21 (MSG)
And the beloved people of God, Israel too:
But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked. You grew fat, thick, and satisfied. Then he forsook God who made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. Deut. 32:15 (MKJV)
Should God mourn over the called-out ones of today? Have we not replaced Him with His gifts? Have we not gone the way of Jeshurun? Blessed be Agur, God’s witness to our generation.
Above all, the concerns put together become one: the glory of Jehovah God.
Did Agur complain in his prayer? Rather, he has coached us not to in ours.
Was his prayer complex? He taught us a simple prayer that is spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually balanced. Oh his civility! Many have lost every sense of politeness in praying to God. Yes, God is our father. Must we then shout at Him? Shouting is different from crying. And that’s what we often do. Crying comes from the heart; shouting comes from the head. And since IT IS STRICTLY HEART MATTERS THAT MATTER, therefore, pray from your heart.
What a cachet in prayer! And a classic for us all! All in the prayer of Agur the son of Jakeh!
Just as Brother Agur brought himself into reckoning through his prayer life, so can all of us, if only we assess our spiritual life constantly and take appropriate actions. Check your life always with these seven spiritual level’s determinants or revealers (Teaching on these is outside the scope of this sermon. Watch out for my other works on the title: “Measure Your Life” by PETS (Publishing) Ltd):
• What you say, that is, your WORDS
• What you read, that is, your WORTH
• What you pray about, that is, your WANTS
• What you spend on, that is, your WEALTH
• Who you move with, that is, your WORLD
• What moves you, that is, your WORRIES
• Where your strength lies, that is, your WINGS
For Agur, his wants were not in the two requests; his wants are revealed through the motives behind his requests: that he might not lose God nor let God down. God was the centre-piece. Thanks be to God that Brother Agur has not copyrighted the prayer. So all of us can and should pray:
GOD, I'M ASKING FOR TWO THINGS BEFORE I DIE; DON'T REFUSE ME-- BANISH LIES FROM MY LIPS AND LIARS FROM MY PRESENCE. GIVE ME ENOUGH FOOD TO LIVE ON, NEITHER TOO MUCH NOR TOO LITTLE.
IF I'M TOO FULL, I MIGHT GET INDEPENDENT, SAYING, 'GOD? WHO NEEDS HIM?' IF I'M POOR, I MIGHT STEAL AND DISHONOUR THE NAME OF MY GOD. AMEN.
(This piece formed part of my book “Strictly Heart Matters – A Biblical Diagnosis,” published 2009).
