The Prayer Of Agur, Part 1: The Prayer Of Who? Series

INTRO/WELCOME

Good morning! I am so excited to begin a new series this week. Between now and Thanksgiving, we are going to look at a prayer in the book of Proverbs. It just so happens to be the only prayer in the book of Proverbs. And it comes from a guy that shows up in this one chapter and then we never hear from him again. The guy’s name is Agur. And he is the author of Proverbs 30. You can go ahead and turn there now if you haven’t already. Also, for the first time in awhile, you can find the outline for this on the YouVersion Bible app. Just open the app, tap on “More” in the bottom left corner, then tap on events, and Glynwood should pop up. If you are watching online from somewhere else, you can type in the church’s zip code— 36066, and you’ll find it.

Now, Full disclosure—most of the heavy lifting for this sermon was done by a guy named Jay Payleitner, who wrote a little book called The Prayer of Agur. I picked up the book, read it in about a day, and got really excited about what God has to teach us.

And the subtitle of the series is “Discovering God’s Sweet Spot for your life.

What’s a sweet spot? If you’re a tennis or racquetball player, it’s the spot on the racket where the ball jumps off with maximum velocity and precision, and no vibration.

If you’re a baseball player, it’s the area of the strike zone where you are gonna connect with the ball and put it over the fence.

If you’re a singer, when you find a song that just suits your range perfectly, then you’d say its in your sweet spot.

Career counselors describe your sweet spot as the job where you do what you love, do it well, and get paid for it.

And Jay Payleitner says that In the same way, there is a place God wants you to live. Where you’re living with purpose, not futility. Clarity, not chaos. Not running too fast or too slow. Not buying bigger and bigger houses, but not living in a cardboard box. In balance. In contentment. In God’s Sweet Spot.

So in Proverbs 30:7-9, this random guy, Agur, prays the most profound prayer about living a balanced life—living in Gods sweet spot— that you will ever hear. Next week, we are going to get into the prayer itself. But to set the stage, we’re going to look just at the first six verses of Proverbs 30. If you are physically able, please stand to honor the reading of God’s Word:

The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.[a]

The man declares, I am weary, O God;

I am weary, O God, and worn out.[b]

2 Surely I am too stupid to be a man.

I have not the understanding of a man.

3 I have not learned wisdom,

nor have I knowledge of the Holy One.

4 Who has ascended to heaven and come down?

Who has gathered the wind in his fists?

Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment?

Who has established all the ends of the earth?

What is his name, and what is his son's name?

Surely you know!

5 Every word of God proves true;

he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

6 Do not add to his words,

lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

Let’s pray…

There’s a good chance – even if you are a regular Bible reader—that you’ve never paid much attention to Agur. Don’t be embarrassed, you're not alone. In fact, I haven’t talked to a single person this week, including my brother, who was a seminary professor for almost twenty years, who knew who Agur was.

So, what do we know about Agur? Not much. The opening words of the chapter tell us he was the son of Jakeh. Neither one of those are Hebrew names, so some Bible scholars say he may have been from northern Arabia.

There are a couple of Hebrew words that are close to this. “Agur” sounds like a Hebrew word that means “collector,” and later in chapter 30 we see Agur making several lists of different observations he has “collected” in nature, so that kind of fits. And “Jakeh” sounds like a Hebrew word that means “carefully religious.” So if you are drawing conclusions from the names themselves, Agur is a collector of observations and wisdom and insight who has been raised to be carefully religious.

And really, this is all we have. There are some fast facts about Proverbs 30 that are worth pointing out. The first one is one we’ve already pointed out: This is the only mention of Agur in the entire Bible. What I just shared with you about the possible meaning of his name is all the history we have. And that’s okay. His words made it into God’s Book! Which is a pretty good reminder that you don’t have to be famous to make a difference.