SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 30
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
I have not mastered human wisdom, nor do I know the Holy One. Who but God goes up to heaven and comes back down? Who holds the wind in his fists? Who wraps up the oceans in his cloak? Who has created the whole wide world? What is his name—and his son’s name? Tell me if you know! [Proverbs 30:1-3]
At first glance this chapter seemed to be random sayings, but as I read through it slowly I sensed a pattern.
Agur is wrestling with God’s greatness, human pride and the need for contentment and integrity.
Only God has mastered the heavens and the earth [Proverbs 30:4], yet we strut around with pride and treat people with contempt and cruelty.
Agur notes the wisdom of the small [Proverbs 30:24-28] and the things that strut in pride [Proverbs 30:29-31].
He shakes his head at those who mistreat their workers and employers, at those who show contempt for their parents, at the sexually immoral who ruin lives but deny their guilt, at those who plot evil or stir up conflict.
He sees all of these as being proud and defiant, whereas his heart seeks integrity, humility and contentment.

O God, I beg two favours from you; let me have them before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name. [Proverbs 30:7-9].
His simple prayer is very different from the prayer of Jabez [1 Chronicles 4:10], and more like the prayer of Jesus.
He is not looking for greatness, but in light of the greatness of God, He simply asks for integrity (never tell a lie) and contentment.
Give me just enough to satisfy my needs – the NIV read of this same verse reads “give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.”This is why his prayer makes me think of Jesus prayer, and helps me understand Jesus’ prayer.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. [Matthew 6:9-13]

Jesus’ prayer, like Agur’s, is one that honours God as God, and longs to live before God in a humbly, honourable way.
The request for daily bread is for just enough, exactly what I need, to honour God, to do His will on earth as it is in heaven.
Embedded in this prayer is a reminder that God is God, that we depend on Him, and that we need to live in a way that honours Him and fulfills His will and purpose for our lives.

PRAYER:
Lord, may I not be proud or self-centered. Give me a humble, content spirit, and grant me just what I need (no more, no less) to honour You, seek Your kingdom and do Your will.