Agur's Prayer: Neither Poverty nor Riches

Illustration of Agur's Prayer: Neither Poverty nor Riches
The only prayer in the book of Proverbs asks for the one thing nobody asks for: neither poverty nor riches - just enough.

Tucked into the next-to-last chapter of Proverbs, Agur son of Jakeh prays the only prayer in the entire book: 'Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me.' His reasoning is as honest as the request - too much, 'lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD?'; too little, 'lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.' Agur asks for the one thing almost no one asks for: enough. The prayer diagnoses both wealth and want as spiritual hazards and makes contentment itself the petition - a middle-path wisdom Jesus would echo in 'Give us this day our daily bread.'

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Details

Category
Petition
Prayed by
Agur son of Jakeh

Key Chapters

Proverbs 30 The Words of Agur 4 min read

Key Passages

Give Me Neither Poverty nor Riches

Proverbs 30:7-9

T7wo things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:

8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: 9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

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Characters

Solomon Solomon, the son of King David and Bathsheba, succeeded his father as ruler of Israel around 970 BCE andโ€ฆ

Themes

Prayer From Moses on the mountain to Jesus in the garden, prayer is the lifeline between heaven and earth. Everyโ€ฆ Faith Without faith it is impossible to please God. From Abraham leaving everything for an unknown land to aโ€ฆ Hope Hope in the Bible is not wishful thinking - it is confident expectation anchored in the character of God.โ€ฆ

Did You Know?

1

This is the only prayer in the entire book of Proverbs - a book of advice to humans contains exactly one sentence addressed to God.

2

Agur's fear of wealth - 'lest I be full, and deny thee' - reverses the usual direction of petition: he asks God to withhold what everyone else requests.

3

Almost nothing is known of Agur son of Jakeh - the Bible's wisest prayer about money comes from a man with no biography, no tribe, and no other appearance.