The Godly Center: Agur's Prayer for Sanctified Sanity Text: Proverbs 30:7-9
Introduction: The Tightrope of Godliness
We live in an age of extremes, an age that loves the ditch. Our politics, our culture, our theology, even our personal piety, all seem to gravitate toward the poles. We are a people who think that if a little bit of something is good, then a whole lot of it must be better. And if something is bad, then the mere shadow of it must be treated like the plague. We have forgotten the wisdom of the center, not a center of compromise or lukewarm mush, but the strategic, faithful, and difficult center of biblical obedience.
The Christian life is not a mad dash into a padded room to escape all danger. It is a tightrope walk over Niagara Falls. And on that tightrope, there are two equal and opposite dangers: falling to the right and falling to the left. The prayer of Agur, son of Jakeh, recorded here in Proverbs 30, is one of the most brilliant and concise expressions of this tightrope-walking wisdom in all of Scripture. It is a prayer for sanctified sanity. It is a prayer to be kept on the path, which means being kept out of the ditches.
Agur understands something that our generation has almost completely forgotten: that our spiritual integrity is profoundly affected by our material circumstances. He understands that both the penthouse and the poorhouse present unique and potent temptations to the human soul. He sees that a man's theology can be warped by his wallet, whether it is full or empty. This is not materialism. This is realism. It is a humble recognition that we are embodied souls, and the pressures of this life, whether of abundance or of lack, can squeeze us into shapes that dishonor God.
This prayer is a direct assault on the prosperity gospel, which says that riches are always a sign of God's favor and poverty is always a sign of His displeasure. But it is also a rebuke to the poverty gospel, the Franciscan ideal that spiritual purity can only be found in destitution. Agur will have none of it. He asks for the godly mean, the appointed portion, the daily bread. He prays this not for the sake of comfort, but for the sake of his own soul and, supremely, for the honor of God's name. This is a prayer we ought to learn, and a prayer we ought to pray, perhaps now more than ever.
The Text
Two things I asked of You, Do not withhold from me before I die:
Keep worthlessness and every false word far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion,
Lest I be full and deny You and say, "Who is Yahweh?" Or lest I be impoverished and steal, And profane the name of my God.
(Proverbs 30:7-9 LSB)
Two Urgent Petitions (v. 7)
Agur begins with a preface that frames his requests with great urgency.
"Two things I asked of You, Do not withhold from me before I die:" (Proverbs 30:7)
Notice the posture. This is a man who knows he is addressing the sovereign God. He is asking, not demanding. But there is a holy desperation here. "Do not withhold from me before I die." Agur understands that life is short and the stakes are eternally high. He is not praying for trivialities. He is not asking for a better parking spot or for his favorite team to win. He is concerned with finishing well. He wants to run the race in such a way as to obtain the prize, and he knows that he needs God's preserving grace every step of the way, right up to the finish line.
This is the prayer of a man who takes his own frailty seriously. He knows that the temptations he is about to name are not theoretical. They are real and present dangers, and they will be dangers for his entire life. He is not asking for a temporary reprieve, but for lifelong protection. This is a man who has learned, as we all must, not to trust himself. His confidence is not in his own resolve or his own wisdom, but in the keeping power of God. He wants his heart to be aligned with God's will now, so that he can die in a state of integrity.
The Prayer for Integrity (v. 8a)
His first request is for spiritual and moral purity. It is a prayer against deception, both internal and external.
"Keep worthlessness and every false word far from me," (Proverbs 30:8a)
The word for "worthlessness" here is the Hebrew word for vanity, emptiness, falsehood. It is the word used in the Ten Commandments: "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain." It speaks of that which is hollow, insubstantial, and deceptive. Agur is praying to be kept from a life of chasing illusions. He wants to live in reality, and reality is defined by God and His Word.
He then specifies "every false word." This is a prayer to be a man of truth. He prays that he would not be a liar, and also that he would not be deceived by the lies of others. This is foundational. All sin begins with a lie. The serpent's first move in the garden was to question God's word: "Has God indeed said?" And our first move in sin is always to believe a lie about God, about ourselves, or about the world. We tell ourselves that sin will satisfy, that God is holding out on us, that this one transgression won't matter. Agur prays to be delivered from this entire ecosystem of falsehood. He wants his mind and his mouth to be governed by the truth. This must be the first prayer, because without a commitment to the truth, the second prayer makes no sense.
The Prayer for Provision (v. 8b)
Having asked for a true heart, he now asks for the circumstances that will best protect that heart.
"Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion," (Proverbs 30:8b)
This is the heart of the prayer, and it is profoundly counter-cultural. Who prays not to be rich? Our entire economy is built on the assumption that more is always better. But Agur, with Spirit-given wisdom, sees the trap. He doesn't see wealth as an evil thing in itself, God forbid. Abraham was rich, Job was rich, David was rich. Wealth is a tool and can be a great blessing. But Agur knows his own heart. He knows the seductive power of affluence. He knows that riches have a way of whispering to a man that he is self-sufficient.
At the same time, he prays against poverty. This is not the prayer of an ascetic who believes there is inherent virtue in squalor. He knows that desperation breeds its own unique temptations. He knows the gnawing anxiety of not knowing where the next meal is coming from, and how that pressure can lead a man to compromise his integrity.
So what does he ask for? "Feed me with the food that is my portion." This is a request for contentment. It is a request for God's appointed provision, for daily bread. It is a prayer of dependence. He wants enough so that he is not crushed by want, but not so much that he forgets the Giver. He wants to live in that sweet spot of daily, conscious reliance upon God. This is exactly what our Lord taught us to pray: "Give us this day our daily bread." It is a prayer to be kept in a position where faith is necessary, where gratitude is natural, and where God is acknowledged as the source of all good things.
The Reasons for the Request (v. 9)
Agur is not shy about explaining his reasoning. He lays bare the spiritual dangers he perceives on both sides of the road.
"Lest I be full and deny You and say, 'Who is Yahweh?' Or lest I be impoverished and steal, And profane the name of my God." (Proverbs 30:9)
Here is the danger of riches: "Lest I be full and deny You and say, 'Who is Yahweh?'" This is the temptation of practical atheism. When a man's barns are full, when his portfolio is fat, when his every need and want is met before he even feels it, the human heart is deceitfully inclined to take the credit. He begins to think that his own hand and his own wisdom got him this wealth. God becomes distant, abstract, and ultimately, unnecessary. This is precisely the warning God gave to Israel before they entered the promised land (Deuteronomy 8:12-14). Prosperity begat pride, and the daughter devoured the mother. The full stomach leads to the forgetful heart. The man who says "Who is Yahweh?" is not making a philosophical inquiry; he is making a declaration of independence. It is the sin of the rich fool.
And here is the danger of poverty: "Or lest I be impoverished and steal, And profane the name of my God." The temptation of the poor man is not theoretical atheism, but a practical blasphemy. When a man is destitute, he is tempted to believe that God's laws are a luxury he cannot afford. In his desperation, he might steal to feed his family. And in doing so, he profanes the name of his God. How? Because he is a professing believer. His actions tell the watching world that his God is not able to provide for him, or that his God's commands are not worth keeping when the pressure is on. His theft brings reproach upon the name he bears. His sin slanders the character of God.
Notice that in both cases, the ultimate concern is the honor of God's name. The rich man denies God's identity ("Who is Yahweh?"). The poor man profanes God's reputation ("profane the name of my God"). Agur's ultimate desire is to live in such a way that God's name is hallowed. His prayer for a moderate station in life is ultimately a prayer for the glory of God.
Conclusion: Walking the Center Line
So what do we do with this prayer? We are to learn from it that our circumstances matter. We should not be naive about the spiritual warfare that is tailored to our tax bracket. If God has blessed you with riches, you must be on high alert against the temptation of self-sufficiency. Your great task is to cultivate a dependent and grateful heart, to be rich in good works, and to remember that you are a steward, not an owner. You must fight to remember Yahweh every single day.
If God has called you to a season of poverty or financial struggle, you must be on high alert against the temptation to despair, to envy, and to compromise. Your great task is to trust in the promises of God, to believe that He is your provider, and to refuse to profane His name by sinning to get what you need. You must fight to honor the name of your God.
But for all of us, whatever our station, the prayer of Agur teaches us to desire the right thing. We are to desire God's glory above all. We are to desire a life of integrity. And we are to ask God to give us the circumstances that are most conducive to that integrity. We are to pray for our daily bread, and when He provides it, whatever that portion may be, we are to receive it with thanksgiving. This is the path of contentment. It is not found in having much, or in having little. It is found in having Him. The godly center is not a certain bank balance. The godly center is a heart that can say with the apostle Paul, "I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:11-13).
That is the secret. The strength to walk the tightrope comes not from perfect balance, but from Christ. He is our portion. He is our daily bread. And whether He gives us riches or poverty, He gives us Himself, which is all we truly need. And that is more than enough.