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5-31-2020-Proverbs 30-Prayer of Agur Christ Our Wisdom: Seeing Christ in the Book of Proverbs “The Prayer of Agur: Seeking Contentment in a Culture That Hungers For More” Proverbs 30:7-9; Selected Scripture May 31, 2020 ___________________________________________________ Introduction The Bible not only calls us to pray but includes many prayers to instruct and inspire us: *Numbers 6:24-26- “The Lord bless you and keep you...” *I Chronicles 4:10- Prayer of Jabez- “Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, ‘Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked.’” *The Psalms contain a comprehensive collection of prayers *The New Testament- Jesus lived a life of prayer, Matthew 6:9-13; John 17. The Book of Acts records the prayers of the early church, Acts 4:24-31 The Apostle Paul shared in his letters specific prayers offered for the churches. In returning to the book of Proverbs this morning, we come to a prayer from the pen of a man named Agur. In fact, this prayer in Proverbs 30:7-9 is the only prayer in the book, and it comes from a man who had walked a difficult path. Agur is writing from against the backdrop of personal failure and an honest confession that he had not pursued wisdom in his life. John Bunyan wrote, “No man, without trials and temptations, can attain a true understanding of the Holy Scriptures.” Agur was writing out of painful lessons learned, and he prays with specificity and conviction: “Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.” ~Proverbs 30:7-9 I. Agur Shares Lessons Learned from Living Life “My Way.” Survey of Proverbs 30 *V. 1-3- “I am weary, O God, and worn out...” *V. 5-6- God’s word must be my authority *V. 11, 17- Living a life that dishonors *V. 12- Blinding pride to my true spiritual condition *V. 32-33- Self-control when you have played the fool II. I Don’t Want to be a F_______ and a F_______. “Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying...” III.. I Don’t Want to be P_____ Neither Do I Want to be R____. “give me neither poverty nor riches;” *Dangers That Come from P________- *Dangers That Come with W_______- IV. Feed Me with My P________. Conclusion The wisdom that comes to us this morning is that the Lord Jesus Christ offers peace and contentment to those who find refuge in Him. Not life without struggle or difficult circumstances, but life with meaning, direction, and purpose. Perhaps the greatest expression of this is found in the Psalms where David declares, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” This is the testimony of every true believer who has come to experience the grace of God found in Jesus Christ. His life, death, and resurrection stand as the Good News that we need most. I point you to Him to be the rest and contentment of your heart. .
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