The Prayer of Agur: A 5-Day Devotional by Jay PayleitnerSample

Not Too Much, Not Too Little

The beginning of Agur’s prayer is a personal request to give and receive only truth. That’s extraordinary, but not surprising. After all, everyone wants to know what’s really true; even liars know lying is wrong.

However, Agur’s next request is a stunner. He dares to pray for a life of moderation: “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.”

Moderation? That’s not on anyone’s checklist, especially in the twenty-first century. We are living in an age of extremes.

For most people, bigger will always be better. More house. More car. More closet space. More shelves for more trophies. More activities. More responsibility so you can gain more of the above.

On the flip side is another extreme: a subculture of people who are choosing to live as minimalists. Maybe you know people who are mildly obsessed with cutting up credit cards and clearing out clutter. They eschew the latest gadgets, and their entire wardrobe fits in one cardboard box and a knapsack. 

Agur is not endorsing minimalism. Nor is he suggesting that wealth and influence define success. He endorses neither fast nor slow, big nor small, fancy nor simple.

Our endearing friend Agur has identified a sweet spot: the perfect balance of getting what you need and needing what you get. He sums it up nicely: “my daily bread.”

Any of Agur’s peers who heard this prayer would instantly con­nect this request to the daily manna God had provided to their ancestors as they wandered the desert for forty years as described in Exodus. Manna appeared once a day, provided by God in just the right amount at just the right time.

As twenty-first-century readers, we recognize the phrase “give us this day our daily bread” from the Lord’s Prayer, delivered al­most a thousand years later by Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount. The words are comfortable, and we nod our heads. Yes, Lord, please meet our daily needs.

The thing is, that’s not what Agur prayed. He added the word only. “Give me only my daily bread.”

Why would anyone pray that way? The next two devotionals unpack the last portion of Agur’s prayer and present two good reasons.

Agur’s prayer of moderation is challenging! Are you ready to pray, “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread”?