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“A Prayer for Today!”
How many times in your life have you really thought you desired a certain thing,
a certain job, a certain relationship, a certain materialistic item, ECT…? In my
lifetime It’s been countless of times I though I knew just what I needed to be
successful, to be happy, to have peace of mind. I can honestly say that 99 and 9/10 of
the time I was completely wrong! Sometimes we pray and make our own way and
then justify it before the Lord like this:
Unwise Prayer Concerning the Lord's Will:
An overweight business associate of mine decided it was time to shed
some excess pounds. He took his new diet seriously, even changing his
driving route to avoid his favorite bakery. One morning, however, he
arrived at work carrying a gigantic coffee cake. We all scolded him, but
his smile remained spiritual. 'This is a very special coffee cake,' he
explained. 'I accidentally drove by the bakery this morning and there in
the window were a host of goodies. I felt this was no accident, so I
prayed, 'Lord, if you want me to have one of these delicious coffee
cakes, let me have a parking place directly in front of the bakery.' And
sure enough,' he continued, 'the eighth time around the block, there it
was!”
We must not try to make our own way but rather seek the Lord. The Lord God
Almighty knows us better than we even know ourselves because He made us,
created us. We need to seek Him for instructions on what we really need and what
we need to avoid. Turn with me to the great book of Proverbs and let’s look at an
“A Prayer for Today”. Remember if you fully translate Proverbs instead of only
transliterating it you find it means “to make one rule in the mind “!
*Proverbs 30:7-9 says 7Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I
die: 8Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me
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with food convenient for me: 9Lest 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.
Notice the prayer request 2 things asked for:
Vanity and lies removed (far away) and fed with God’s perfect food!
“Remove far” #8637 qahcar { raw-khak’} to widen.
“Vanity” #8876 Õcahs { shawv} evil as destructive, literal ruin, moral guile,
figuratively idolatry and uselessness.
“feed” #7636 hrarat { taw-raf’} to supply with food as in morsels.
“convenient” #7873 qthc { khoke} an enactment, hence an appointment, what is
necessary.
Q. What do these requests show us about what’s on a person’s heart?
A. True character is revealed in what people really want from life:
*Matthew 6:21 says 21For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
“treasure” #2344 scrÕasqhÕ { thay-sow-ros’} a deposit, from #5087 stscrit { tith’-ay-
mee} to place.
The only way mankind will ever overcome their natural inclination toward
materialism and wealth is to place the priority of their possessions in the eternity, in
heaven. If one were as concerned about spiritual “deposits” of this life as they were
about the material possessions, there motivations would be pure indeed. We need to
understand this life is so very short and the eternity is forever and ever. Look at
what James has to say:
*James 4:14 says 14Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is
your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
“vapour”# 822 asitÕ { at-mece’} mist.
“vanisheth” #853 azcaatph { af-an-id’-zo} to render unapparent, to be consumed, to
disappear or be destroyed.
The Lord is giving us understanding to the fact that our lives are like the
mornings dew. Think of how quickly is disappears as compared with a long summer
day. Lord show us how short our time really is in comparison to the eternity!
The Psalmist concerning mankind’s life-span, said:
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*Psalm 90:12 says 12So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts
unto wisdom.
Getting back to our text from Proverbs, Agur revealed a wise request, one that we
should give the most serious consideration, let’s examine it deeper:
HE Prays for deliverance from moral corruption:
Vanity and Lies - counterfeit doctrines that deceive, enslave, and condemn:
*1 Tim. 4:1-2 says 1Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some
shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2
Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
The Holy Spirit speaks expressly (out-spoken, distinctly) that in the latter times
many will be lead astray from the truth in Christ Jesus! With that warning we
should all take heed and pray the prayer for today like Agur! Not only will there be
seducing spirits but also:
We must be fully aware that they are men who lie in wait to
deceive us:
*Ephesians 4:14 says 14That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro,
and carried about with every (1) wind of doctrine, (2) by the sleight of men, and (3)
cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
“wind of doctrine” #1319 ltlaÕsadta { did-as-kal-ee’-ah} instruction.
“by sleight of men” #2940 sserta { koo-bi’-ah} a cube, a die for playing as in dice,
gambling!
“cunning craftiness” #3834 zaahsqnta { pan-oorg-ee’-ah} adroitness (skillfulness)
trickery, subtlety.
Here we have 3 ways or areas that people are deceived by other people. Some are
mislead by false teachings, false instruction. Others don’t really care they’re life is
just a so-called crap-shoot. Then finally we have those who are very skilled and
subtle in their deception. To be able to know all of this method of operations we
must pray the prayer for today! Look at what Christ taught to see how far they go
to teach their ways:
These types of deceivers go to great extremes to make converts:
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*Matthew 23:15 says 15Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him
twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
We must search out the Word for ourselves to see if what is being taught is God’s
ways or man’s ideals. Look at the converts in:
*Acts 17:11 says 11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they
received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily,
whether those things were so.
God's Word is the only true standard that we have to go by in
our daily lives:
* John 17:17 says 17Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
This process of becoming sanctified can only be accomplished through the Word
of God. The more of the Word we take into our minds the more God-like we will
become. Kind after kind is God’s Law and our hearts are the seed-bed that
determines our speech and actions tomorrow. Don’t let the world sow into your lives
what is says will make you happy but rather know:
*Riches can be very deceitful and is not the true source of joy:
*Mark 4:18-19 says 18And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as
hear the word, 19And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the
lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
We must keep our fallow ground broke up and allow God’s Word to be sown
into our daily lives. As His Word is sown and we take heed to the Word we give Him
an avenue to grub out the weeds that the world has planted in our hearts! If not we
will be lead astray because:
Speaking of riches, they promise a false security:
*Luke 12:13-21 says 13And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my
brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. 14And he said unto him, Man, who
made me a judge or a divider over you? 15And he said unto them, Take heed, and
beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the
things which he possesseth. 16And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground
of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17And he thought within himself,
saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18And
he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I
bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much
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goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20But God
said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose
shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21So is he that layeth up treasure for
himself, and is not rich toward God.
These verses are an important reminder to us in our materialistic age of here and now.
Many seek after temporal things, but all find that they do not satisfy the soul or the flesh.
We must start to work on God’s temple (the many-member body) so He will bless us instead
of being in His cursing:
*Haggai 1:7-11 says Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. 8Go up to
the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I
will be glorified, saith the LORD. 9Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and
when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the LORD of hosts. Because
of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. 10Therefore
the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. 11And
I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn,
and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth
forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.
Q. What else did Jesus Christ say on this subject?
A. Matthew 6:33 says Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you.
There are more parables dealing with money than with any other subject in the
Word of God. There are so many snares and temptations that beset those whose
hearts are centered on acquiring money. The warning we must glean from this
teaching is that of providing abundantly for the material aspects of life, while
ignoring preparations for the spiritual, the eternity. Wealth cannot bring you
salvation, but it can be used for heavenly good, for fulfilling the Great Commission.
False friendships can discourage and weaken us:
*Proverbs 19:4 says 4Wealth maketh many friends; but the poor is separated from
his neighbour.
*Proverbs 14:20 says 20The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich
hath many friends.
Let’s see where these friends are when the rains set in our lives! Many, otherwise
good Christians, are ruined by counterfeit friends. Let us set our hearts only on that
which is solid, durable, and eternal. The poor person may even find their self
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frequently separated from their neighbors since they lack the substance to keep up
with their life-style. We’re to be salty and influence the world not vice versa!
Now let’s move on to the second part concerning lies:
*Isaiah 59:4 says 4None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in
vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.
We can’t live like the world, we are to stand up and call for a standard to be lived
by. That standard must be the Word of the Lord, as we covered earlier it’s the only
absolute truth that exists.
Examples of liars in the Bible and the consequences that
followed:
The old prophet lied to the younger one:
*1 Kings 13:15-19 says 15Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat
bread. 16And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I
eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: 17For it was said to me by the
word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again
to go by the way that thou camest. 18He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou
art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back
with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto
him. 19So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.
The younger prophet was destroyed for believing a lie! Don’t live like everyone
else, just because the majority has a certain standard means it’s pleasing to the
Lord! People will lead you down “Primrose Lane” for varying reasons:
Gehazi lied because he was greedy:
*2 Kings 5:21-27 says 21So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw
him running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is
all well? 22And he said, All is well. My master hath sent me, saying, Behold, even
now there be come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the
prophets: give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.
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And Naaman said, Be content, take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two
talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and laid them upon two
of his servants; and they bare them before him. 24And when he came to the tower, he
took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house: and he let the men go,
and they departed. 25But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said
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unto him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither.
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And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again
from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments,
and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and
maidservants? 27The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto
thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.
Those riches did not help Gehazi, stay focused on the eternal will of the Lord!
Our prayer, like Agur, is that lies will be removed far from us. We pray that lying
will not be part of our lives, and that we will not be involved in the lies of others.
We, as servants of Christ, are to put away lying:
*Ephesians 4:25 says 25Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with
his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
*Colossians 3:9-10 says 9Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old
man with his deeds; 10And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge
after the image of him that created him:
Stop lying; we must come to understand that there is no such thing as “a little
white lie.” All lies are big and black and are sin that causes separation from God,
and separation from God results in death! We must put off the old man, the old
nature. The old man, the old nature is the old unregenerate nature resulting from
Adam and received by the first birth in the flesh. The old nature has not been
enhanced, has not been renewed, and has not been improved; he is corrupt, useless,
and must be put off. The word put off means to strip off and discard like a filthy,
worn-out piece of clothing, tossed on the garbage heap.
“put off” #554 azrslshiat { ap-ek-doo’-om-ahee} to divest wholly oneself, i.e.
wholly to strip off for one’s self (for one’s own advantage).
Let’s look at the next part of His prayer, he prays for a controlled source of
income, not poverty nor riches.
Q. Why neither poverty nor riches?
A. He said, "Lest I be full and deny you, and say, "Who is the
Lord?"
There is a tendency to forget God when we have plenty:
Deuteronomy 6:10-12 says 10And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have
brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac,
and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, 11And
houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou
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diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt
have eaten and be full; 12Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought
thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
The Word of God is written to us from instruction and warning! When God’s
blessings flow love the “Giver” more than the “gift”!
Israel did that very thing after seeing all of God’s work in their
lives:
*Deuteronomy 32:15-18 says 15But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen
fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which
made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. 16They provoked him to
jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. 17They
sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that
came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. 18Of the Rock that begat thee thou
art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
“Jeshurun” #6373 ÕcsqsharY { yesh-oo-roon’} upright from #6383 raÕcaq { yaw-
shar’} to be straight or even, figuratively to make right, pleasant and prosperous!
“forgotten” #8677 Õcasahc { shaw-kakh’} to mislay meaning to place in a place
that’s easily misplaced or forgotten!
In the good times we must remember Who made those times good, it was not
ourselves or our situation but the Lord who loves us! The Lord must stay in the
frontlet of our eyes, in the work of our right hands at all times just as is
commanded!
*Jeremiah 2:32 says 32Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet
my people have forgotten me days without number.
Generation after generation has been a thoughtless, thankless people even up to
this day. The dress of the bride was a decoration that the bride assumed on her
wedding day and was the mark of her being married. In the fleshly realm she would,
therefore, cherish this token but not so in the spiritual. Israel (the upright ones) had
forgotten her husband. Their sin of idolatry was compounded by teaching it to their
children and to others as it is today as well.
The Word of God teaches us to have the right view of riches:
*Proverbs 13:7 says 7There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is
that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.
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Christ Jesus taught us the fact if we gained the whole world and lost our very soul
what would we have, nothing but death and destruction (Matthew 15:24-26)! Look
at the following:
*Mark 10:28-31 says 28Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and
have followed thee. 29And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is
no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or
children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, 30But he shall receive an
hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and
children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. 31But
many that are first shall be last; and the last first.
This is the great riches that we were reading about in Proverbs! God’s riches is
what brings peace of mind, not what the world has to offer:
The abundance of the rich will not allow him to sleep:
*Ecclesiastes 5:10-17 says 10He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver;
nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. 11When goods
increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners
thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes? 12The sleep of a labouring
man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not
suffer him to sleep. 13There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely,
riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. 14But those riches perish by evil
travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. 15As he came forth
of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take
nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. 16And this also is a sore
evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath
laboured for the wind? 17All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much
sorrow and wrath with his sickness.
*Proverbs 23:4-5 says 4Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. 5Wilt
thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves
wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
The selfish increase of worldly mammon is never a worthy aim for the servant
of the Lord. Worldly mammon is extremely elusive. Like the eagle, it may suddenly
soar to the heavens, placing itself far beyond a man’s reach. He can see it but not
grasp it making his or her life miserable!
Jesus showed that it will be very difficult for rich people to
obtain heaven:
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*Matthew 19:23-24 says 23Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you,
That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24And again I say
unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man
to enter into the kingdom of God.
Getting back to Agur and our text in Proverbs he also added, "Lest I be poor and
steal, and profane the name of my God." Men often blame God for their misfortune.
We from the fleshly aspect can understand why people steal when they are hungry,
but two wrongs never make a right:
*Proverbs 6:30-31 says 30Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul
when he is hungry; 31But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all
the substance of his house.
No one wants to be poor, or to be forced to live in poverty. Thus, our text
becomes a very real prayer for all of us. It has been stated that 90% of American
families live only 6 weeks from bankruptcy. In other words, if their income were cut
off, they could survive only six weeks before being in serious trouble financially.
This is true of most all of us. We must appreciation of our present
blessings.
*Colossians 4:2 says 2Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with
thanksgiving;
Our appreciation should come from the heart. Someone mentioned this as an
illustration to show how people often don't really appreciate things:
"We attended the wedding of an associate’s son. Because we did not
know the young man or his bride, we decided to send them a practical
household gift, a fire extinguisher. Apparently, the couple mass-
produced their thank-you notes, because we received a card saying:
'Thank you very much for the nice wedding gift. We look forward to
using it soon.'"
A man had posted himself in front of an office building with a tray of
shoelaces. One executive made it a daily habit to give the unfortunate
man a dime, but he never took the laces. One day the peddler, upon
receiving the dime, tapped his departing benefactor on the back. "I don't
like to complain, sir--but the laces are now twenty cents."
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We have been the recipients of all heaven has to other. We have been preserved,
for many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and
power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have
forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied, and
enriched, and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of
our hearts that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and
asset of our own. Drunk with continuous success, we have become too self-sufficient
to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to God
that made us! It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power,
to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.
By President Abraham Lincoln, April 30, 1863
We must learn to be content with what we presently have:
*1 Timothy 6:8 says 8And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
*Hebrews 13:5 says 5Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content
with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake
thee.
*Philippians 4:11 says 11Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in
whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
If we want to be saved eternally, we must learn to put God above all else. We
must set our minds on things above and not on the temporal:
*Colossians 3:1-2 says 1If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are
above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2Set your affection on things
above, not on things on the earth.
If we had two requests only--we could make no improvement on the appeal made
by Agur. He prayed for deliverance from moral impurity. He asked for worldly
goods in moderation. This provides a joyful life here and now, and brings eternal
life in the eternity. Consider making this your “PARYER FOR TODAY”!
GAP Ministries
PO Box 1145
Dover, AR 72837
Gap_Ministries@yahoo.com
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“REMEMBER GOD’S WORD WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!”
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