If you could ask two things of God before you died and you knew He would not deny you, what would you ask for? Possible riches, good health, salvation for a loved one, or maybe as a mother, you’d ask a long and prosperous life for your children?

I have sat pondering this since I read these scriptures in Proverbs 30 earlier this month. I’m still not positive exactly what I would ask, but I figure since it’s in the Bible, this is a good place to start.

“Two things I request of You
(Deprive me not before I die):
 Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches—
Feed me with the food allotted to 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 NKJV

Background on Proverbs 30 and Agur

Proverbs 30:1 tells us that this chapter was written by Agur son of Jakeh. As far as the basic facts on Agur, this is all we know. However, dig into these proverbs and we learn a whole lot about how this man believed, thought, and lived his life.

First, Agur was humble. His opening lines tell us that he fears and reveres God and in comparison, he sees his own stupidity….”Surely I am more stupid than any man, And do not have the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom. Nor have knowledge of the Holy One.” (verses 2-3)

Second, Agur loved and respected God’s word. “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.” (v.5-6)

Last, Agur is desperate to stay close to God. “Give me neither poverty nor riches—Feed me with the food allotted to me.” (v. 8b)

What Two Things did Agur ask of God?

When we get two verses 7-8, Agur makes a plea to God. “God, do not deny me these two things. It’s all I ask of you. First, I want to be free of falsehood and lies. Second, I want to be satisfied in you alone so that I do not sin.”

1. Give Me Integrity

Agur prays, ” Remove falsehood and lies far from me.” He knew that His God was a God of truth. There was no room for dishonesty. In his desire to stay close to God, he wanted no part in anything that resembled deception.

Being a person of his word and some one who could be trusted were important to him. I hope they are important to us as believers as well. In order to represent God well, we need to speak only truth, believe only truth, run everything by the truth of God’s word before we consider it, and stay away from those who are full of lies.

Most of us desire truth but we must be honest with ourselves about whether we are practicing truth. Do we only repeat things we absolutely know to be true? Do we ever leave off information or not correct wrong information and therefore allow deception to take over? Do we allow wrong thinking or incorrect motives to govern us over the truth of God’s word that might correct or be difficult to follow?

Consider the following scriptures:

• Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal truthfully are His delight. Prov. 12:22 NKJV

• God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:24 NKJV

• Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. Eph. 4:25 NKJV

2. Keep Me Satisfied in You

Agur does not want to be rich or poor-“Give me neither poverty nor riches—Feed me with the food allotted to me;” He only wants what God has for him. This sound familiar? How about the Lord’s prayer: “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11)

God knows our needs. We are welcome to ask, but Agur’s point is why would we want more or less than what God wants us to have? He says, ” 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.”

In other words, if you give me too much, I might forget you with all the pleasures around me. On the other hand, if you give me too little, Lord, I might steal and sin against you.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians: “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (v. 11-13 NKJV)

What ever state I am, I have learned to be content! Can we say this? Is the strength of Christ enough? Is Jesus enough?

Or are we guilty of wanting more? More money? More out of a relationship? More power? More success? More rest? More beauty? More ______?

Or maybe, it’s less. Less debt. Less responsibility. Less stressors. Less work. Less ______.

If we truly want satisfaction in God alone, we must be like God’s servant Job who says:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Job 1:21 NKJV

Asking of God

If you are like me and still not sure of the two things you would ask of God, it’s ok. The good news is that He does not put a limit on the number of things we can ask in prayer. He does, however, expect us to pray according to His word and will.

In closing, I thought it would be nice to pray a form of Agur’s prayer:

Lord, I am asking two things of your today. First, make me a woman of integrity. Keep truth in my heart and mind. Keep lies and deceit far from my lips. Second, show me how to be satisfied in you alone. I want to be content with what you give me and content without the things you don’t want me to have. Remind me daily that Jesus is enough. Amen.

Find more Wisdom in Proverbs for Moms devotions here.