TRUSTING GOD WITH OUR DAILY NEEDS

Proverbs 30:7-9 is a prayer of wisdom of Agur. He prayed, "O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God's holy name." When we summarize Agur's two prayer requests, we find that he was concerned about his godly character and his relationship with God. Perhaps one of Agur's weaknesses was lying; as a result, he asked God for help in living with honesty and transparency. He wanted to be truthful in his words and actions so that he might honor God. The second prayer request he had was to ask God to help him live in a way that would allow him to trust God for his daily needs. Noticed that he asked God to provide him just enough to satisfy his daily needs, which his prayer relates to Jesus' prayer in Matthew 6:11—"Give us today our daily bread," or we can translate it as, "Give us today the food that we need." 

Agur understood the temptation of riches and poverty in regard to the relationship with God. People who pursue riches more than God walk away from God, and those who are in poverty and refuse to trust God end up rejecting God. God wants us to trust God with our daily needs, no matter where we are in life. Whether we have plenty or not, God wants us to walk with integrity and complete reliance on God. Who we are as a person is about honoring and trusting God every day. Perhaps some of us are in financial difficulties, but God wants us to continue trusting Him completely. Or, perhaps some of us are in a good financial position, and still God wants us to honor Him with our wealth. We do not put our security in our possessions, but on God alone. 

Let us not live like the people who do not trust in God and walk with Him. We belong to our Heavenly Father, who cares about us. No matter where we are in life today, whether we are in financial need, have enough, or have plenty, our security is always found in our Heavenly Father. 

Questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully, meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speak to you.) What did I learn from Agur's prayer? How should I live my life today in light of the lesson that I learn in today's daily devotion? Why is it important to trust in God regardless of my financial condition?

Take a moment to write down all your worries today. Then, lift them up to God in prayer, surrendering them to His will and trusting in His guidance.

Prayer:

Dear Father in Heaven, please help me to live in honesty, and please provide for my daily needs. Please help me not to trust in the possessions that you have provided for me, but to trust in you alone. You are my God and provider, and you know all of my needs. In your name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.