Proverbs 30:7-9

Proverbs 30:7-9

[7] Two  things have I required  of thee; deny  me them not before I die:  [8] Remove far  from me vanity  and lies:  give  me neither poverty  nor riches;  feed  me with food  convenient  for me: [9] Lest I be full,  and deny  thee, and say,  or lest I be poor,  and steal,  and take  the name  of my God  in vain.

What does Proverbs 30:7-9 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Agur asked God not to lead him into temptation ( Matthew 6:13). He had more concern for his purity before God than about his place among people. Poverty and wealth both bring with them certain temptations that the middle-class citizen does not face, at least as strongly. Abundance tempts us to feel unrealistically self-sufficient (cf. Deuteronomy 8:11-14; John 15:5). Need tempts us to stop trusting God and to resort to acts that harm others.
"Agur"s exemplary prayer in Proverbs 30:7-9, the only prayer in Proverbs , continues his autobiography and functions as a janus [1] to his numerical sayings." [2]