Two Things I am Asking the LORD For Before I Die

Proverbs 30.7-9

When we are young we talk about things we would like to accomplish in our lives. We dream and plan. As we grow older and we begin to realize we are not going to be on this earth forever we begin to talk about things we want to do before we go. It may be a trip or some adventure or going to see someone we love and live far away from. It could be a book or a set of books we are going to read.

God’s Word as something to say about this. The writer of this chapter of Proverbs speaks of things he wants, actually asks the LORD for. His prayer requests show his heart, as do ours.

These are things that are worthy of our asking of the LORD too!

1. Keep Me Honest

*Put great distance between me and lies. Don’t even let me get close to being dishonest. Keep me as a person of integrity. May all my dealings be above reproach. May my integrity never be questioned, but if I am called into account may everything in my life speak of purity. This is what this man Agur is praying.

We do not realize the inherent blessings in this… sleep, peace, never having to worry about what you said or did. Goodness and integrity have their own rewards.

*Keep me from a meaningless existence.
This isn’t “You need to get a hobby type of thing…” It is being involved in God’s kingdom. It is giving as much of yourself as you can to the LORD Jesus Christ and walking with in the paths He has set out for you.

This is not about being busy. You can wear yourself out with stuff that at the end of time is going to be burned up.

This about giving ourselves to things eternal. For example teaching a Sunday School Class is a wonderful thing. One of the guys who has prayed for my dad and called and encouraged my parents this past year is Dr. Kenny Brown. Kenny is a professor at a Christian University now. He was one of my dad’s Sunday School students in Queens back in the 1950’s. When we give to the kingdom we never know how it will come back to us.

May my life be forever focused on the Kingdom of God.

Another request…

2. Keep Me Depending on You

Jesus has promised His followers that they would have food to eat and clothes to wear. He pointed to the birds and the blooms (flowers-actually lilies) as an illustration of God’s care for His creation and for the care of those who love Him.

We can depend upon the LORD to take care of us if we are seeking His kingdom first. That doesn’t mean we sit around, on the contrary we work but we are ultimately depending on God, as we said last week, even for our strength

The two extremes he prayed to avoid are riches and poverty. We would do well to pray that way. It is wise.

Poverty is not safeguard for sin. It can make a person a thief. The sin of the poor can be envy and jealousy. This is can lead to thievery. As technology has increased so has the ability to steal.

Rich- to have too much, to have all my desires fulfilled, to be satisfied, to have in excess. To glut. Some desires are better left unfulfilled. The history of nations (including Israel) is that the richer they became the less dependent upon God they became and the more independent spiritually from Him they became.

The sobering thing about Israel was that Jesus said they were honoring Him with their lips but their hearts were far from Him. They had the words down. They spoke of the LORD but in their hearts were idols, other gods, their own self interests.

To disown- to grow lean, to be untrue, to be found to be a liar- not living up to a previous commitment of faith. This is the story of Solomon. As wise as he was he went against God’s Word. He didn’t follow the directions for kings. He went and made a deal with the King of Egypt and married his daughter an while this brought him increased favor, military might and wealth an the nation with him, it also brought someone who wasn’t a worshipper of the True and Living God into the life of King Solomon and his heart was eventually turned away from God!

Jesus asked, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul.” (Mark 8.36)





3. My Life Will Come To an End One Day -Keep Heaven Before Me

Before I Die- all of what we have been speaking about. The LORD gently reminds us that we aren’t here forever but that we will be somewhere in eternity. God has placed eternity in the hearts of men.

Not everyone is going to heaven. Jesus said that not even everyone who says, “LORD. LORD will enter the kingdom of heaven but only those who do the will of the Father Who is in heaven.”

Heaven is described in Revelation 21.1-8, 22.1-6

The past few weeks I have been at a few funerals. I have prayed for people to be healed. I have watched pain in people’s lives, amazing how holidays can bring out pain. Yet there is hope. Mary Butler, my neighbor in Bellmore growing up went to be with the LORD on Monday Morning. I was with her family whom I have known since I was 2 years old. She was a great woman of faith. Just hours before she died she cried out, “Sweet Jesus, take me home.” What a way to go! I love that faith, that blessed assurance!

You can live out your life with Jesus so that death loses its sting and the grave has no power over you. You can be sure where you are going today. Whoever calls upon the Name of the LORD will be saved.

God has made the plan of getting to heaven so simple a child can understand. I know. I was just 7 years old when I asked Jesus to come into my heart and be my Savior. In fact Jesus said we must become like little children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. We must depend upon God completely. Little Philip is completely dependent upon John and Sophia. Jesus wants us to come to Him like that.

LORD Jesus, please come into my heart, forgive me of my sins,
I believe You died for me on the cross.

Proverbs 30.7-9