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Best-Selling Author Jay Payleitner Unpacks Powerful Message of Contentment from Little-Known Biblical Writer in New Book “In Proverbs 30, Agur invites you to pray a simple prayer that will help you find your sweet spot in life. Thanks to Jay Payleitner for uncovering and unpacking this marvelous gem. Don’t miss it.”—Josh McDowell, international speaker, apologist, and author of more than one hundred books, including
More Than a Carpenter and
Evidence That Demands a Verdict “While Bruce Wilkinson’s The Prayer of Jabez
provides a plan for seeking blessings from God, the prayer referenced in Payleitner’s work is more concerned about personal humility and relationship with God, and is highly recommended for serious readers of the Proverbs.”—Library JournalBalance and contentment are scarce commodities in today’s culture. Instead, life on the extremes is reflected in our obsession with status and possessions or the recently popular minimalist movement. But what if finding God’s sweet spot for us—where we are living in a soul-satisfying equilibrium in our jobs, personal ministries, and relationships—was easier than we thought?
In best-selling author and top freelance radio producer Jay
Payleitner’s new book,
THE PRAYER OF AGUR: Ancient Wisdom for Discovering Your Sweet Spot in Life (6/9/20, Multnomah), Payleitner introducers readers to a little-known biblical author named Agur whose powerful prayer in Proverbs 30 solves this exact conundrum, uncovering the key to contentment.
This short prayer—which is the
only prayer in Proverbs—is hidden in plain sight but offers a life-changing perspective on balance, contentment and trust in God. It reads:
“Give me neither poverty nor riches. But give me only my daily bread.” While many of us may recognize the phrase “give us this day our daily bread” from the Lord’s Prayer, the word
onlyintroduces an entirely deeper level of trust in God. Ultimately, Payleitner challenges readers to see that life can’t be about accumulating more stuff nor is it wise to live with too little—it’s about having faith that God will provide exactly what we need.
“When I stumbled across the prayer of Agur in Proverbs 30, I knew right away that it held a simple truth that could impact our entire culture,” writes Payleitner. “(Agur’s) voice, his message, and his surprising prayer just might be exactly the plainspoken tonic we need to find peace in today’s world of universal discontentment.”
For more information, visit www.waterbrookmultnomah.com.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jay Payleitner is one of the top freelance radio producers in the United States. He has worked on Josh McDowell Radio,
Today's Father,
Jesus Freaks Radio for the Voice of the Martyrs, Project Angel Tree with Chuck Colson, and many others. He's also a popular speaker on parenting and marriage and the author of more than twenty books, including the bestselling
52 Things Kids Need from a Dad,
The Jesus Dare, and
What If God Wrote Your Bucket List?Payleitner has also served as an AWANA director, a wrestling coach, and the executive director of the Illinois Fatherhood Initiative. He now partners with Iron Sharpens Iron and the National Center for Fathering. He and his wife, Rita, live near Chicago, where they have raised five great kids and loved on ten foster babies. For more information, visit www.jaypayleitner.com.
PRAISE FOR THE PRAYER OF AGUR “In a world that calls us to the extremes of overabundance or minimalism,
The Prayer of Agur leads us to a life of rested contentedness. Jay takes profound biblical wisdom and makes it accessible for normal people in everyday life. It is possible to find that God-ordained sweet spot, and Jay’s treatment of Agur’s prayer will show you how.”
—Jeff Vanderstelt, lead teaching pastor at Doxa Church and author of
Gospel Fluency
“In his warm and familiar manner, Jay uses the Prayer of Agur to teach us the way to contentment. He genuinely addresses our push and pull against life’s extremes and defines the path to balance. It’s as though Jay’s wisdom gleaned from this prayer gives us spiritual permission to be human and embrace the struggle, knowing it’s normal, it’s healthy, and it keeps us connected to the protection, direction, and provision of God as we lean into Him. This book is and will be a pivotal point in our walk with Christ now and for years to come.”
—Mary Ethel Eckard, cofounder of Dragonfly Ministries and author of
Lessons of a Dragonfly
“Every verse of God’s Word applies to our lives. But I must say, Agur’s brief prayer in Proverbs 30 seems to have special significance to this generation. Thanks, Jay, for reminding us that we can live in God’s will and it’s a sweet place to be!”
—Ken Blanchard, coauthor of
The New One Minute Manager and
Lead Like Jesus
“What an awesome little book with a tremendous amount of wise advice from Agur, a lesser-known man who wrote one chapter in Proverbs.
The Prayer of Agur made me realize the need for balance in my life in so many areas. A must-read.”
—Linda Wilson, guest coordinator for
Real Life on Cornerstone Network
“In a culture that celebrates extremes,
The Prayer of Agur is a clarion call back to the ‘sweet spot of knowing Jesus.’ Jay reminds us that even at the time of Creation, God Himself knew when to stop.”
—Mark Hancock, CEO of Trail Life USA and author of
Why Are We Sitting Here Until We Die?, Let Boys Be Boys, and
5 Critical Needs of Boys
“In
The Prayer of Agur, Jay will help you find the balance between too much and too little so you can enjoy a more fulfilling and purposeful life. You’ll discover through this delightful read that it really is possible to trust God to provide exactly what you need and to live in the sweet spot of His best for you.”
—Cindi McMenamin, author of
When God Sees Your Tears and
Drama Free
“This book is at once poetically written and powerfully rich as it illuminates Agur’s motives and prayer, which accurately reflect our own hearts’ longings. Instead of wondering if I’ve identified God’s perfect will and agonizing over every decision, now I’m finding His sweet spot for my life!”
—Caesar Kalinowski, missional strategist and coach and author of
The Gospel Primer
“The saying ‘The greatest gifts come in small packages’ is certainly true about this small book. Jay Payleitner and Agur are quite a team as together they examine the most important things in life, the fears that hold us back, and the possibility of a life joyfully lived in the discovery of a new perspective.”
—Phyllis Hendry Halverson, president and CEO of Lead Like Jesus
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