That’s the question Juliet asked upon learning that Romeo’s last name was Montague, the family name of her rival. When she went on to say, “that which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet,” it is rumored that Shakespeare was poking fun at the Rose Theater, the rival of his own Globe Theater. The less-than-desirable sanitary conditions at the Rose were said to have created an atmosphere that was somewhat odoriferous!

The name “Paul” means small or little, but the apostle who bore that name was originally called “Saul” (Acts 13:9), a name that means desired. When the people of Israel desired a king (I Sam. 8:5), God told the prophet Samuel to choose a man named Saul (I Sam. 9:17). In relaying this to Saul, Samuel said, “On whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee?” (v. 20).

This prompts us to ask about the Apostle Paul, “Why would a man whose name means desired choose to go by a name that means small?” We believe the answer is that he no longer wanted to be desired of men. He now wished to appear small in the eyes of men, so that the Lord would loom large in their sight, and they would begin to desire Him instead. If you are looking for fulfillment in life, you might want to consider following his example, for that is the only path of joy for a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We see this clearly emphasized in the case of King Saul, who chose a path that was opposite of the path chosen by Paul. King Saul started out little in his own eyes and then got “too big for his britches,” as they say. We know Saul started out well, for when Samuel told him that God had chosen him to be Israel’s king, he responded,

“Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?” (I Sam. 9:21).

As a member of the smallest family in the smallest tribe of Israel, Saul felt unqualified to lead God’s people. But God chose him because he considered himself to be less than the least of all the saints in Israel. We know this because when he rebelled against God, Samuel said to him,

“When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel… Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD…” (I Sam. 15:17-19).

Samuel’s use of the past tense here indicates that Saul was no longer little in his own sight. Evidently he began to think, “I’m the king of Israel, I can do as I please!” If you’re thinking that you’re the king of your life, and can do as you please, you’ll soon find yourself like Saul, someone who is no longer “meet for the Master’s use” (II Tim. 2:21).

Beloved, it’s human nature to want to be desired of men, but it’s an evidence of divine nature to desire to look small in the sight of men so that the Lord might loom large in their eyes. Why not learn from King Saul’s poor example, and choose the path the Apostle Paul chose. He started out as one who was desired of men, but learned to look at himself as “less than the least of all saints” (Eph. 3:8), one who longed that “Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death” (Phil. 1:20).

Do you long for the Lord to be magnified in you?

To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

Two Minutes with the Bible is now available on Alexa devices. Full instructions here.

What’s the difference between a piano and a fish? You can tune a piano, but you can’t tuna fish!

While you may have never wondered about the difference between a piano and a fish, you may have wondered about the difference in the various types of prayer that Paul mentions in 1 Timothy 2:1:

“I exhort therefore, that, first of all supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men.”

The word “supplication” means to ask someone for something (1 Kings 8:52; Esth. 4:8). Some grace believers are uncomfortable asking God for things, but it is our own apostle Paul who encourages us to “let your requests be made known unto God” (Phil. 4:6). Just try not to be as selfish as unbelievers are when they pray. I once saw a comic strip that featured God sitting at a computer and saying to an angel, “I need to set up a spam filter to block requests to win the lottery!” While Paul says to let your requests be made known unto God “in every thing,” the more you mature in Christ, the less your
prayers will include selfish requests like that.

If you’re wondering what the difference is between “supplications” and “prayers” (the next category Paul mentions)—don’t tell anyone! You see, if you are wondering that, it means you think the word prayer means to ask God for things. But there are lots of other things you can say to God in prayer. For example, you can praise Him for His goodness and His grace. Speaking of tuning things, an old hymn contains the powerful prayerful line, “tune my heart to sing Thy grace.”

“Prayers” can also involve just talking to God about whatever is on your heart. Christians who think God invented prayer just so they could call Him to ask for things are similar to selfish adult children who seem to think the telephone was invented so they could call and ask their parents for things.

The “intercessions” that Paul mentions next are selfless prayers prayed to God solely on behalf of others, the kind of prayer the Lord prays for us (Rom. 8:34). If you want to live as unselfishly as the Son of God, reflecting Him in your prayer life would be a good place to start. An old poem says,  Others, yes others, let this my motto be. Lord help me live for others, that I may live like Thee.”

The final type of prayer Paul mentions is the “giving of thanks.” This kind of prayer needs no explanation, but it can usually use some exhortation! With that in mind, I invite you to consider that Paul mentions the different forms of prayer in 1 Timothy 2:1 in a specific sequence that reflects the order of spiritual maturity, and the place in which he mentions thanksgiving in that sequence just might motivate you to include more thanksgiving in your prayers.

He mentions “supplications” first because when a believer is first saved, his prayers mostly consist of asking God for things. But as he matures in the Lord, he begins to “pray” more, just praising God and talking to Him about what is on his heart. Then, more and more, the focus of his prayers moves away from himself to others, and he begins to make “intercessions” for them.

In fact, our text directs that all four of these different types of prayers “be made for all men.” You yourself are part of “all men,” of course, so there is certainly nothing wrong with praying for yourself. But the more Christ-like you become, the more the focus of your prayers will shift away from yourself and settle on others.

Finally, since Paul mentions the “giving of thanks” last in this list of prayers that reflects the order of spiritual maturity, I believe it to be the highest form of prayer you can pray to God. That’s why Paul almost always began his epistles by thanking God—most of the time for the saints to whom he was writing (Rom. 1:8; 1 Cor. 1:4; Eph. 1:16; Phil. 1:3; Col. 1:3; 1 Thes. 1:2; 2 Thes. 1:3; 1 Tim. 1:12; 2 Tim. 1:3; Philemon 1:4).

If you’re already following Paul as he followed Christ in every other area of your life (1 Cor. 11:1), why not consider following him in making thanksgiving your top priority in prayer? It’s high spiritual ground, but if you mean it when you sing “Lord plant my feet on higher ground,” then it’s an upgrade in your prayer life that you’ll sincerely
wish to make

To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles."

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you'll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.

Two Minutes with the Bible is now available on Alexa devices. Full instructions here.