“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Phil. 4:6).

God would have us pray about everything, whether it is of a spiritual or physical nature. In view of the fact that God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings today, we certainly agree that our prayer life should primarily center on spiritual things, such as praying for lost souls, a fuller understanding of the Scriptures, a knowledge of God’s will, wisdom, etc. Here again, however, we must keep in mind the importance of balance in the things of the Lord. God would also have us make known our physical requests.

Paul prayed about his physical infirmity, not once, but three times (2 Cor. 12:7-9). Prior to his incarceration in Caesarea, the apostle requested that he might have a prosperous journey to Rome; that is, free from hardship (Rom. 1:9,10). We are to pray for earthly rulers that we might lead a quiet and peaceable life to further the cause of Christ (1 Tim. 2:1-3). Paul instructs us not to be an ungrateful people, as Israel was in time past; consequently, we are to return thanks at every meal for God’s bountiful blessings (1 Tim. 4:4,5). We are also to pray about the circumstances in which we might find ourselves. As we have noted, Paul coveted the prayers of those at Philippi that he would soon be delivered from his prison cell in Rome. The apostle writes to Philemon along these same lines: “But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you” (Phile. 1:22).

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.

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