So in all things, that which God has given me intelligence and power to do, in avoiding evil or securing good, I am under direct command from him to do, always depending upon His blessing to secure the needed result.  A true faith in God will be made manifest by careful obedience to known commands.  An intelligent faith can never allow dependence upon means used to take the place of dependence upon the living God, who alone makes them efficacious.

It must result in presumptions faith, if obedience is neglected, and the results only promised to obedience are expected.  That God can give blessing, without the use of the ordinary means, on man’s part, there is no question.  That he has done so is a matter of record.  Yet we should remember that there were but two miraculous draughts of fishes, and only twice did our Lord make bread without the use of seed-time, harvest, grinding and baking.  The rule of Christ in his earthly ministry was, most certainly, to receive the supply of his physical wants from His Heavenly Father, in the use of means to secure the results offered in the ordinary operation of the laws of God.  He went into the corn-field at autumn and visited the olive tree for sustenance as did other men.  And the question for his disciples is not what God can do, and not what he has done (that he may be known as God over all creation, blessed for evermore) in the suspension of natural laws, but what has he revealed to us as his will during the time of the present dispensation of the church on this earth, as to his children using means for the avoidance of evil and securing of good, or depending entirely upon miraculous interference in answer to the prayer of faith for all need without reference to use of means.

Does the prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread,” mean that we are to do nothing to secure our bread, lest we show no faith in God, and simply wait in idleness for God to repeat the miracle of sending it by a raven? or, does it mean that with thankful hearts to God for the ability he has given us to work, that we go forth diligently fulfilling our task in the use of all appropriate means to secure that which his loving bounty has made possible for us in the fruitful seasons of the earth, and return with devout recognition that He is the Creator, Upholder and Giver of all, bringing our sheaves with us.  When seed-time and harvest fail and death is on the land, when corn fails in Egypt and there is no bread, when we have obeyed him and sought to toil with our hands and no man has given unto us, then we will expect his interposition and will have faith that he who has fed us by use of means, will supply us without means, and that He alone is the living God.