As much of the thought of mankind, over the centuries, has focused on matter, matter has assumed greater importance and a wider variety of forms. And as matter has been honored and regarded as the source of good, so has matter's potential to harm increased, even to the point of threatening the destruction of nations.
It is when we feel we need matter and it is lacking, or when we have trusted it and it has failed us, that we turn from the material to the spiritual. And, in general, when mankind have denied or rejected or relinquished faith in matter, then they have had their clearest proofs of Spirit's abundance.
Throughout the Bible we find examples of individuals and nations discovering the presence and the power of God, Spirit, as able to supply or protect or restore. When the spiritually-minded affirmed the presence of God and praised Him for His goodness, they had evidence of spiritual power. Perhaps prayer resulted in men obtaining water, oil, food, or in meeting a need in a totally unexpected way. Or perhaps the answered prayer came in the form of a hearing ear, or the hand made whole, or life where there had appeared to be death. We may then ask, Didn't Spirit meet the human need with a supply of matter or by changing matter or taking it away?
