Article December 11, 1902 Issue

Fasting and Prayer

L. S. S.

IN the old faith,—the Episcopalian,—great stress, as I remember, was laid upon the thought of fasting. We read the words that Jesus gave, that we were to watch and fast and pray,—we read that he said that the evil or devil cometh not forth but by prayer and fasting; but we had no spiritual sense of fasting. I remember very well that during the Lenten season, which occupied six weeks, I was very diligent in fasting, abstaining from certain things that I was especially fond of. It was a great cross to me, so I thought, and therefore I believed my crown was to be very great. But when I came to Christian Science, I began to know a little of what it means to fast. I am beginning to know how to fast from material senses. There is nothing else from which we are called upon to fast. God's table of Life and health and strength and cheerfulness and joyfulness and meekness is spread before us daily, even in the house of our enemies. So that all that we are called upon to fast from is fear, doubt, and distrust of the Father's loving kindness, and it seems strange that it should seem hard to us. Sometimes the words of the old hymn may be partially true, "Our souls, how heavily they go to meet eternal joys." And yet, after all, Christian Scientists are the happiest people in the world, and we are beginning to know a little of fasting and a little of prayer. Prayer follows quickly the fasting from material sense and the realization of the allness of omnipotent Love, Life, Mind now and here. Surely this is true and effective prayer.

There is great power in simplicity,—simplicity of speech, simplicity of life in every form. The world has no patience with people who are superficial, who are trying to show off, who are trying to be what the world knows they are not.—Booker T. Washington

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