Article January 27, 1912 Issue

"OUR DAILY BREAD"

R. ETELKA HOLT.

While reading in the first epistle of John, the writer came across the familiar verse: "Let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth;" and was reminded of an experience which not only proved the practicability of the above Scripture, but also showed her that "whatever blesses one blesses all" (Science and Health, p. 206).

One evening, after having suffered all day from a sense of physical inharmony, as I got on the car to go home I was rejoicing that at last I would be alone and have the opportunity to realize the truth about my seemingly inharmonious condition. I did declare the truth as we are taught in Christian Science, but seemed to get no benefit. There was a great sense of confusion on the car, people were coughing and babies crying, and at first it annoyed me, for I had so wanted to be where all was quiet.

I then began to repeat silently the Lord's Prayer, that prayer which seems to embrace every possible need. I repeated the first line, and was thinking about how it began, "Our Father," and also that Jesus gave the instruction. "After this manner therefore pray ye." One was not to pray for himself alone, but for all mankind; and for this reason we were taught to say, "Our Father," not "My Father." We must pray in the spirit of unity and fellowship, desiring for our brethren what we desire for ourselves, for we were given the command to love our neighbor as ourself. I realized then that "our Father which art in heaven" is omnipotent good and is ever present, and that all the confusion and coughing was but a manifestation of the common belief in evil, in a power apart from God, and that it was absolutely impersonal. It did not belong to one particular person, nor was the sense of confusion caused by any one in particular, for evil is impersonal and impersonal evil has in reality no power, for God is all power. I also saw that He is omnipotent, omnipresent good, and so right where the confusion and annoyance seemed to be, right there good was.

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