Right Desires
When one first undertakes to study Christian Science and tries to get some idea of the basis upon which it rests, as well as some of the ways in which it differs from other modes of religious instruction, he is apt to be puzzled and perhaps confused at Mrs. Eddy's conception of scientific prayer. Taught from childhood the prayer of appeal,—to ask for what was wanted, whether spiritual or material (and not unnaturally it was more often the latter),—one fails to grasp the full meaning of the Christian Science prayer of affirmation or to understand in the least its reason for being. It is sometimes said by those who are beginners in this study, "My old idea of God is destroyed and I have as yet nothing in its place;" and then some earnest seeker asks, "What must I do first in order to gain an understanding of the teachings of Christian Science?"
On the very first page of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy gives in simplest language her idea of prayer when she says, "Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be molded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds." She thus tells us that to desire is to pray, and to know that because one has truly desired, and therefore prayed, the fulfilment of that desire is already begun, since that was the method of confident prayer used by Jesus when he said, "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me," even before the evidence that he was heard had been manifested. Another thing which should be coupled with this, in order that the first commandment may be kept to the letter, as Christian Science demands that it shall be, is to desire the things of God, spiritual things, above all else. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God;" and why not? Is not this indeed a "reasonable service," since He has given us "richly all things to enjoy"? Is not God the very foundation, origin, and source of our being, so that in truth we do "live, and move, and have our being" in Him and nowhere else? There is no elsewhere. Having complied, and sought first the kingdom of God, as we are bidden, what happens? Why, all things needful are added; and all this comes from such a simple starting-point,—sincerely to desire that which is good.
Christian Science prayer is a prayer of affirmation; an affirmation that God's work is done, that He was satisfied with it and "saw that it was good." Then we have only to admit and recognize that perfect creation and, because His children are a part of it, claim that which is already theirs, their rightful share in what is simply man's natural birthright. Surely this is a prayer of faith and trust and knowledge, while the other (that of appeal) seems more a prayer of hope and longing, deep and earnest though it often is, but mixed more or less with doubt and anxiety. The Lord's Prayer might be called a prayer of appeal; but after all, in its sweet simplicity it is more truly a desire for spiritual things and for just this day. How the mere words, "Give us this day," tend to relieve all anxiety and fear, when we think upon them in all their fulness and naturalness!
That Christian Science does take away the old concept of God is true,—a God whom people on bended knees must beg to do some needful thing, or undo something already done which seemed disastrous. Some one has well said, "That which is often asked of God, is not so much His will and way, as His approval of our way." Furthermore, Science destroys the belief in a merely personal God, but it enlarges, amplifies, and broadens earlier concepts, in that it establishes a complete idea of a perfect whole, beyond whose love and care no child of His can drift. The Bible teaches that God is ever present, and reason shows us that this would be quite impossible for any person. No personality could fill all space, but Love can and does; so also can Life and Truth. They can all be consistently omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent; and this is the Christian Science idea of God: "All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all" (Science and Health, p. 468 ). Is it not enough to know that Life is ever present, that Love is ever present, that Truth is ever present, and that knowing this we know God and are conscious of His nearness?
That Christian Science brings a great change, and that this often produces a stir which seems unpleasant and bewildering as "the old order changeth," is a fact, and the longing to be settled is likely to become paramount. Emerson's opinion on this point is most encouraging: "People wish to be settled; it is only as they are unsettled that there is any hope for them." So one is led to seek what is soon found to be the "pearl of great price," spiritual consciousness, and then comes the question, What shall we do in order to gain an understanding? Here again comes, first, desire; and one who has desired enough to be willing to put forth honest efforts to study the text-book in which the teachings of Christian Science are set forth, has at least started rightly, and there is nothing more to do but to keep on, remembering who it is that doth go before him. Thanking God that he is already partaking of the Spirit and coming into conscious communion with God, each wayfarer will ultimately (whether quickly or slowly) reach the goal with joy. Our Leader says, "So shall the spiritual idea guide all right desires in their passage from sense to Soul, from a material sense of existence to the spiritual, up to the glory prepared for them who love God" (Science and Health, p. 566 ).
