Article July 31, 1920 Issue

Prayer

CLARA C. SHOWERS

We are told in the ninth chapter of Luke that Jesus took with him Peter, John, and James and went up into a mountain to pray. To-day the need of all men is more devout prayer. It must be a prayer in which we sever ourselves from all belief in an erroneous past; also a prayer that builds not on a salvation for the future, but is a realizing sense of the presence of God right here and now. As we read further in the chapter we find that as Jesus prayed "the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering." Does our prayer to-day bring to us a change of countenance, or do we satisfy thought by a repetition of words? Prayer without results is like clouds that leave no moisture to propagate anew the parched vegetation.

On page 9 of the textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," we read, "Do we pursue the old selfishness, satisfied with having prayed for something better, though we give no evidence of the sincerity of our requests by living consistently with our prayer?" We cannot obtain an answer to our prayer beyond our willingness to conform to it in our daily activities. As desire is prayer, it is well to ask ourselves a few questions and find what is really uppermost in our thinking. The Bible is full of precious promises, and our Leader's writings all serve to show us how to obtain them. If we have taken every step toward the answer to our prayer, more light will be given. Nothing but righteous prayer, lived and practiced, can bring a sense of harmony, and if we desire peace and joy, the door of our understanding must be kept open to receive the answer to our prayers. In the words of one of our hymns (Hymnal, p. 88):—

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