Editorial September 6, 1924 Issue

Going Apart to Pray

Ella W. Hoag

The subject of prayer is of deepest interest to every one. Christians are certainly convinced that prayer is a practice which must be fundamental in their lives if they are to enjoy the blessings which result from that conscious unity with God, the Giver of all good, which they all long and labor to attain. Many are the volumes which have been written in the endeavor to elucidate the subject, but Christians are still wondering why they do so much praying and receive so few answers. May not one reason be that they have not understood Jesus' command, "Enter into thy closet"?

To the Christian Scientist this entering into the closet has received definite explanation in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 15), where our Leader, Mrs. Eddy, writes: "Lips must be mute and materialism silent, that man may have audience with Spirit, the divine Principle, Love, which destroys all error;" and then she emphasizes this by adding: "In order to pray aright, we must enter into the closet and shut the door. We must close the lips and silence the material senses."

Here the way is marked out whereby we may gain an audience with the Father! "Lips must be mute and materialism silent." Then how possible must it always be to commune with the Father! Whatever we may be doing, wherever we may seem to be, humanly speaking, always we may turn our thought from the testimony of the material senses and with heart uplifted to the realm of Spirit we may reach our Father in earnest prayer, listening for His voice to guide and direct our thinking and our actions. Here is the way,—definitely to turn away from material aims, purposes, desires, even from so-called material needs, and lift the heart in longing for Spirit and spirituality. Here is the way to obey Paul's command that we "pray without ceasing;" for however we may seem to be occupied materially, our thought may turn instantly to God with some earnest, reverential declaration of the truth of being.

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