A Prayer and the Reply

LUCY A. CHAMBERLAIN

Dear Father-Mother God, I come!
Oh, teach me how to pray.
I 've longed to heal; I 've tried to know,
And follow in the way;
Denied the dream, affirmed the real,
And still it seems I 've failed.
But now I find that I must come,
And leave it all with Thee.
Oh, make me pure as Thou art pure.
Blot out these mortal ills,
Which seem so real, yet are but dreams.
Reveal the Christ to me!
Thy tender love enfolds us all;
No evil dost Thou see,
Oh, wondrous Love! I humbly plead,
Reflect Thy love in me!

Be still, the gentle answer came;
Be still, My child, "and know
That I am God;" that I am All!
There's nothing thou need'st do
To make man perfect, pure and whole;
It is for thee to know
That all My work is perfect now;
That I am Love divine,
The only power, presence, Mind,
All substance, Spirit, Life,
The Principle of all that is,
Unchanging, boundless good.
In My own likeness man is made,
Immortal, perfect, pure,
And thus forever doth remain,
Within My love secure.
If these great truths fill all thy thought,
Can aught beside have place?
Can evil be, when good is All,
Or error, where Truth is?
Awake, O child! Arise from sleep,
And put this armor on!
'T is sleep that brings those dreams you call
Disease, and sin, and death.
Denying sense to know that I
Am Mind, the only Mind,
Will grace and Truth to thee unfold,
The eternal Christ reveal.
Forgetting self to love mankind,
Thou wilt My love reflect,
While Love shall cause thee to behold
The perfect man, and real!

Be still, My child! Be still, and know
That I, thy God, am Love!
Remember that My work is done;
'T is thine to look above
The baseless claims of mortal dreams—
To know and, likewise, love!