"Take it to the Lord in prayer"

MARIE S. LINDHE

SINCE early childhood the writer has always loved these verses of an old hymn:

"O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Every thing to God in prayer!

"Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer."

In the light of the teachings of Christian Science these words have taken on a new meaning, and with it has come an understanding of how to take our problems to God in prayer. It is indeed a blessed privilege to know that whatever is troubling us, or whatever problem may present itself, we can take it to God with the full assurance that He is "a very present help."

If the problem be one of fear, indecision, or lack,—indeed, whatever it be,—we can turn our thoughts to God knowing that if we are willing to put aside all self-will and human planning, and trust Him to guide us and care for us, He will show us how to go and, in fact, will lead the way. We can also know that we do not have to feel any burden in making a decision if we realize that we are governed by the one divine Mind, God, and are faithfully following His directing. By thus clearing our consciousness of human will and all desire to outline human ways and means, we are able to reflect the divine Mind and allow it to operate in our lives. Such a mental attitude brings with it confidence, joy, and peace, and what Mrs. Eddy speaks of in the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 366), as "a priceless sense of the dear Father's loving-kindness."

Our Leader writes in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 307): "God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies. Never ask for to-morrow: it is enough that divine Love is an ever-present help; and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need every moment." Too often we want to see just how the supply will be forthcoming; and we are not satisfied to take the daily manna, but think it necessary to have a store on hand for the future. Surely, if God gives us all we need each day, we need not worry about to-morrow; and the one who is willing to live one day at a time, and trust God to meet his needs for that day, will never lack.

If we are confronted with interference or a difficulty seemingly caused by the action of others, whether it be in business or in the home, we can take this problem also to the Lord in prayer, with the assurance that even there shall His hand lead us. In such a case, as we take the problem to God in prayer, we shall find that we must clear our own consciousness of all that is unlike good. We must be sure that we do not bear false witness against our neighbor, but see man as God's child. We must be sure that we separate from our thoughts of our fellow-man all that is unlike good; for we have the Biblical record that God made man in His likeness, and therefore that any quality unlike God cannot be part of man. We shall find that the difficulty, so far as we are concerned, is caused not by the thoughts or acts of others, but by our mistaken thinking about others. Only as we allow wrong thoughts to govern us or remain unrebuked in our consciousness can our progress and happiness be interfered with. In other words, we need only clear our own thoughts and refuse to see evil as part of God's idea, man, to be freed from whatever is delaying our progress. Thus we may prove that by taking our problems to the Lord in prayer, we can be conscious that God is with us to help us.

In the Christian Science textbook Mrs. Eddy clearly indicates that the desire to let God operate in our affairs is prayer, and, further, that such prayer is always answered. Therefore, taking our problems to God in prayer means putting aside human will, and with childlike trust being willing to be guided and governed by the divine will. This brings freedom and the peace which neither person nor circumstance can take from us.

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