Editorial April 13, 1929 Issue

Habitual Prayer

Albert F. Gilmore

The references to the life, experience, and habits of the Master with which the four Gospels are replete stir the sentiments of love and veneration which constitute worship; and no custom of his, perhaps, makes stronger appeal than his habit of frequent prayer. Although it is apparent that he daily went about his ministry with the mental attitude of earnest prayer, conscious of the fatherhood of God and with the desire to demonstrate it, yet frequently he withdrew from the multitudes which thronged him, even from the presence of his dearly beloved disciples, the better to pray. At such times he turned to God in the fulness of his understanding, that without interruption he might commune with the Father, who had proclaimed him as His beloved Son.

In the twenty-second chapter of Luke's Gospel we read that after partaking of the holy supper, at which he uttered words which appeal to our most sacred sentiments, "he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives." This eminence was a favorite retiring place for the Master, for there the solitude enabled him to enter into the very heart of prayer. No spot in all Palestine is more intimately associated with his most poignant experiences than this hillside; and it is venerated by Christians for the heart-stirring events which there transpired.

The habit of constant prayer to which Jesus held so assiduously accounts in no small measure for his surpassing demonstration of spiritual power; it bespeaks his consciousness of the divine ever-presence, which he was able to invoke instantly to destroy the false testimony of the so-called physical senses. Christian Scientists seeking to emulate the Master learn the efficacy of communion with God, and the desirability of maintaining the attitude of prayer through abiding in the sure sense of His presence. The prayerful attitude begets serenity and peace of mind, the quiet and confidence which most effectually resist the false protestations of the erroneous senses.

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Editorial
Freedom from Fear
April 13, 1929
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