Article May 14, 1932 Issue

Prayer

ELIZABETH A. M. COWAN

BLESSED are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness," said Jesus, "for they shall be filled." On another occasion he said to his disciples, "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." From a study of these two statements of our Master, it may be assumed that he considered that two conditions essential for effectual prayer were the desire for spiritual good and the realization of what God has already bestowed on man. When these two conditions are fulfilled, and one understands both the nature of his need and the infinite wealth of God's supply, an individual reaches the point at which demonstration is attained; in other words, his prayer is answered.

The prayer of Solomon was an example of this. "Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart," he prayed; and immediately on account of the purity of his desire, there came into his consciousness the realization that God had given him "a wise and an understanding heart."

In the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy devotes a whole chapter to this subject of prayer. In it she explains that the highest prayer is not pleading with God, or endeavoring to alter His divine purpose to accord with human plans and wishes, but that it is the raising of our thought spiritually to the realization of unity with our divine source, where there are no limits to the good we inherit as the sons of God. Through many footsteps this chapter leads us up to the scientific understanding of prayer. "The highest prayer," Mrs. Eddy writes (p. 16), "is not one of faith merely; it is demonstration." The realization that God's infinite supply is ever present, ever available, and sufficient for every child of His creation, enables us to utilize, or demonstrate, this inexhaustible supply. This understanding is scientific; and the prayer that springs from it is more than petition it is the assertion or realization of our spiritual birthright.

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