Article January 24, 1942 Issue

The Prayer of Spiritual Understanding

LILA P. BASEL

Chronicles of the potency and fruitage of prayer run like golden threads through the pages of the Bible. Men have loved to read these glorious accounts of answered prayer, and many have found solace and wise counsel in the words of the prophets, of Christ Jesus, and of the apostles. However, until the discovery of Christian Science by Mary Baker Eddy, the average Bible reader felt that these statements were not likely to be proved practically in this day and age, and that miracles belonged definitely to a bygone era. The student of Christian Science finds to his joy that the counsel given in the Scriptures is practical now, and that the healings recorded there provide examples of effectual prayer for him to follow. Prayer, as it is understood through this Science, is the modus operandi of regeneration and healing.

Many have thought of prayer as a petition, a pleading with the Almighty for blessings or for some change deemed necessary in daily affairs. Of this, Mrs. Eddy has written in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 2). "The mere habit of pleading with the divine Mind, as one pleads with a human being, perpetuates the belief in God as humanly circumscribed,—an error which impedes spiritual growth." On page 1 she writes, "Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds." As desires become more spiritual, harmony, health, abundance will follow.

The prayer of spiritual understanding is based on the facts of real being, on the understanding of the absolute perfection of God, and of man as His likeness. It is a refutation of any quality or condition unlike God, good, and a grateful recognition of God's presence and power in every least detail of one's experience. This knowing is being proved effectual daily and hourly in the lives of Christian Scientists, bringing a better sense of health and morals, more abundant supply, greater protection and security.

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