Editorial November 30, 1946 Issue

Prayer

Margaret Morrison

The enlightenment of the human race may be traced through the quality of its prayers, from the superstition which offered human sacrifice to appease a god of darkness and terror to the scientific exegesis of prayer given by Mary Baker Eddy in her textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." This chapter on prayer closes with a scientific interpretation of what has come to be called the Lord's Prayer because it was given to the world by Christ Jesus, who revealed to mankind the one God, a God of love and light, in whom is no darkness at all.

This prayer teaches men to approach God as "our Father," acknowledging Him as creator and governor of all. Perfect prayer then is the purification of self and sense until individual consciousness is one with the Father, the perfect reflection of perfect Principle. "The world must grow to the spiritual understanding of prayer." This Mrs. Eddy says on page 10 of the textbook.

Prayer is an individual matter. Each one prays from his own standpoint of need or growth. Whether he has grown out of pleading petition into joyous affirmation of the truth or not makes little difference, so long as he draws near to God—near to the light of Truth—with sincere, earnest desire and pure motives. Sometimes one may fear to approach God because of a sense of unworthiness and so-called sinful desires and tendencies. Let such a one remember that God is Love and light; that, while in the unreal realm of mortal darkness and belief sin punishes itself in many direful ways, all may approach God, divine Love, in prayer without fear. Divine Love enlightens, purifies, blesses, protects, and delivers from each and every evil. God is never beyond the reach of prayer. This has been well proved by men and women whose duty has taken them into waste places of jungle, sea, and air, beyond the reach of all human aid but never beyond Love's answer to prayer.

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