Article December 13, 1947 Issue

CAN WE "PRAY WITHOUT CEASING"?

DAVID HAYDN JENKINS

In his first epistle to the Thessalonians (5:17) Paul urged them to "pray without ceasing." He must have considered praying a most practical and natural procedure because, according to his exhortation, it was to be done without ceasing.

Christian Science teaches us how to pray aright, and how it is possible remain in a constant state of prayer. God, infinite Mind, is forever one with all His spiritual creation, and we truly pray when we understand, listen to, and heed the voice of God, Truth.

God is the Principle of all true creation. He is Love, the only cause. He is Spirit. His nature and substance are good only. His power is omniactive, and His law to the whole of His creation, including individual man, is one of perfection, health, life, and all that is good. To know this is to pray; and to pray thus is to establish and maintain in human consciousness the facts of harmonious Life, and increasingly to know the utter unreality of evil either as cause or as effect. As we pray in this way, we strip human thought of belief in the supposed power of evil and acknowledge the power and presence of good; and, since we experience only what is held in thought, we find the joy and peace of being at one with infinite divine Love. Praying thus—listening to the voice of Truth—we understand and enjoy the fulfillment of Jesus' promise (John 8:31, 32), "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free"—free from all discord, sin, disease, and death. This is confirmed by Mary Baker Eddy on page 17 of "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" in her spiritual interpretation of the Lord's Prayer, which reads in part, "And God leadeth us not into temptation, but delivereth us from sin, disease, and death."