Article July 17, 1948 Issue

EFFECTIVE PRAYER

MARSHALL ORR

A large proportion of the world's citizens have many times prayed importunately, perhaps to a God they did not understand, for relief from burdens. Many of these petitions, however, seem to have been ineffective. It is sad that this should be so, for the Scriptures give definite rules regarding prayer. However, these simple directions seem to have escaped the understanding of mankind. James, for instance, writes, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts" (James 4:3). Another pointed statement about prayer is found in Matthew (21: 22): "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."

The way to pray effectually in the manner of Jesus and of the apostles has been explained for all time by Mary Baker Eddy in her textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." For many years before her discovery she struggled with a limited sense of health, supply, and happiness. Mrs. Eddy from childhood was an earnest student of the Bible and believed in the goodness of God. This caused her openly to question the generally accepted beliefs of the church of her time. She would not accept the doctrine that a good God sends sickness and inharmony upon His children. Through recourse to her Bible after an accident that was expected to be fatal, she experienced an instantaneous healing. The great spiritual truths glimpsed at this time were the beginning of the revelation which she later gave to the world in Science and Health.

In this book Mrs. Eddy has devoted one whole chapter to the subject of prayer. On page 15 are the comforting and enlightening statements: "In order to pray aright, we must enter into the closet and shut the door. We must close the lips and silence the material senses. In the quiet sanctuary of earnest longings, we must deny sin and plead God's allness. We must resolve to take up the cross, and go forth with honest hearts to work and watch for wisdom, Truth, and Love. We must 'pray without ceasing.' Such prayer is answered, in so far as we put our desires into practice."

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