THE USES OF PRAYER

EVELYN F. HEYWOOD

Prayer is not alone the means whereby men reach out to God. It is the consciousness of omnipresence. It is not alone the assurance of accessibility to divine power. It is the knowledge and exercise of it. Through the uses of prayer men become conscious of the presence of God and learn that it is in this presence they abide. They learn that man, being the reflection of the divine, is identified with omnipresence; that omnipresence applies not only to God, but to man in the infinite inclusiveness and continuity of self-expression.

As a more spiritual concept of man's relation to God is obtained, the uses of prayer are enlarged. Prayer is no longer regarded as a process of reaching out into fathomless space to gain His attention and plead for His care. The answer to prayer likewise ceases to be regarded as a hazard or coincidence, as something which may fall short of prayer's objective, fail to fulfill the purpose of prayer, and constitute a missing of the way. Prayer, as taught in Christian Science, is the means whereby men find themselves, through purification and exaltation of thought, in the presence of God, of Life, of Love, and therefore in the presence of their true being; and they learn that to maintain this true self-consciousness is to find refuge from the ills which beset mankind, is to be assured of the ever-availability of divine Love.

"Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always," said Christ Jesus. Continuous communion with God is the very essence of prayer. It sustains and unfolds man's unity with Spirit. It is the indispensable, invariable, eternal nature of oneness. It is the assurance of triumph over evil. It demonstrates omnipresence.

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