Editorial March 1, 1952 Issue

SOME THOUGHTS ON PRAYER

Robert Ellis Key

Prayer in Christian Science is more than a petition. It is a declaration of truth, a utilization of the power of divine Love. Mary Baker Eddy writes (No and Yes, p. 39): "True prayer is not asking God for love; it is learning to love, and to include all mankind in one affection. Prayer is the utilization of the love wherewith He loves us."

It would be difficult to find a more comprehensive statement than this concerning prayer. The word utilization includes much. The housewife, for instance, utilizes her skill in household management; the businessman utilizes his talents to promote the prosper it of his business; the athlete utilizes his strength and skill to achieve success. Utilization signifies action. The utilization of good includes the expression of all righteous action. Righteous action is the outcome of right thought, and right thought is not the expression of personal goodness but the reflection of the good which is God, for God is good. There is no good apart from God and no love apart from God's loving. Love is seen in its reflection, and this reflection is man and the universe.

True prayer is awareness of the presence and power of God, good. Effective prayer is alive to God's promises, conscious of His nature, and at one with His purpose. It is a joyful experience to feel the expectancy of good and to know without a shadow of doubt that the gloomy beliefs of sin, disease, and death cannot fail to dissolve before the great truth of God's omnipresent love.

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