Article April 23, 1955 Issue

PRAYER, GOD-INSPIRED AND GOD-FULFILLED

W. STUART BOOTH

Many of us who are now Christian Scientists believed in God and in prayer before our thought was enlightened by spiritual understanding. But our former concept of God was personal and humanized because it was based upon the legendary account of creation in the second chapter of Genesis, wherein evil and matter were regarded as part of the divine plan, and were therefore regarded as real.

Since the nature of our prayers is determined by our concept of God, it follows that our prayers were intercessory, advisory, and pleading. We were inclined to outline what we deemed to be best for ourselves and others, and then ask God to bring it to pass. In times of sickness we pleaded with God to bless and empower the material medicine we employed, even though it may have been labeled as poisonous. Because of the human elements thus involved, our prayers were not in full faith, and all too often they were unavailing.

All of this has been changed with a host of sincere men and women because of God's revelation of Himself to Mary Baker Eddy. She accepted as veritable only the spiritual account of creation, recorded in the first chapter of Genesis; and evidently this was the case with our Exemplar, Christ Jesus. Thus Mrs. Eddy was enabled to gain the true import and intent of the master Christian's teachings and of his demonstrations of divine Love and law in the healing of all manner of disease and in the overcoming of death as well as of sin and limitation.

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