Article August 31, 1957 Issue

PRAYER AND FASTING

RALPH E. WAGERS

Concerned about their inability to heal a case, the disciples asked the Master why they were unsuccessful. Jesus replied that it was because of their unbelief. Then he added (Matt. 17:21), "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."

It is generally recognized that prayer has to do with spiritualization of thought. That fasting relates to dematerialization of thought is not, however, so generally recognized. All our woes stem from the falsity which assigns to matter what really belongs to Spirit. The hopes of mankind are rooted in Christian Science, which rejects such falsity.

If to pray righteously is to identify oneself with Spirit, to fast effectively is to cease identifying oneself with matter. Prayer and fasting constitute oneness. They dispose of every suggestion of dualism—the mixture of that which is not with that which is.

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