Editorial April 29, 1961 Issue

Prayer and the Future

Helen Wood Bauman

Prayer is the most powerful force available to men because it unites human thought with the omnipotence of Deity. There are many aspects of prayer, such as adoration, praise, petition, intercession, or thanksgiving. The Christian Scientist does not shun these aspects of prayer, but he goes beyond them. The main purpose of his prayer is to demonstrate divine law as the governing power of the universe and of his particular situation.

The Psalmist glimpsed that scientific prayer demands spiritual discernment when he said (Ps. 119:18), "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." Through quiet communion with God the Scientist becomes conscious of the spiritual order of being and lets this harmonious order be established as the law of his life and experience.

More and more, people are praying for the world, turning to God as the only power capable of bringing the evil forces of destruction, crime, and demoralization under the dominion of Spirit. When they learn through Science of God's ever-present government, their prayers will not be characterized by pleading but by discernment of the might and presence of Spirit, Mind; and the unreal, carnal mind with its destructive, deadly purposes will disappear. Prayer and spiritual discernment will coincide, and the power of Spirit will be felt.

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