"When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him" (Prov. 16:7).

The innermost desire of many a heart is to please God, but the realization of this desire seems to be a difficult accomplishment. Paul, the great Apostle, was conscious of this struggle to please God, for he wrote to the Romans: "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you" (8:7-9).

How can we overcome the flesh and please God? Christian Science shows clearly that this is entirely a mental process, a rebirth, a regeneration. It is a present possibility, for at any moment one can change his thinking from false material concepts to the real and spiritual viewpoint. It is the putting off of the old man and the putting on of the new. The old man, the man of the Adam-dream, seemingly born of the flesh, must be seen to be the counterfeit; and the new man, the man made in God's image, after His likeness, incorporeal and perfect, must be seen and acknowledged as the real and only man.

To be constantly conscious of matter, either fearing it, trusting it, or longing for it, is dwelling in the flesh. As we become more conscious of God and pray to feel His presence and power, we learn to live in the Spirit and to please God.

When Solomon was asked by God what he desired above all else, his request for wisdom, and not for the world's emoluments, was pleasing to the Lord, for we read, "The speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing" (I Kings 3:10). So the Lord gave him not only "an understanding heart" but "both riches, and honour."

From early childhood Mrs. Eddy had the longing to please her heavenly Father and to be obedient to Him. She tells in her autobiography, "Retrospection and Introspection." of her experience as a young child on hearing a voice call her several times and of her timidity in answering. When her mother counseled her to answer this call of God as Samuel did, she promised to obey. She writes of this experience (p. 9): "The voice came; but I was afraid, and did not answer. Afterward I wept, and prayed that God would forgive me, resolving to do, next time, as my mother had bidden me. When the call came again I did answer, in the words of Samuel, but never again to the material senses was that mysterious call repeated."

We are all able to hear the Father's voice, but we may hear it in different ways. Daily, yes, hourly, opportunities present themselves to choose that which will bring our thoughts and actions into conformity with Christ, Truth, and to be obedient to it; and when we obey the divine leading, we are hearing the Father's voice, walking in the Spirit, and pleasing God.

In pleasing persons, we may lose sight of that which pleases God. The applause of the world is a poor substitute for the praise of God. Mrs. Eddy writes: "The river of His pleasures is a tributary of divine Love, whose living waters have their source in God, and flow into everlasting Life. We drink of this river when all human desires are quenched, satisfied with what is pleasing to the divine Mind" (Pulpit and Press, p. 3). A sacrifice of self-love and self-will must often precede the drinking of this thirst-quenching water.

Recently an opportunity presented itself to the writer to forsake self-will and self-love. It took only a few moments of prayer for her to know that she wanted to do what would please God and that she did not want finite, personal sense to dictate to her and prevail. She was then able to give her consent for a member of her family to participate in an event which greatly blessed many people. It was at a time when she wanted this member of the family to be with her so that they might carry out a plan that they had looked forward to for a long time. A great sense of peace came when the decision was made to do that which would bless, not oneself, but others.

Human will closes the door to divine unfoldment. Conquering human will and letting the divine will direct, we open the door to unforeseen blessings. Thought self-entwined draws away from the Father; thought loosed from self draws near the Father. As we become more conscious of our true relationship to God, as Mind and its idea, Life and its expression, Father and His beloved child, we shall gain that spiritual conviction of our present and eternal perfection which causes "the river of His pleasures" to water the arid spots of our human experience, making them blossom and bring forth abundantly.

Our Master, Christ Jesus, lived to please God. His entire ministry was devoted to the overcoming of sin, disease, and death. After submitting to baptism by John, Jesus received a blessing from his Father in these words: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17).

Would it not be a good idea to begin each day with the prayer that in our every thought, word, and deed we may please the Father? This state of consciousness eliminates much friction and fear and the objectification of these on our bodies as discord and disease. As we dedicate our lives to pleasing God, we shall hear individually the Father's benediction declaring that we are His beloved sons.