Editorial April 16, 1966 Issue

How Does God Answer Prayer?

William Milford Correll

A thorough discussion of the question, "How does God answer prayer?" involves an analysis of what we are praying for, that is, What is the right aim or purpose of prayer? Christian Science teaches that we do not pray to get God to change reality, for He has already made everything good and harmonious. We do not pray to inform God, because He is the all-knowing Mind. What we rightly pray for is spiritual understanding. We pray for right ideas, for guidance and unfoldment. We pray that we may change and that we may come into harmony with the divine Principle of the universe, that we may feel the presence and power of our Father-Mother God.

Then the answer to prayer comes through inspiration, through right ideas, sometimes referred to as angel messengers. It comes through the human yielding to the divine. It comes through the light of Christ dawning in human consciousness and revealing the nothingness of evil and matter and the allness of God, good. It comes through the right qualities appearing in our thinking and living, those qualities that are needed to demonstrate the truth in our daily lives.

It must be understood that God is pure Spirit, divine Mind. He does not create material things or see anything from a material standpoint. So we cannot expect God to be aware of material needs. But it is just as true that our fundamental need is not for matter in any form. We do not need matter; we need ideas. We need understanding. Our need is not so much for a change of material circumstance as it is for a change of thought, or consciousness. We can be sure that as we renovate our thinking and living through reflecting divine Love, Christ will supply the human necessities.

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