Article September 20, 1982 Issue

The past is not beyond the reach of prayer

DOROTHY H. JONES

Prayer needn't be confined to a present or a future concern. Through prayer we can restore the right sense of any past situation. We can pour a balm of benediction on whatever has gone before.

At times we may feel it's more sensible to chalk up to experience some former wrong and go forward with increased wisdom. But thoughtful prayer can help us right the wrong—at least in changing our concept of what happened. This is where correction begins. Praying over some past mistake does more than dissolve hurt feelings or erase embarrassment. Often it can even correct the mistake.

But how, we may wonder, is it possible for today's prayer to have a corrective effect on yesterday's problem? Because true prayer, Christian Science explains, is an acknowledgment of what is true of God and His creation. Regardless of how disturbing, serious—or trifling—the mental picture may be, only the spiritual fact is or ever has been true. And this spiritual fact of God and His man, seen and accepted, acts as a law on human experience.

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