Article November 12, 1984 Issue

An important "cannot" of prayer

STEVEN LEE FAIR

Righteous prayer, prayer based on spiritual understanding and purified affections and desires, knows no limit of good achievement. Of such prayer we have Christ Jesus' promise "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." ^{Mark 11:24.}

But prayer does have spiritually scientific limitations, some of which may be obvious, some not. And it's just as important to understand these limitations as it is the grand possibilities of prayer, if we are to pray effectively for a world that so desperately needs our spiritual help.

One of the most important "cannots" of prayer is given in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy. She writes, "Prayer cannot change the Science of being, but it tends to bring us into harmony with it." ^{Science and Health, p. 2.}