A friend gave me a watercolor painting that hung on my wall for months and had me baffled the whole time. I couldn't make much sense out of it even though I knew it was done with skill and artistic vision. So I made a conscious effort to understand what the picture was.

Before long it was clear to me, and now I appreciate the painting and the skill of the artist.

Sometimes we may feel frustrated by our inability to resolve a situation through prayer even though we have worked very hard. We may have been looking for a change in our problem but with no results. If this is the case, perhaps, like me with my painting, we have been looking for the wrong thing to change. The watercolor did not change a bit, but I did. I grew to understand and appreciate it.

More specifically, how can we get better results from our prayers?

In Christian Science a change of heart and an increased humbleness of mind involve Christianization and spiritualization of thought. We can exchange the mortal, imperfect view of God and man for the Christ-idea of perfect being. We can see what God has already done. We can see that man, God's perfect idea, is gracious, immortal, and upright. There seems to be plenty of evidence to the contrary, but that's only ignorant and unlightened mortal thinking taking a look at itself.

In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, writes, "It is our ignorance of God, the divine Principle, which produces apparent discord, and the right understanding of Him restores harmony." ^{Science and Health, p. 390.}

Humble and sincere prayer is productive as long as the motive is right. We cannot outline what God will do. But we are always justified in praying to know that God's will is done and that we can trust Him. James said, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." ^{James 4:3.} One may pray with humility and sincerity, but if he is praying for someone else to change or for a discordant situation to turn out according to a preconceived outline, then his prayer is more like human will; it is not childlike receptivity to God's law of good. Scientific prayer does not tell God what to do. Starting with imperfection implies that God's work is incomplete and needs correcting. And that we know how it should be done! Asking God to improve His work, His creation, assumes that God is not in complete control of His own work. Even if we believed that God was in complete control of His creation, we might still believe there was another creation to be repaired. This would be wrong.

There is only one creation, which is God's perfect and flawless universe. What has to be corrected is only a mortal misconception.

Christianly scientific prayer begins with the basic fact of Christian Science that God's work is complete, perfect, and eternally harmonious—that all is well. Then the question arises, If something seems wrong or discordant, how does one pray to God? If all is well in God's kingdom, what is there to pray for?

The need is to bring our human thinking into line with spiritual good, with spiritual reality, so we can see and experience the good God has already created. Prayer that heals limited, mortal thinking brings great blessings to the individual. This prayer is hopeful and expectant, because it begins with perfection and the possibility of experiencing the reality of spiritual good. Spiritual enlightenment is the result of Christ at work in human thought. The Christ, Truth, awakens us to behold present spiritual reality. This awakening includes clearer visions of our own perfect selfhood as God's beloved and secure child. But to try to willfully rearrange objects or to improve others who seem discordant is a futile task.

Let's say, for example, that there was someone you didn't particularly like. He provoked you, his personality was unpleasant, and he irritated you every time you came into contact with him. How could scientific prayer help?

First of all, we could save a lot of time by not trying to change him. Or to tell God what to fix: an unpleasant mortal. We could begin with the basic truth in Christian Science that man is God's own pure likeness and reflection. We could admit that this seemingly unpleasant mortal is, in his true nature, actually God's beloved child and that God sees him that way. We happen to be seeing a misconception of God's perfect work. Then our prayer could be to spiritualize our concept of man, including our own concept of this specific individual. We would have to be willing to let go of our misconceptions and exchange them for Godlike views of what man is really like. In short, we have to be willing to change me, not him or her.

That's exactly what I had to do with a fellow worker. I earnestly prayed to change my imperfect concept about her. And when I got down to it, I found I wasn't entertaining very good concepts about myself either. It was hard to separate my individual views regarding myself from my general view of those around me. After much prayer and humble self-correction I saw this individual in a more spiritual way. The Psalmist says, "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace." ^{Ps. 37:37.}

The freedom was wonderful. I had denied the lie of unpleasant mortality and accepted the spiritual truth of perfect Godlike being—as I should as a Christian Scientist. I soon discovered many delightful traits in this individual. She had a wonderful twinkle in her eye just before she laughed, and her refreshing appreciation of little children and thorough dedication to Christian Science inspired me. I was so grateful to have me healed of my false concept of her. This healing opened up for me a wider appreciation of her—and others—and from then on we worked and laughed together happily.

Our prayer may not always result in camaraderie, and some individuals may seem far from the Christly standard, but prayer can always give us a joyous awareness of God's perfect man. The Bible says, "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." ^{Gen. 1:31.} We miss so much by failing to see God's perfect work. Our own mortal misconceptions get in the way when we are not thinking spiritually. And we consequently miss the good God has prepared for us.

When Christ Jesus came upon a blind man, the tendency of those around the man was to fix blame for his blindness on the man himself or his parents. But Jesus excluded all material cause and rejected the false arguments of mortal mind. He said, "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." ^{John 9:3.} And he healed the man. He saw through material beliefs about God and man and brought out spiritual reality. As Science and Health explains, "The realization that all inharmony is unreal brings objects and thoughts into human view in their true light, and presents them as beautiful and immortal." ^{Science and Health, p. 276.}

Prayer in Christian Science is essential. It's the backbone of regeneration and healing. Knowing how to pray and what to pray for opens up entirely new views of God and man. Prayer helps destroy limited beliefs about man, about our community and our world, even when those limitations seem stubborn or far away from our personal experience. Spiritually enlightened prayer always helps and heals.

Humble prayer to God in which one seeks to change his own mortal thinking results in glorified concepts of God's perfect and harmonious creation. Prayer opens up not only more spiritual views but more universal views of God's goodness and flawless creation. We see more of His perfect work everywhere and can bless every situation we're in.

The basis of effective prayer and scientific spiritual knowing is the eternal fact that God's work is already done. That He has done it right the first time, the only time. There's no need to fear what humble prayer will reveal, because all that God has done is good, perfect, harmonious, and glorious.