At a special church workshop meeting, the members were asked to raise their hands if they really loved God with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their mind. The members were utterly silent. Not one hand was raised. It certainly was food for thought.

I remember reading many years ago that we must think about God constantly if we would truly love Him. My first response was "Impossible!" How could one think about God constantly?

But as I continued to puzzle over this question, I felt that perhaps it wasn't so much "thinking about God" constantly that I needed to consider but rather how I could "pray without ceasing." ^{I Thess. 5:17.}

Then I concluded that expressing Godlike qualities is a way of praying "without ceasing." Surely in our efforts to overcome the evil we see and hear about, keeping our thought filled with love, goodness, peace, joy, and patience is essential. When we allow criticism, unkindness, jealousy, impatience, selfishness, hatred, and so forth, to enter our thought, we are not thinking about God. How can we possibly feel God's presence constantly unless we ourselves express Godlike qualities? The only way anyone can commune with God all the time is to strive to express the divine attributes in all one does. Our basis for doing this is the realization that the real man is wholly spiritual, the image of infinite Spirit. He always has been, is right now, and always will be spiritual. As such he can only reflect the qualities of God, and this is the reality we are to demonstrate in our daily living.

For example, no matter what we are doing, we can always practice the Golden Rule, not only by doing to others as we would have them do to us but also by seeing others as God's perfect children, expressing Godlike qualities. We can work and pray to see only the good as real—as the very substance of all that God, Truth, creates, and we can rebuke the evil as unreal—as impossible for God's perfect man to express.

Christ Jesus tells us: "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." ^{Matt. 6:24.} The more we understand and recognize this, the easier it becomes to love God and be grateful for this one omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient Spirit, who is the only creator and cause, the only power, the only ruler of the universe. Without God there would be nothing. God is All-in-all, knows all, sees all, substantiates all, fills all space, loves all. Indeed, God is Love, the Bible tells us.

Throughout her writings, Mrs. Eddy stresses the need for loving, but a loving that goes deeper than our conventional sense of love. Outward expressions of affection only hint at the pure, holy love that Jesus demonstrated in all his healing work. Every one of the Master's healings was accomplished with spiritual love and compassion, no matter what the problem was. To the sick and sinning he said, "Thy faith hath made thee whole," or "Go in peace," or "Go, and sin no more." He recognized the desire in those he healed to be more pure and holy. He did not condemn anyone who came with a genuine desire to be healed.

Again, it was Christ Jesus' love for all mankind that strengthened him to face the agony on the cross. In the garden he prayed, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." ^{Matt. 26:39.} In one of her classes Mrs. Eddy was asked what was the best way to heal instantaneously. As recalled by a student, her answer was this: "It is to love! Just live love—be it—love, love, love. Do not know anything but Love. Be all love. There is nothing else. That will do the work. It will heal everything; it will raise the dead. Be nothing but love." ^{We Knew Mary Baker Eddy, (Boston: The Christian Science Publishing Society, 1979), p. 134 .}

It is impossible for us to get outside of the Father's love— nor does anything really have power to limit our own expression (reflection) of His love in everything we do. But in order to love more, we must examine our own thinking to uncover and eliminate the inharmonious qualities we are manifesting. Often the very thing we see or criticize in others is one of our own faults that needs correcting. Only as we humbly recognize our faults and correct them are we able to truly love. It is the understanding and knowing of God, Truth, that makes us able to follow Christ Jesus' commands "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." ^{Matt. 5:44.}

What are some of the ways we can stay our thoughts on God? In one of her articles Mrs. Eddy points to an answer: "Beloved Christian Scientists, keep your minds so filled with Truth and Love, that sin, disease, and death cannot enter them." ^{The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 210.} Keeping one's mind full of Truth and Love surely includes loving and praising God. We can give thanks not only for the good we have already received but also for the good we confidently anticipate and expect from God each day.

When are we praying "without ceasing"?

• When we are keeping our minds filled with good, pure, holy thoughts and eliminating hate, fear, and other such ungodlike thoughts.

• When we are seeing the spiritual selfhood of those we live with and meet daily.

• When we can eliminate from our own consciousness criticism, unkindness, jealousy, impatience, selfishness.

• When we work consciously and consistently to keep the Ten Commandments and Beatitudes.

• When we remember that God guides, governs, directs, and protects us, and supplies all our needs.

• When we pray patiently for God's direction.

• When we listen to God's angel thoughts that come through this praying.

• When we are grateful for our blessings, large or small.

• When we love ourselves as God's child and love our neighbors as ourselves.

• When we pray for all mankind and for ourselves.

• When we are willing to accept all mankind as our brothers and sisters, all having one Father-Mother God.

• When we are striving to see all others as Christ Jesus saw them—as the child of God, perfect, upright, holy, pure, free.

• When we are honest with ourselves and others.

• When our thoughts are so spiritualized that healings of ourselves and others are a natural part of our lives.

Gaining this state of consciousness—even progressing toward it—takes patience, self-discipline, and perseverance. But we can work at it. With a sincere desire to love God more, we can truly commune with Him constantly. It is possible!