Perspective on prayer

Recently, a Protestant minister attended a talk focusing on Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. Afterward, the minister was interested in further discussion of the subject. A graduate of seminary and then ordained by her present church, she had grown up without a specific denominational affiliation until she married. Briefly, however, when she was a young girl, a favorite schoolteacher had invited her to attend a Christian Science Sunday School. Fond memories of that experience piqued her interest years later and brought her to the talk on Science and Health. The following is the substance of a dialogue on prayer between the minister and one of our contributing editors.

Our Master, Christ Jesus, spoke to us, saying, "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly" (Matt. 6:6). Could you share some observations with our readers on how you approach prayer, both as a Christian and a minister? I began to be very intentional about my prayer life ten or twelve years ago. What I discovered at that time was a need for quiet and silence, and the need to set aside time for it. I found that in ministry I became busy all the time giving out and working, but not allowing time for stillness. So I began to set aside "quiet time" every day. I also took one day every month and went away by myself— sometimes to a cabin that I have access to. Then, once a year, I went for five to seven days to a retreat center where I could be in silence and mental reflection.

Looking back on this discipline now, I see how important it is to prepare the inner space, the inner peace, to pray and commune with God. I continue my "quiet time" every day and, though you might find it surprising, I use the weekly Christian Science Lesson-Sermon as a part of that. I find that I take the thoughts and ideas from the Lesson-Sermon with me throughout the day and can recall them as my "island of prayer" to see how God might be speaking to me. This discipline has been very helpful in my prayer life.

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