Article January 1, 2007 Issue

'OUR FATHER ...'

BY AL CARNESCIALI

MANY WILL AGREE that the life of Christ Jesus stands as an incomparable illustration of what prayer can accomplish. Jesus' prayers were effective because he acknowledged God so completely, and saw his own perfection as God's beloved son. His statement "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30) was an absolute declaration of his unbreakable oneness with God. He saw no separation between himself and the Creator of the universe.

And Jesus saw others in the same way, to the extent that even when multitudes came to him, he healed every sickness instantaneously. Knowing the great potency of righteous prayer, it's not surprising that Jesus taught others how to pray more effectively. In the Lord's Prayer, for example, he gave the highest example of true prayer, one that recognizes God's all-power and love.

Mary Baker Eddy devoted the first chapter of Science and Health to the subject of prayer. In this chapter, she said this of the Lord's Prayer: "Our Master said, 'After this manner therefore pray ye,' and then he gave that prayer which covers all human needs" (p. 16). She continued, "Only as we rise above all material sensuousness and sin, can we reach the heaven-born aspiration and spiritual consciousness, which is indicated in the Lord's Prayer and which instantaneously heals the sick."

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