As more and more people recognize the beneficial effects of prayer on well-being, the question arises, “How might we make our prayers more effective?” 

The teachings of Christian Science offer helpful insights on this topic, including: “To enter into the heart of prayer, the door of the erring senses must be closed. Lips must be mute and materialism silent, that man may have audience with Spirit, the divine Principle, Love, which destroys all error” and, “Practice not profession, understanding not belief, gain the ear and right hand of omnipotence and they assuredly call down infinite blessings” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 15).

While there are many kinds of prayer—affirmation, petition, gratitude, praise and adoration, etc.—my study of Christian Science has shown me that prayers that heal share some common elements. 

First, they always begin with God. This seemed fairly obvious to me until I realized how often I started my communion with the Almighty by telling Him my problems, needs, plans, or goals. Framing our prayers in the context of God’s supremacy, omnipresence, and glory can be a challenging first step, yet it is fundamental to availing ourselves of God’s beneficence.

Successful prayer involves consistently living our ever-increasing understanding
of and love for God.

Second, effective prayer is more about listening than talking. This makes sense when we consider that God, infinite Mind, already knows all, including every nuance of our true being and identity. So there’s no point in trying to inform, persuade, instruct, or bargain with God. While talking at God in prayer sometimes provides temporary comfort, I’ve found that it never makes me feel any closer to Him, nor does it lead to meaningful answers. But listening to God, divine Truth, through spiritual sense—our innate ability to hear and understand God—demonstrates humility, spiritual hunger, and willingness to follow God’s direction. It also helps us better understand ourselves and others because part of what God, Spirit, is telling us each moment is who we really are all the time: His spiritual, perfect, beloved children, made in His likeness, as the Bible tells us.

Third, I’ve learned from experience that our prayers are incomplete—much like bread without baking—until we put the inspiration we’re gaining from God into practice. As the Bible’s book of James advises: “Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed” (1:22–25). 

Successful prayer, then, involves actively and consistently living our ever-increasing understanding of and love for God. It is knowing that God has the answer, even before we see it. Christ Jesus acknowledged and gave thanks for God’s loving care and provision before they were physically manifested—including the restoration of Lazarus to life, the return of a blind man’s vision, and the feeding of thousands of people when very little food was available.

Yet even understanding all this, there may still be times when we are tentative in prayer, feel that we aren’t being heard, or are unsatisfied with the answers we’re receiving. What can we do?

When this happens to me, my first step is to make sure I’m not missing God’s answer or perhaps ignoring an answer I wasn’t expecting. I remind myself that God knows infinitely more about my true needs than I do, so I can fully trust His counsel. And I know that I need to actively listen for and willingly obey that guidance, then listen patiently, observantly, and expectantly for more of His goodness to unfold. 

I ask myself, “Am I praying with genuine humility or are there remnants of ego or pride in my heart?” 

I also take time to reassess the legitimacy of my prayer. Eddy counsels: “The test of all prayer lies in the answer to these questions: Do we love our neighbor better because of this asking? Do we pursue the old selfishness, satisfied with having prayed for something better, though we give no evidence of the sincerity of our requests by living consistently with our prayer?” (Science and Health, p. 9). 

Finally, I ask myself, “Am I praying with genuine humility, honesty, and selflessness, or are there remnants of willfulness, ego, or pride in my heart?” If the latter, I find that instead of trying to deceive myself or others, the most effective approach is to “repent”—to let my desires and intentions be lifted to a higher, more spiritual level. The prophet Micah wrote, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” (Micah 6:8), and Jesus indicated the primacy of the commandments “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” and “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37, 39).

When I was younger, I prayed for many years to quit drinking. Often I would be successful for a while before eventually drifting back into my old habit. Then one day it occurred to me that it wasn’t really the drinking habit, per se, that I wanted to be rid of but rather the influence it was having on me. It had become a sort of “god” to me, corrupting my motives and behavior. So I began praying not to stop drinking but to have only one God, one influence for good, and to be free from appetites or addictions. As I held fast to this divinely inspired desire, both my taste for alcohol and the drinking habit itself abruptly ceased. This occurred more than 15 years ago, and I’ve been free ever since.

Strengthening our prayers not only leads to greater joy, security, and meaning in our own lives but blesses all whom we embrace in our thoughts. It is also uncomplicated, deeply satisfying, and something we are all unquestionably capable and worthy of.