Today can be a happy, productive day if we begin it right—if we first establish in thought a clear sense of unity with God through a quiet period of study and prayer. The Psalmist wrote, "In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." ^{Ps. 5:3;}

But we should also remember that our day can be discordant and frustrating if we allow ourselves to face it unprepared, perhaps to sleep until the last moment, dress in a hurry, gobble some breakfast, and then rush off to work. We are out of tune before we start, and should hardly be surprised if things go wrong or if we end the day weary and out of sorts.

Of course, divine Love is with us at all times and under all circumstances, but this will do us little good unless we reach out to Love in prayer and establish a clear sense of our inseparable relationship to our heavenly Father. God, divine Mind, is the living intelligent Principle, or I am, that animates, sustains, and guides His creation of perfect ideas—including you and me. Study of the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy helps us understand the divine nature and man's real identity, and teaches us how, through scientific prayer, to apply this understanding to human problems.

These two books, together with Mrs. Eddy's other writings, furnish the spiritual food so essential to our health and happiness. Earnest students of Christian Science would rather dispense with their material breakfast than miss the quiet, unhurried, early morning study of these Love-inspired writings. It is here they gain the inner stillness, strength, and inspiration on which to build a satisfying, fulfilling day. Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health, "Whatever inspires with wisdom, Truth, or Love—be it song, sermon, or Science—blesses the human family with crumbs of comfort from Christ's table, feeding the hungry and giving living waters to the thirsty." ^{Science and Health, p. 234;}

Christ Jesus said, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst." ^{John 4:14;} This water typifies the Christ-idea, which Jesus taught and demonstrated. It is the understanding of true manhood as spiritual idea, forever at one with creative Mind, and the Master established and maintained this true sense by regular periods of prayerful communion with infinite Mind. It is recorded that "in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed." ^{Mark 1:35;} If Jesus, at his advanced stage of spiritual growth, recognized the need for adequate spiritual preparation and renewal, then how much greater is our need! To him, prayer was literally the bread of Life. It imparted the power to heal the sick and reform the sinner, and lifted him to victory over death and to his final triumph over all material conditions.

For us to demonstrate even a fraction of what the Master did, we too must be willing to put inertia aside and early each day don our spiritual armor before we meet the challenges of the day. Just as Jesus did, each individual must, step by step, master sin and spiritual ignorance in himself. He must learn to express the love that reflects divine Love, and nothing will accomplish this except consistent daily study, prayer, and practice. Mrs. Eddy tells us, "The old man with his deeds must be put off." And further on she continues, "The death of a false material sense and of sin, not the death of organic matter, is what reveals man and Life, harmonious, real, and eternal." ^{Science and Health, p. 296;}

Some mornings we may encounter in our thought considerable distaste, indeed downright rebellion, toward rolling back the covers, climbing out of bed, and getting down to work in Christian Science. When this occurs, we are experiencing what Paul described when he wrote, "I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." ^{Rom. 7:23;} Christian Science calls this negative influence animal magnetism, the illusion that man has a mind of his own, separate from God, that can willfully oppose his spiritual regeneration.

Every student of Christian Science has been or will be faced with this situation, and his spiritual growth and demonstration of health and harmony are aided or impeded by how he responds to it. A victory over the laziness and inertia of mortal mind by denying its influence and affirming his unity with the one divine Mind will lift him a step higher in the scale of being. On the other hand, if he responds feebly and rolls over and goes back to sleep, he has lost ground. The material senses have mesmerized him, and victory has been postponed.

But losing one round doesn't constitute the whole battle. We can begin again, gaining strength and encouragement from what Mrs. Eddy says of those who stumble. She writes, "Their God will not let them be lost; and if they fall they shall rise again, stronger than before the stumble." Further on she continues, "The best lesson of their lives is gained by crossing swords with temptation, with fear and the besetments of evil; insomuch as they thereby have tried their strength and proven it." ^{Miscellaneous Writings, p. 10.}

Alan A. Aylwin