Christian Science teaches that there is one divine intelligence, namely God, divine Mind, which creates the spiritual universe and man. There is one Christ or Truth, "the light of the world," which manifests God's spiritual, eternal nature. There are countless individual ideas comprising the whole family of man, and each idea is at one with the divine Principle.

St. John wrote (John 1:14), "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." The truth concerning God, Christ, and man, dwells with us and is made practical in our human experience through prayer.

Prayer in Christian Science declares the truth concerning God, Christ, and man. Its effectiveness depends upon the spiritual understanding with which the declarations are made. The prayer of understanding which proceeds from unfeigned lips and from the depths of a pure and contrite heart is always effective. Absolute trust in God is a requisite for prayer. One must acknowledge God, Spirit, as All-in-all, the only Life, substance, and intelligence of man. Mary Baker Eddy writes in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 171), "Trust in Truth, and have no other trusts"

Mortals uninstructed in Christian Science are inclined to seek relief first in one direction, then in another. They sometimes turn from medication to psychiatry, from drugs to diet, from physical exercise to rest cures or sun baths, but they find no permanent health by these methods. They may change their Pharaoh, but such a change does not break their chains.

It requires divine wisdom to break the self-inflicted chains of materialism. None other than God's wisdom is adequate to destroy the witchcraft of the world. The all-knowing Mind obliterates evil and supplies our every need by the riches of His grace. Our best and most profitable education is to learn more concerning the nature of Mind and thus to be able to demonstrate its power and to reflect its strength. We should learn to disagree with every symptom of disease and every suggestion of evil. We should stand on our watchtower continuously to see that nothing unworthy takes root in our consciousness.

To expedite our exodus from sense to Soul, we must watch against the numerous claims of animal magnetism, the beliefs of pleasure and pain in matter, the indulgence of sinful thoughts, idleness, and self-satisfaction. If we are not watchful, we may be asleep on the edge of a precipice, although we dream we are in heaven.

In the exodus Moses insisted on a clean breakaway from Egypt. He demanded the right to take the children of Israel a three days' journey into the wilderness in order to make the cleavage between them and the Egyptians complete. Pharaoh attempted to compromise. He would not allow them to go very far away, presumably that he might keep them within his clutches and in bondage to his will.

Moses, instructed by God, persisted in a complete separation. "Let my people go," he demanded (Ex. 9:13). Make the separation between truth and error complete. In making this demand Moses was working out not only his own salvation but the emancipation of his race from Egyptian slavery. To do this he had to meet the threat of enemies from within as well as from without. He had to stand up against the lovers of luxury who desired to return to the fleshpots of Egypt. He had to reason with those who foresaw death rather than liberation in the wilderness. He had to strengthen the resolve of the weak. In order to do these things he had to stand entirely on God's side and to listen for His instructions.

The Red Sea was in front; the pursuing Egyptians were behind. According to sense testimony, there was no way of escape, but courage, faith, and spiritual conviction opened one. "Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord," Moses called to the people (Ex. 14:13). "Go forward," God commanded. Moses heard this higher summons and obeyed. The water became a wall; the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry ground. Fear disappeared, and they were free. The pursuing Egyptians were engulfed by the returning tide, and Israel marched forward toward the promised land.

Moses had glimpsed and felt the Christ-power; therefore fear as a presence or power ceased to exist. The lesson is plain. When we face up to our fears, when we stand firm and go forward, the victory is already won, and we are on our way to the land to which Mrs. Eddy refers when she writes in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p. 226), "I saw before me the awful conflict, the Red Sea and the wilderness; but I pressed on through faith in God, trusting Truth, the strong deliverer, to guide me into the land of Christian Science, where fetters fall and the rights of man are fully known and acknowledged."

Robert Ellis Key