Prayer

ALFRED FARLOW

A recent decision of the supreme court of the state of New York regarding the legal status of Christian Science practice, revives many important questions concerning the nature as well as the purpose and effect of prayer. The Scriptures throughout point to a reliance upon God in all times of trouble. His truth is represented as the universal panacea, and no form of sin or disease is excepted from its beneficent operation.

Somehow along the shores of time a belief in exceptions to divine law crept in, and although there seems never to have been a time when Christian people did not rely upon God for a remedy for sin, they had in large measure adopted other means of seeking relief from sickness. While Christendom had not entirely lost faith in the divine power and willingness to heal, it had so far lost sight of the practicality of spiritual healing that quite generally it had adopted the habit of depending upon material remedies for bodily cures. It was left to Mrs. Eddy to revive the practice of turning to God alone as a means of healing sickness. This practice being new and unusual, was naturally questioned by many religious persons, as well as others, for the reason that all new things must run the gantlet of public criticism until they have thoroughly demonstrated their efficiency and their right to claim the interest of humanity.

On page 1 of the Christian Science text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs. Eddy says, "The prayer that reforms the sinner and heals the sick is an absolute faith that all things are possible to God,—a spiritual understanding of Him, an unselfed love." That a final decision, so far as human authority goes, was left to the highest judicial tribunal of New York, simply illustrates the fact that broad, well developed judicial keenness was required to note the righteousness of applying prayer to sickness as well as to sin.

No doubt the departure from primitive Christian healing has been largely due to a loss of the Christ-method. In a measure the world had forgotten how to pray as Jesus taught, but thanks to the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science the way has again been defined in unmistakable terms. We had not forgotten that the Master of Christianity healed the sick, nor had we forgotten that the promise of health as well as freedom from evil was left as a legacy to all his followers, but how to avail ourselves of these greatly to be desired blessings needed the mental clarification which Christian Science affords.

In the Christian Science text-book the significant term "treatment" is applied to the scientific administration of truth in the overcoming of sin and sickness; it is synonymous with the word prayer. A careful study of the method which was employed by Christ Jesus reveals the fact that he healed in the same manner which is practised by Christian Scientists, the word treatment referring to whatever is done in a given case to overcome evil with good, to destroy disease with Truth, in keeping with the Master's declaration, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

The Scripture declares, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee." "Perfect peace" could not exist for him who is afflicted physically, mentally, or morally; hence the text must imply that a steadfast consciousness of God, and a realization of what He is and of our relationship to Him, must restore peace and health by overcoming whatever may exist in the individual that could by any possible means interfere with his peace. Since this divinely established peace is forthcoming by keeping one's mind "stayed" on God, the text further implies that the difficulties which are to be overcome are mental and not physical, and that even Isaiah recognized the spiritual or mental modus operandi of healing the sick. His prayer was in strict keeping with that of Christian Science.

In Christian Science parlance we call sickness by the same name which is employed by others, although we differ from them in our understanding of its nature. We call prayer, which is essential to the healing of sickness, by the same name which is employed by others, although the good results which follow our prayer give evidence that we have a new and better understanding of this sacred word than we had without Christian Science.

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