Article May 26, 1917 Issue

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.

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