The newcomer to Christian Science will soon discover in the Church Manual the beautiful prayer used by all Christian Scientists: "'Thy kingdom come;' let the reign of divine Truth, Life, and Love be established in me, and rule out of me all sin; and may Thy Word enrich the affections of all mankind, and govern them!" (Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy, Art. VIII, Sect. 4.)

Mrs. Eddy does not merely recommend that her followers use these words or pray along these lines. She states definitely that it is the duty of every member of The Mother Church to pray thus daily. And since the true Church is to be found in the consciousness and affections of its members, is this healing evangel functioning with the Scientist who is lulled into lethargy and fails to pray daily for himself and the world?

What an amazing prayer is this! Analyze it, if you will, statement by statement, and it will be found to cover a multiplicity of human needs. Beginning with the Master's words, "Thy kingdom come," one gives voice to the innate yearning of every honest heart for harmony to supplant the unhappy, discordant presentments of the carnal mind. Then comes the expressed desire for the establishment in human consciousness of "the reign of divine Truth, Life, and Love;" and if early each morning one strives to establish his concept of day, not as a passage of twenty-four hours but as the unfolding of timeless, deathless being, what arguments of limitation, and of the bugbears of decadence, can be silenced! When spiritual truth reigns in individual consciousness, is it not a foregone conclusion that sin must be ruled out? With this clarification of thought, one may with Christian consistency pray for the enrichment of the affections of all humankind, and for their government by divine Principle.

Aside from Jesus, who but the inspired Leader of the Christian Science movement has so happily phrased a prayer for all sorts and conditions of men! Instead of praying forthrightly for the overthrow of all evil, she first senses mankind's need for the enrichment of its affections. If men have a genuine affection for good, can they be lured into the mazes of sin? If a tree bears sickly fruit, will not the wise husbandman strive to enrich the soil? The roots of sin and all error lie in humanity's affections, in the desires and loves of the human heart.

If one's thinking is governed largely by animality, do not his affections need the enrichment of higher, purer aims? If one thinks he enjoys being what is called a good hater, is there not a need to impart a richer quality to his mental soil? If one's chief love is himself, if the personal pronoun is much in evidence, and he seems to be suffering from what has been called facetiously "I" trouble, how the roots of thought need the enrichment of Christly humility! And as for the businessman or labor leader whose methods may savor of the so-called jungle law and unbridled human will, are there not here evidences of a sore need of the inpouring of unselfed love? Well has Robert Browning said, "Man seeks his own good at the whole world's cost." Should not the picture of the canker of selfishness eating at the heart of men and nations stir Christendom as never before to importunate prayer?

The Apostle Peter found himself frequently in need of prayer for the enrichment and government of his affections. His self-assertion once had to be sternly rebuked by the Master (see Matthew 16:21-23). On another occasion, when Jesus was washing the feet of his disciples, Peter stoutly announced that the great Teacher should not wash his feet. But when Jesus gently countered (John 13:8), "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me," Peter, with chastened affection, said, "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head."

Another time, Peter was in a ship with the other disciples when Jesus approached them, walking on the sea. The disciples were affrighted and could not credit their senses. When Jesus cheerily announced that it was really he, with customary impetuosity, Peter answered (Matt. 14:28), "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water." Then said the Master, "Come." And the Bible records that Peter actually took some steps on the sea. Then we read that he became afraid and, beginning to sink, called out to Jesus to save him. Could it be that Peter was asking for deliverance only from the water? Peter was a fisherman, used to the water. Very possibly, he was a good swimmer. Is it beyond the realm of probability that Peter, when he found himself actually duplicating Jesus' amazing feat, began to think pretty well of Peter? Is it not possible that he really was calling out for deliverance—from Peter?

Every time, therefore, that we pray for the Word of God to enrich our affections and govern them, we in truth pray for deliverance from the false sense of self, from the error of an inflated or inferior ego, which would claim to separate man from the one Ego, divine Mind. We pray for the spiritualization of consciousness which will make men loathe evil, behold its unreality, and awaken to purer, holier desires. And as for the government of the affections, hear these heartening words of the dear Leader in her "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 204): "Through the accession of spirituality, God, the divine Principle of Christian Science, literally governs the aims, ambition, and acts of the Scientist. The divine ruling gives prudence and energy; it banishes forever all envy, rivalry, evil thinking, evil speaking and acting; and mortal mind, thus purged, obtain peace and power outside of itself." Precious assurance!

John Randall Dunn