A woman had a small but pressing domestic problem. Her friend asked her why she did not pray about it. She replied, "Oh, it would never occur to me to bother God about a little thing like that." Someone else then remarked that it would be very boring for God if everybody did this all the time.

A good many people seem to feel this way about prayer. But they would never contend that the principle of mathematics should not be bothered with small sums. Clearly the principle of mathematics, or mathematical truth, is available for every conceivable calculation, however petty it may seem. Anyone can apply this principle at any time, in any place, and as often as may be necessary.

To get a small calculation right does nothing to establish the science of mathematics. Mathematical truth is already established and has been proved beyond question. But each fresh application tests its versatility afresh, as well as adding to the student's own confidence in his grasp of the subject. He begins to realize that he is dealing with something completely consistent and reliable. So he expects to get his particular calculation right.

Christian Science explains God as the one infinite Principle of all being, as divine Love, the one Mind. This religion shows that the Science of being, or the Science of spiritual living, is as established as the science of mathematics. Moreover, this Science is much more than a profitable subject for meditation. When applied in human experience, it is powerful and practical.

Speaking of this Science, Mrs. Eddy says, "No human hypotheses, whether in philosophy, medicine, or religion, can survive the wreck of time; but whatever is of God, hath life abiding in it, and ultimately will be known as self-evident truth, as demonstrable as mathematics." Later she says, "The only logical conclusion is that all is Mind and its manifestation, from the rolling of worlds, in the most subtle ether, to a potato-patch." ^{Miscellanous Writings, pp. 25, 26;}

How does it help anyone who may feel confused, uncared for, and not perhaps very resourceful to learn that God is the one Mind, infinitely wise and understanding? If he thinks of himself as a solitary mortal left to his own devices, it may not seem to help very much. But if he begins to see that he reflects this Mind in every quality of his being, that it is his Mind and constantly feeds him intelligence, understanding, and resourcefulness, his confidence at once increases. He finds that after all he does know what to do and what to say, whether his problem seems big or little.

A student of Christian Science learned this one day when she found herself in an awkward predicament. She had lost the small key to her bank deed box and needed it urgently. After she had ransacked the whole house without any success, she appealed to a Christian Science practitioner for help. The practitioner reminded her that even a potato patch can manifest the allness of Mind, and referred her to the passage from Miscellaneous Writings quoted above. Then she said quite simply, "This Mind is your Mind, so you know what to do."

The woman walked across the room, turned up a cushion on her settee, and found the missing key. This does not for a moment imply that divine Mind knows about money, banks, keys, or cushions. Finding the key was not a coincidence or the intervention of Providence on behalf of a favorite child. It was quite simply a very small indication of the completeness of Mind's control in every situation. And the method of application would have been just the same if the crisis had been of national or even worldwide proportions.

Christ Jesus always knew what to do. He attributed this to his close relationship with his Father, God, and to his constant awareness of God's presence and power. He never made this awareness seem a special personal ability of his own but assured his followers that they could have it too if they cultivated a spiritual sense of their own individual oneness with God as His idea. He said: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.... Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." ^{John 16:23, 24 .}

It is only a human sense of things that divides the things we ask for into classifications like big and little, important and unimportant, urgent and long-term. To Principle, order is always important. Love can be shown in the infinitesimal as well as in the infinite. And Mind is manifested in intelligent action at every level.

Far from bothering God or boring Him, prayer enhances divine power in human eyes every time it makes the individual reach out for a better sense of Mind's all-inclusiveness. The smallest glimpse of the total harmony of Mind's spiritual, perfect creation, where nothing can ever be lacking, lost, misplaced, out of order, or forgotten, brings poise and perceptiveness. To this calm, clear state of thought the relevant human action comes naturally, whether the immediate task consists of the exploration of space or the cultivation of the potato patch.