I grew up believing that God was sort of a super Santa Claus. If humans prayed to God for something with sincerity, concentration, and the right words, they would get whatever they asked for all the time, I thought. Just as magicians achieved miraculous results by saying "abracadabra," Christians supposedly could get supernatural help by saying the Lord's Prayer. I gradually lost my belief in this concept of God because my prayers brought much less fruition than my annual letter to Santa Claus.

Years later I became convinced through a series of circumstances that there is indeed an Almighty God. First, I was healed instantaneously of a disease through scientific treatment (application of God's spiritual laws of universal health, holiness, and harmony) by a Christian Science practitioner. Then I began to study the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy. The nature of God and my relationship to Him became increasingly clear to me as I read and reread the chapter "Prayer." A new concept of God and man began to dawn. I began to realize that God isn't an arbitrary superbeing shrouded in mystery. He is, rather, the infinite, loving, impartial Principle of all being. His omnipresence and infinitude were revealed to the inspired prophet: "Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?" ^{Jer. 23:23;}

The incisive questions and powerful answers in the chapter "Prayer" in Science and Health cut through the selfish, mortal egotism which earlier had made me believe that God's activity could be conformed to willful outlining. And while I was being humbled, I was also feeling great joy and hope. I could see that God is all-power, that He is Love, and this made me feel that His love for me would always be manifested—not because of any abracadabra but because it is God's nature to love His idea, man. We don't need to petition God for blessings. We just need to gratefully accept and to humbly discern the blessings that He already has bestowed upon His children. Then these blessings—or spiritual realities—correct (heal) every human need. For me, a key sentence in this chapter is: "Prayer cannot change the Science of being, but it tends to bring us into harmony with it." ^{Science and Health, p. 2.}

Scientific prayer isn't just saying or thinking words. It is a spiritual realization of God and a sincere desire to serve Him. This was proved to me several years ago. My turn to work in my branch church's Reading Room came on the Saturday before Christmas. I was eagerly looking forward to serving there on that particular day because the citation from that week's Lesson-Sermon in the Christian Science Quarterly that was to be displayed in our window was just what our community needed. Sharing its inspiration would be a Christmas present to my fellow citizens.

The highway was snow-covered and slippery that morning, and when another car cut in front of me, I had to slam on the brakes. This sent me spinning into a snowbank. My reaction was not what it once would have been. I felt no anger at being cut off, no frustration at being stuck, nor any fear of not being able to present my Christmas gift. Neither did I say a prayer—that is, I didn't think or say any particular words. Instead, I had the feeling of simply resting in the absolute conviction that since my only desire was to express God, nothing could hinder me. I stepped out of my car, started digging snow out of the way, and just a minute later a good Samaritan stopped and towed me back onto the highway. After a warm thank-you, I continued and was able to present my Christly gift to the community.

No mere recital of the words of prayer could have supplied such timely help. My desire to express God's love was a wordless prayer with more practical results than any abracadabra could possibly have produced.