0.0 – Science & Health by Mary Baker Eddy Chapter 1 – Prayer – 1910 Edition

All our work in spiritual things naturally begins with prayer. There is the hunger of the human heart for God, — there is the deep desire to know what reality is, what substance is. But what are we really praying for? Prayer is sometimes an earnest request for health or a blessing or for well-being. But when we look further into this question we realize that what we are fundamentally praying for is something much deeper: surely it is for  our conscious union with God, with our divine source. Isn't this the basic longing? The Lord's Prayer, common to us all, begins with the words, Our Father, words that are both comforting and express the nature of what we are seeking. "Prayer is our acknowledgement of this desire to be at-one with the divine, with our Parent-source.
~ DISSOLVING BARRIERS, The Healing Work of Christian Science by John L. MorganSHOW ALL

Science & Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy ~ Chapter 1 ~ Prayer               

  	For verily I say unto you,
  	That whosoever shall say unto this mountain,
  	Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea;
  	and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that
  	those things which he saith shall come to pass;
  	he shall have whatsoever he saith. 
  	Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire
  	when ye pray, believe that ye receive them,
  	and ye shall have them. 

  	Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of,
  	before ye ask Him. — Christ Jesus. 

 1	    The prayer that reforms the sinner and heals the
  	sick is an absolute faith that all things are
 3	possible to God, — a spiritual understanding of Him,
  	an unselfed love. Regardless of what another may say
  	or think on this subject, I speak from experience. 
 6	Prayer, watching, and working, combined with self-im-
  	molation, are God's gracious means  for accomplishing
  	whatever has been successfully done for the Christian-
 9	ization and health of mankind. 
  	    Thoughts unspoken are not unknown to the divine
  	Mind. Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from
12	trusting God with our desires, that they may be
  	moulded and exalted before they take form in words
  	and in deeds.

                                             
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     Science and Health – Prayer                                                        2


 1	    What are the motives for prayer? Do we pray to
  	make ourselves better or to benefit those who hear us,
 3	to enlighten the infinite or to be heard of	Right
  	men? Are we benefited by praying? Yes,	motives 
  	the desire which goes forth hungering after righteous-
 6	ness is blessed of our Father, and it does not return
  	unto us void. 
  	    God is not moved by the breath of praise to do more
 9	than He has already done, nor can the infinite do less
  	than bestow all good, since He is unchang-	Deity
  	ing wisdom and Love. We can do more for	unchangeable 
12	ourselves by humble fervent petitions, but the All-lov-
  	ing does not grant them simply on the ground of lip-
  	service, for He already knows all. 
15	    Prayer cannot change the Science of being, but it
  	tends to bring us into harmony with it. Goodness at-
  	tains the demonstration of Truth. A request that
18	God will save us is not all that is required. The mere
  	habit of pleading with the divine Mind, as one pleads
  	with a human being, perpetuates the belief in God as
21	humanly circumscribed, — an error which impedes spirit-
  	ual growth. 
  	    God is Love. Can we ask Him to be more? God is
24	intelligence. Can we inform the infinite Mind of any-
  	thing He does not already comprehend? 	God's
  	Do we expect to change perfection? Shall	standard 
27	we plead for more at the open fount, which is pour-
  	ing forth more than we accept? The unspoken desire
  	does bring us nearer the source of all existence and
30	blessedness. 
  	    Asking God to be God is a vain repetition. God is
  	"the same yesterday, and to-day, and forever;" and
 
 
Science and Health – Prayer                                                        3


 1	He who is immutably right will do right without being
  	reminded of His province. The wisdom of man is not
 3	sufficient to warrant him in advising God. 
  	    Who would stand before a blackboard, and pray the
  	principle of mathematics to solve the problem? The
 6	rule is already established, and it is our	The spiritual
  	task to work out the solution. Shall we	mathematics 
  	ask the divine Principle of all goodness to do His own
 9	work? His work is done, and we have only to avail
  	ourselves of God's rule in order to receive His bless-
  	ing, which enables us to work out our own salvation. 
12	    The Divine Being must be reflected by man, — else
  	man is not the image and likeness of the patient,
  	tender, and true, the One "altogether lovely;" but to
15	understand God is the work of eternity, and demands
  	absolute consecration of thought, energy, and desire. 
  	    How empty are our conceptions of Deity! We admit
18	theoretically that God is good, omnipotent, omni-
  	present, infinite, and then we try to give	Prayerful
  	information to this infinite Mind. We plead	ingratitude 
21	for unmerited pardon and for a liberal outpouring of
  	benefactions. Are we really grateful for the good
  	already received? Then we shall avail ourselves of the
24	blessings we have, and thus be fitted to receive more. 
  	Gratitude is much more than a verbal expression of
  	thanks. Action expresses more gratitude than speech. 
27	    If we are ungrateful for Life, Truth, and Love, and
  	yet return thanks to God for all blessings, we are in-
  	sincere and incur the sharp censure our Master pro-
30	nounces on hypocrites. In such a case, the only
  	acceptable prayer is to put the finger on the lips and
  	remember our blessings. While the heart is far from
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Science and Health – Prayer                                                        4


 1	divine Truth and Love, we cannot conceal the ingrati-
  	tude of barren lives. 
 3	    What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire
  	for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness,
  	love, and good deeds. To keep the com-	Efficacious
 6	mandments of our Master and follow his	petitions 
  	example, is our proper debt to him and the only
  	worthy evidence of our gratitude for all that he has
 9	done. Outward worship is not of itself sufficient to
  	express loyal and heartfelt gratitude, since he has
  	said: "If ye love me, keep my commandments." 
12	    The habitual struggle to be always good is unceas-
  	ing prayer. Its motives are made manifest in the
  	blessings they bring, — blessings which, even if not
15	acknowledged in audible words, attest our worthiness
  	to be partakers of Love. 
  	    Simply asking that we may love God will never
18	make us love Him; but the longing to be better
  	and holier, expressed in daily watchful-	Watchfulness
  	ness and in striving to assimilate more of	requisite 
21	the divine character, will mould and fashion us
  	anew, until we awake in His likeness. We reach the
  	Science of Christianity through demonstration of the
24	divine nature; but in this wicked world goodness
  	will "be evil spoken of," and patience must bring
  	experience. 
27	    Audible prayer can never do the works of spiritual
  	understanding, which regenerates; but silent prayer,
  	watchfulness, and devout obedience enable	Veritable
30	us to follow Jesus' example. Long prayers,	devotion 
  	superstition, and creeds clip the strong pinions of love,
  	and clothe religion in human forms. Whatever mate-
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Science and Health – Prayer                                                        5


 1	rializes worship hinders man's spiritual growth and keeps
  	him from demonstrating his power over error. 
 3	    Sorrow for wrong-doing is but one step towards reform
  	and the very easiest step. The next and great step re-
  	quired by wisdom is the test of our sincerity,	Sorrow and
 6	 — namely, reformation. To this end we are	reformation 
  	placed under the stress of circumstances. Temptation
  	bids us repeat the offence, and woe comes in return for
 9	what is done. So it will ever be, till we learn that there
  	is no discount in the law of justice and that we must pay
  	"the uttermost farthing." The measure ye mete "shall
12	be measured to you again," and it will be full "and run-
  	ning over." 
  	    Saints and sinners get their full award, but not always
15	in this world. The followers of Christ drank his cup. 
  	Ingratitude and persecution filled it to the brim; but God
  	pours the riches of His love into the understanding and
18	affections, giving us strength according to our day. Sin-
  	ners flourish "like a green bay tree;" but, looking farther,
  	the Psalmist could see their end, — the destruction of sin
21	through suffering. 
  	    Prayer is not to be used as a confessional to cancel sin. 
  	Such an error would impede true religion. Sin is forgiven
24	only as it is destroyed by Christ, — Truth and	Cancellation
  	Life. If prayer nourishes the belief that sin is	of human sin 
  	cancelled, and that man is made better merely by praying,
27	prayer is an evil. He grows worse who continues in sin
  	because he fancies himself forgiven. 
  	    An apostle says that the Son of God [Christ] came to
30	"destroy the works of the devil." We should	Diabolism
  	follow our divine Exemplar, and seek the de-	destroyed 
  	struction of all evil works, error and disease included.
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Science and Health – Prayer                                                        6


 1	We cannot escape the penalty due for sin. The Scrip-
  	tures say, that if we deny Christ, "he also will deny us." 
 3	    Divine Love corrects and governs man. Men may
  	pardon, but this divine Principle alone reforms the
  	sinner. God is not separate from the wis-	Pardon and
 6	dom He bestows. The talents He gives we	amendment 
  	must improve. Calling on Him to forgive our work
  	badly done or left undone, implies the vain supposition
 9	that we have nothing to do but to ask pardon, and
  	that afterwards we shall be free to repeat the offence. 
  	    To cause suffering as the result of sin, is the means
12	of destroying sin. Every supposed pleasure in sin
  	will furnish more than its equivalent of pain, until be-
  	lief in material life and sin is destroyed. To reach
15	heaven, the harmony of being, we must understand
  	the divine Principle of being. 
  	    "God is Love." More than this we cannot ask,
18	higher we cannot look, farther we cannot go. To
  	suppose that God forgives or punishes sin	Mercy without
  	according as His mercy is sought or un-	partiality 
21	sought, is to misunderstand Love and to make prayer
  	the safety-valve for wrong-doing. 
  	    Jesus uncovered and rebuked sin before he cast it
24	out. Of a sick woman he said that Satan had bound
  	her, and to Peter he said, "Thou art an of-	Divine
  	fence unto me." He came teaching and	severity 
27	showing men how to destroy sin, sickness, and death. 
  	He said of the fruitless tree, "[It] is hewn down." 
  	    It is believed by many that a certain magistrate,
30	who lived in the time of Jesus, left this record: "His
  	rebuke is fearful." The strong language of our Mas-
  	ter confirms this description. 
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Science and Health – Prayer                                                        7


 1	    The only civil sentence which he had for error was,
  	"Get thee behind me, Satan." Still stronger evidence
 3	that Jesus' reproof was pointed and pungent is found
  	in his own words, — showing the necessity for such
  	forcible utterance, when he cast out devils and healed
 6	the sick and sinning. The relinquishment of error de-
  	prives material sense of its false claims. 
  	    Audible prayer is impressive; it gives momentary
 9	solemnity and elevation to thought. But does it pro-
  	duce any lasting benefit? Looking deeply	Audible
  	into these things, we find that "a zeal . . . 	praying 
12	not according to knowledge" gives occasion for reac-
  	tion unfavorable to spiritual growth, sober resolve, and
  	wholesome perception of God's requirements. The mo-
15	tives for verbal prayer may embrace too much love of
  	applause to induce or encourage Christian sentiment. 
  	    Physical sensation, not Soul, produces material ec-
18	stasy and emotion. If spiritual sense always guided
  	men, there would grow out of ecstatic mo-	Emotional
  	ments a higher experience and a better life	utterances 
21	with more devout self-abnegation and purity. A self-
  	satisfied ventilation of fervent sentiments never makes
  	a Christian. God is not influenced by man. The "di-
24	vine ear" is not an auditory nerve. It is the all-hearing
  	and all-knowing Mind, to whom each need of man is
  	always known and by whom it will be supplied. 
27	    The danger from prayer is that it may lead us into temp-
  	tation. By it we may become involuntary hypocrites, ut-
  	tering desires which are not real and consoling	Danger
30	ourselves in the midst of sin with the recollection	from audible
  	that we have prayed over it or mean to ask for-	prayer 
  	giveness at some later day. Hypocrisy is fatal to religion.
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Science and Health – Prayer                                                        8


 1	    A wordy prayer may afford a quiet sense of self-
  	justification, though it makes the sinner a hypocrite. 
 3	We never need to despair of an honest heart; but
  	there is little hope for those who come only spasmodi-
  	cally face to face with their wickedness and then seek to
 6	hide it. Their prayers are indexes which do not correspond
  	with their character. They hold secret fellowship with
  	sin, and such externals are spoken of by Jesus as "like
 9	unto whited sepulchres . . . full . . . of all uncleanness." 
  	    If a man, though apparently fervent and prayerful,
  	is impure and therefore insincere, what must be the
12	comment upon him? If he reached the	Aspiration
  	loftiness of his prayer, there would be no	and love 
  	occasion for comment. If we feel the aspiration, hu-
15	mility, gratitude, and love which our words express, — 
  	this God accepts; and it is wise not to try to deceive
  	ourselves or others, for "there is nothing covered that
18	shall not be revealed." Professions and audible pray-
  	ers are like charity in one respect, — they "cover the
  	multitude of sins." Praying for humility with what-
21	ever fervency of expression does not always mean a
  	desire for it. If we turn away from the poor, we are
  	not ready to receive the reward of Him who blesses
24	the poor. We confess to having a very wicked heart
  	and ask that it may be laid bare before us, but do
  	we not already know more of this heart than we are
27	willing to have our neighbor see? 
  	    We should examine ourselves and learn what is the
  	affection and purpose of the heart, for in this way
30	only can we learn what we honestly are. If a	Searching
  	friend informs us of a fault, do we listen pa-	the heart 
  	tiently to the rebuke and credit what is said? Do we not
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Science and Health – Prayer                                                        9


 1	rather give thanks that we are "not as other men"? 
  	During many years the author has been most grateful
 3	for merited rebuke. The wrong lies in unmerited cen-
  	sure, — in the falsehood which does no one any good. 
  	    The test of all prayer lies in the answer to these
 6	questions: Do we love our neighbor better because of
  	this asking? Do we pursue the old selfish-	Summit of
  	ness, satisfied with having prayed for some-	aspiration 
 9	thing better, though we give no evidence of the sin-
  	cerity of our requests by living consistently with our
  	prayer? If selfishness has given place to kindness,
12	we shall regard our neighbor unselfishly, and bless
  	them that curse us; but we shall never meet this great
  	duty simply by asking that it may be done. There is
15	a cross to be taken up before we can enjoy the fruition
  	of our hope and faith. 
  	    Dost thou "love the Lord thy God with all thy
18	heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind"? 
  	This command includes much, even the sur-	Practical
  	render of all merely material sensation, affec-	religion 
21	tion, and worship. This is the El Dorado of Christianity. 
  	It involves the Science of Life, and recognizes only the
  	divine control of Spirit, in which Soul is our master,
24	and material sense and human will have no place. 
  	    Are you willing to leave all for Christ, for Truth, and
  	so be counted among sinners? No! Do you really desire
27	to attain this point? No! Then why make long	The chalice
  	prayers about it and ask to be Christians,	sacrificial 
  	since you do not care to tread in the footsteps of our
30	dear Master? If unwilling to follow his example, why
  	pray with the lips that you may be partakers of his
  	nature? Consistent prayer is the desire to do right. 
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Science and Health – Prayer                                                       10


 1	Prayer means that we desire to walk and will walk in
  	the light so far as we receive it, even though with bleed-
 3	ing footsteps, and that waiting patiently on the Lord,
  	we will leave our real desires to be rewarded by Him. 
  	    The world must grow to the spiritual understanding
 6	of prayer. If good enough to profit by Jesus' cup of
  	earthly sorrows, God will sustain us under these sor-
  	rows. Until we are thus divinely qualified and are
 9	willing to drink his cup, millions of vain repetitions
  	will never pour into prayer the unction of Spirit in
  	demonstration of power and "with signs following." 
12	Christian Science reveals a necessity for overcoming the
  	world, the flesh, and evil, and thus destroying all error. 
  	    Seeking is not sufficient. It is striving that enables
15	us to enter. Spiritual attainments open the door to a
  	higher understanding of the divine Life. 
  	    One of the forms of worship in Thibet is to carry a
18	praying-machine through the streets, and stop at the
  	doors to earn a penny by grinding out a	Perfunctory
  	prayer. But the advance guard of progress has	prayers 
21	paid for the privilege of prayer the price of persecution. 
  	    Experience teaches us that we do not always receive
  	the blessings we ask for in prayer. There is some mis-
24	apprehension of the source and means of	Asking
  	all goodness and blessedness, or we should	amiss 
  	certainly receive that for which we ask. The Scrip-
27	tures say: "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask
  	amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts." That
  	which we desire and for which we ask, it is not always
30	best for us to receive. In this case infinite Love will
  	not grant the request. Do you ask wisdom to be mer-
  	ciful and not to punish sin? Then "ye ask amiss." 
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Science and Health – Prayer                                                       11


 1	Without punishment, sin would multiply. Jesus' prayer,
  	"Forgive us our debts," specified also the terms of
 3	forgiveness. When forgiving the adulterous woman he
  	said, "Go, and sin no more." 
  	    A magistrate sometimes remits the penalty, but this
 6	may be no moral benefit to the criminal, and at best, it
  	only saves the criminal from one form of	Remission
  	punishment. The moral law, which has the	of penalty 
 9	right to acquit or condemn, always demands restitu-
  	tion before mortals can "go up higher." Broken law
  	brings penalty in order to compel this progress. 
12	    Mere legal pardon (and there is no other, for divine
  	Principle never pardons our sins or mistakes till they
  	are corrected) leaves the offender free to re-	Truth
15	peat the offence, if indeed, he has not already	annihilates
  	suffered sufficiently from vice to make him turn from it	error 
  	with loathing. Truth bestows no pardon upon error, but
18	wipes it out in the most effectual manner. Jesus suffered
  	for our sins, not to annul the divine sentence for an in-
  	dividual's sin, but because sin brings inevitable suffering. 
21	    Petitions bring to mortals only the results of mor-
  	tals' own faith. We know that a desire for holiness is
  	requisite in order to gain holiness; but if we	Desire for
24	desire holiness above all else, we shall sac-	holiness 
  	rifice everything for it. We must be willing to do this,
  	that we may walk securely in the only practical road
27	to holiness. Prayer cannot change the unalterable
  	Truth, nor can prayer alone give us an understanding
  	of Truth; but prayer, coupled with a fervent habitual
30	desire to know and do the will of God, will bring us
  	into all Truth. Such a desire has little need of audible
  	expression. It is best expressed in thought and in life.
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Science and Health – Prayer                                                       12


 1	    "The prayer of faith shall save the sick," says the
  	Scripture. What is this healing prayer? A mere re-
 3	quest that God will heal the sick has no	Prayer for
  	power to gain more of the divine presence	the sick 
  	than is always at hand. The beneficial effect of
 6	such prayer for the sick is on the human mind, mak-
  	ing it act more powerfully on the body through a blind
  	faith in God. This, however, is one belief casting out
 9	another, — a belief in the unknown casting out a belief
  	in sickness. It is neither Science nor Truth which
  	acts through blind belief, nor is it the human under-
12	standing of the divine healing Principle as manifested
  	in Jesus, whose humble prayers were deep and con-
  	scientious protests of Truth, — of man's likeness to
15	God and of man's unity with Truth and Love. 
  	    Prayer to a corporeal God affects the sick like a
  	drug, which has no efficacy of its own but borrows its
18	power from human faith and belief. The drug does
  	nothing, because it has no intelligence. It is a mortal
  	belief, not divine Principle or Love, which causes a
21	drug to be apparently either poisonous or sanative. 
  	    The common custom of praying for the recovery of the
  	sick finds help in blind belief, whereas help should come
24	from the enlightened understanding. Changes in belief
  	may go on indefinitely, but they are the merchandise of
  	human thought and not the outgrowth of divine Science. 
27	    Does Deity interpose in behalf of one worshipper,
  	and not help another who offers the same measure of
  	prayer? If the sick recover because they	Love impartial
30	pray or are prayed for audibly, only peti-	and universal 
  	tioners (per se or by proxy) should get well. In divine
  	Science, where prayers are mental, all may avail them-
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Science and Health – Prayer                                                       13


 1	selves of God as "a very present help in trouble." 
  	Love is impartial and universal in its adaptation and
 3	bestowals. It is the open fount which cries, "Ho,
  	every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters." 
  	    In public prayer we often go beyond our convictions,
 6	beyond the honest standpoint of fervent desire. If we
  	are not secretly yearning and openly striv-	Public
  	ing for the accomplishment of all we ask,	exaggerations 
 9	our prayers are "vain repetitions," such as the heathen
  	use. If our petitions are sincere, we labor for what we
  	ask; and our Father, who seeth in secret, will reward
12	us openly. Can the mere public expression of our de-
  	sires increase them? Do we gain the omnipotent ear
  	sooner by words than by thoughts? Even if prayer is
15	sincere, God knows our need before we tell Him or our
  	fellow-beings about it. If we cherish the desire hon-
  	estly and silently and humbly, God will bless it, and
18	we shall incur less risk of overwhelming our real
  	wishes with a torrent of words. 
  	    If we pray to God as a corporeal person, this will
21	prevent us from relinquishing the human doubts and
  	fears which attend such a belief, and so we	Corporeal
  	cannot grasp the wonders wrought by infi-	ignorance 
24	nite, incorporeal Love, to whom all things are possible. 
  	Because of human ignorance of the divine Principle,
  	Love, the Father of all is represented as a corporeal
27	creator; hence men recognize themselves as merely
  	physical, and are ignorant of man as God's image or re-
  	flection and of man's eternal incorporeal existence. The
30	world of error is ignorant of the world of Truth, — blind
  	to the reality of man's existence, — for the world of sen-
  	sation is not cognizant of life in Soul, not in body.
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Science and Health – Prayer                                                       14


 1	    If we are sensibly with the body and regard omnipo-
  	tence as a corporeal, material person, whose ear we
 3	would gain, we are not "absent from the	Bodily
  	body" and "present with the Lord" in the	presence 
  	demonstration of Spirit. We cannot "serve two mas-
 6	ters." To be "present with the Lord" is to have, not
  	mere emotional ecstasy or faith, but the actual demon-
  	stration and understanding of Life as revealed in
 9	Christian Science. To be "with the Lord" is to be in
  	obedience to the law of God, to be absolutely governed
  	by divine Love, — by Spirit, not by matter. 
12	    Become conscious for a single moment that Life and
  	intelligence are purely spiritual, — neither in nor of
  	matter, — and the body will then utter no	Spiritualized
15	complaints. If suffering from a belief in	consciousness 
  	sickness, you will find yourself suddenly well. Sorrow
  	is turned into joy when the body is controlled by spir-
18	itual Life, Truth, and Love. Hence the hope of the
  	promise Jesus bestows: "He that believeth on me,
  	the works that I do shall he do also; . . . because I
21	go unto my Father," — [because the Ego is absent from
  	the body, and present with Truth and Love.]  The
  	Lord's Prayer is the prayer of Soul, not of material
24	sense. 
  	    Entirely separate from the belief and dream of mate-
  	rial living, is the Life divine, revealing spiritual under-
27	standing and the consciousness of man's dominion
  	over the whole earth. This understanding casts out
  	error and heals the sick, and with it you can speak
30	"as one having authority." 
  	    "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and,
  	when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father
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Science and Health – Prayer                                                       15


 1	which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in
  	secret, shall reward thee openly." 
 3	    So spake Jesus. The closet typifies the sanctuary of
  	Spirit, the door of which shuts out sinful sense but
  	lets in Truth, Life, and Love. Closed to	Spiritual
 6	error, it is open to Truth, and vice versa. 	sanctuary 
  	The Father in secret is unseen to the physical senses,
  	but He knows all things and rewards according to
 9	motives, not according to speech. To enter into the
  	heart of prayer, the door of the erring senses must be
  	closed. Lips must be mute and materialism silent,
12	that man may have audience with Spirit, the divine
  	Principle, Love, which destroys all error. 
  	    In order to pray aright, we must enter into the
15	closet and shut the door. We must close the lips and
  	silence the material senses. In the quiet	Effectual
  	sanctuary of earnest longings, we must	invocation 
18	deny sin and plead God's allness. We must resolve to
  	take up the cross, and go forth with honest hearts to
  	work and watch for wisdom, Truth, and Love. We
21	must "pray without ceasing." Such prayer is an-
  	swered, in so far as we put our desires into practice. 
  	The Master's injunction is, that we pray in secret and
24	let our lives attest our sincerity. 
  	    Christians rejoice in secret beauty and bounty, hidden
  	from the world, but known to God. Self-forgetfulness,
27	purity, and affection are constant prayers. 	Trustworthy
  	Practice not profession, understanding not	beneficence 
  	belief, gain the ear and right hand of omnipotence and
30	they assuredly call down infinite blessings. Trustworthi-
  	ness is the foundation of enlightened faith. Without a
  	fitness for holiness, we cannot receive holiness. 
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Science and Health – Prayer                                                       16


 1	    A great sacrifice of material things must precede this
  	advanced spiritual understanding. The highest prayer
 3	is not one of faith merely; it is demonstra-	Loftiest
  	tion. Such prayer heals sickness, and must	adoration 
  	destroy sin and death. It distinguishes between Truth
 6	that is sinless and the falsity of sinful sense. 
  	    Our Master taught his disciples one brief prayer,
  	which we name after him the Lord's Prayer. Our Mas-
 9	ter said, "After this manner therefore pray	The prayer of
  	ye," and then he gave that prayer which	Jesus Christ 
  	covers all human needs. There is indeed some doubt
12	among Bible scholars, whether the last line is not an
  	addition to the prayer by a later copyist; but this does
  	not affect the meaning of the prayer itself. 
15	    In the phrase, "Deliver us from evil," the original
  	properly reads, "Deliver us from the evil one." This
  	reading strengthens our scientific apprehension of the peti-
18	tion, for Christian Science teaches us that "the evil one," or
  	one evil, is but another name for the first lie and all liars. 
  	    Only as we rise above all material sensuousness and
21	sin, can we reach the heaven-born aspiration and spir-
  	itual consciousness, which is indicated in the Lord's
  	Prayer and which instantaneously heals the sick. 
24	    Here let me give what I understand to be the spir-
  	itual sense of the Lord's Prayer:

  	Our Father which art in heaven,
27	   Our Father-Mother God, all-harmonious,

  	Hallowed be Thy name.
  	   Adorable One.

30	Thy kingdom come.
  	   Thy kingdom is come; Thou art ever-present.
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Science and Health – Prayer                                                       17


 1	Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
  	   Enable us to know, — as in heaven, so on earth, — God is
 3	    omnipotent, supreme.

  	Give us this day our daily bread;
  	   Give us grace for to-day; feed the famished affections;

 6	And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
  	   And Love is reflected in love;

  	And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
 9	evil;
  	   And God leadeth us not into temptation, but delivereth
  	    us from sin, disease, and death.

12	For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the
  	glory, forever.
  	   For God is infinite, all-power, all Life, Truth, Love, over
15	    all, and All.SHOW ALL