Desire for holiness
11:21 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
11:24 desire holiness above all else, we shall sac-
rifice everything for it. We must be willing to do this,
that we may walk securely in the only practical road
11:27 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
11:30 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.
Prayer for the sick
12:1 "The prayer of faith shall save the sick," says the
Scripture. What is this healing prayer? A mere re-
12:3 quest that God will heal the sick has no
power to gain more of the divine presence
than is always at hand. The beneficial effect of
12:6 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
12:9 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-
12:12 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
12:15 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
12:18 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
12:21 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
12:24 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.
Love impartial and universal
12:27 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
12:30 pray or are prayed for audibly, only peti-
tioners (/per se/ or by proxy) should get well. In divine
Science, where prayers are mental, /all/ may avail them-
13:1 selves of God as "a very present help in trouble."
Love is impartial and universal in its adaptation and
13:3 bestowals. It is the open fount which cries, "Ho,
every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters."
Public exaggerations
In public prayer we often go beyond our convictions,
13:6 beyond the honest standpoint of fervent desire. If we
are not secretly yearning and openly striv-
ing for the accomplishment of all we ask,
13:9 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
13:12 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
13:15 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
13:18 we shall incur less risk of overwhelming our real
wishes with a torrent of words.