Effectual invocation
In order to pray aright, we must enter into the
15:15 closet and shut the door. We must close the lips and
silence the material senses. In the quiet
sanctuary of earnest longings, we must
15:18 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
15:21 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
15:24 let our lives attest our sincerity.
Trustworthy beneficence
Christians rejoice in secret beauty and bounty, hidden
from the world, but known to God. Self-forgetfulness,
15:27 purity, and affection are constant prayers.
Practice not profession, understanding not
belief, gain the ear and right hand of omnipotence and
15:30 they assuredly call down infinite blessings. Trustworthi-
ness is the foundation of enlightened faith. Without a
fitness for holiness, we cannot receive holiness.
Loftiest adoration
16:1 A great sacrifice of material things must precede this
advanced spiritual understanding. The highest prayer
16:3 is not one of faith merely; it is demonstra-
tion. Such prayer heals sickness, and must
destroy sin and death. It distinguishes between Truth
16:6 that is sinless and the falsity of sinful sense.
The prayer of Jesus Christ
Our Master taught his disciples one brief prayer,
which we name after him the Lord's Prayer. Our Mas-
16:9 ter said, "After this manner therefore pray
ye," and then he gave that prayer which
covers all human needs. There is indeed some doubt
16:12 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.
16:15 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-
16:18 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
16:21 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.
16:24 Here let me give what I understand to be the spir-
itual sense of the Lord's Prayer: