The Mystery of Prayer
Nona L. Brooks
Mysteries,
1924.
Divine Science Federation
Int’l
3rd Printing, 1977.
Copyright Material
Reprinted by Permission
Prayer has
seemed a mystery to men because they have
not understood the nature of the relation
between God and man. When God was thought
of as abiding in heaven and ruling the
earth from a throne on high far from the
homes of men, there was reason in belief
that he did not know the thoughts, needs,
and ideals of earth-dwellers. For
centuries our thinking has been in terms
of space and time; hence, heaven seemed a
long distance from us, and the time when
God walked with Adam in the garden at the
close of the day seemed an eternity.
According to this conception, God had
visited the world after creating it, but
He had withdrawn His mighty presence to
become a ruling power; hence, in order to
reach this presence, it was necessary
that men become subservient as they did
in relation to earthly kings, and implore
the mercy of this heavenly king. Some
among the children of this earth seemed
favored by this ruling power; others were
less favored, or in fact, were is
disfavor--hence, the mystery. Men sought
to reach the mighty one by various
methods; sacrifice of possessions,
expiation or individual repentance, and
supplication were the most commonly
employed means. It is the relation of
supplication to the newer form of prayer
that we shall discuss in this
chapter.
In the old
prayer, men sought to get that which they
needed and desired; in the new prayer,
men seek to give of themselves, to
commune with God that His perfect will
may be known to them, and to give of
themselves to their fellow men according
to this Purpose; in other words they seek
to cooperate with God, the Giver of all
good gifts. Instead of beseeching a far
away power, they are affirming the
immediate presence of an abiding Power.
Instead of begging for bounty, they are
working to realize the abundance that is
theirs by divine heritage. The great
lesson of prayer today is that God and
man are one; the high purpose of prayer
is to establish this relationship in
men’s thinking. Instead of the old
conception of a God who is reluctantly
withholding his favors from the lives of
men, and who, therefore, must be appeased
and besought in order that he may grant
favors, there is a new concept--Infinite
Spirit sharing its all.
The new
conception of God requires a new method
of prayer in which men do not ask for
things but seek light and more light.
This is the powerful prayer, if it is
backed by conviction. The new prayer,
then, is for realization. From the dawn
of consciousness that something within
has sought That Something Bigger; it is
the Divine Urge impelling men to seek the
good and to find it. Prayer is the method
by which the sons of God come to realize
the immediate Presence and Power of God
in their lives. No matter by what method
men have prayed, however, if their
prayers were backed by faith, these have
proved effective. Worship and prayer have
a reflective benefit upon the one who
worships and prays; prayer is not for
God’s benefit except as the Father
finds satisfaction in direct communion
and companionship with his children.
The Indians
of Colorado in times long past believed
that the Great Spirit lived upon the top
of Pikes Peak, and they would march for
many miles in order to camp in sight of
this mighty mountain, that they might
offer their prayers directly to the Great
Spirit. These children of the race
watched for signs; if the sun shone, the
Spirit was commending their plans; if
clouds covered the top of the peak, he
was saying no, and they would abandon
their project. The yes of the Great
Spirit meant courage to these children,
and they went forth prepared to carry
through their purpose.
Today many
of us believe that we are praying a
larger prayer than our forefathers did;
we must remember, however, that our
prayer is larger and more powerful,
because they prayed before us the prayer
of supplication with great faith. The
consciousness that lies back of prayer is
dynamic. Faith is the great motivating
power. I look back to the first time that
I was directly conscious of the power of
prayer. My mother was going to visit my
grandmother and my aunt; I was to be left
at home. Now, to visit my
grandmother’s home was the height
of my dreams. My brothers were to be
taken. I saw why later. It was easier and
safer to leave the girls at home without
paternal guidance than it was to leave
the boys. I was heart-broken for the
first time in my six years of life. What
was I to do? I had been told to pray for
what I believed that I should have. I
resolved to pray a special prayer. I did
not put my supplication into the regular
morning and evening prayer, but I had a
time set apart. I would break away from
my play over and over again to hasten to
my room; there I would kneel at my
bedside and ask the Father to let me go
to visit my grandmother. I kept my
prayers secret; but I silently prepared
my doll’s clothes for a trip. The
day before my mother left, she decided to
take me. My prayer had been backed by
conviction; it was effective.
Prayer is
fundamental in life. Whether we know it
or not, we are continually praying. Every
aspiration, all worthwhile desire, and
all true attitude are prayers. All praise
to God and all appreciation of his
goodness to the children of men is
prayer. True service is prayer. Highest
prayer is that prayer which is based upon
great principles; it is the prayer that
is in accord with the nature of the
Universe; it is the prayer that aligns
itself with Truth. Knowing and living the
truth of the Infinite is the highest
prayer.
The prayer
of affirmation is most powerful; in the
old way I asked God to heal me and to
give me what I needed; in the new way, I
affirm that God is Health and Abundance.
I know that wholeness and abundance are
God’s will for me; I know that I am
well, whole and perfect. It makes no
difference what I think about it; human
conception does not determine the state
of my Being; Truth does this. I do not
plead, but I train my thinking to realize
that in God-Mind I have my Being; this
Mind is always manifesting. Mind and Mind
in action is the Universe. Before I call
for health, God has answered by being
Health, Love, and Harmony. The new prayer
is affirmation of fullness. All things
are possible to the one who prays the
prayer that is in accord with principle.
There will not be one thing that seems to
be wrong that can not and will not be
righted, when we identify our thinking
with God-Thought.
Faith is the
dynamic power, remember. Above all, pray.
The praying life is the life of power;
Jesus lived it. The new prayer is the
prayer of illumined faith, and of the
acknowledgment of God’s Presence
and Power. It is the foundation of all
true seeing and believing; and through it
comes the greatest of all joys, the
realized comradeship between God and man.
Through praying the larger prayer we
become constantly more conscious of God
and God in action, and of Infinite Mind
everywhere in all life experience.
Sometimes
one longs to pray the old prayer--to ask
the Father for something very near to the
deepest desires and aspirations of the
heart. I have felt this, and I have known
that God has understood. Even though we
do not consider that the prayer of
supplication is that of the highest
vision, still, we know that it has
brought satisfaction to the lives of many
men. Sometimes a few words like these
spoken from the heart bring comfort and
rest: "Dear Father, you know for what I
am praying, and I trust you to help me to
realize that which is best about it."
Prayer is the essential.
I recall the
evolution of prayer in my own life. First
I prayed for things; then, there began to
come within me a deep longing for a
greater Something; at first I did not
know for what. One Sunday morning when I
was ten or eleven years old, all of the
family were at church; I went out into
the garden, and walked up and down
between two old-fashioned flower beds,
gay with flowers that my mother loved. I
can see again the glow of sunshine that
flooded the garden; it was there that I
had my first deep religious experience. I
prayed, "Oh, Father, make me good; I want
to know You--to come close to You,
Father." The aspiration which awoke in my
heart that morning is the fundamental
aspiration of my life today; this great
desire underneath every act of my life,
this aspiration to get closer to God, has
been a constant experience. God answered
my prayer; although I could not see then
in what way the answer would come. This
desire within me to know God has been
steadily realized; it is supreme above
everything in my life.
Our prayers
are answered; the fundamental things come
to us in answer to our deeper prayers;
while those things which are not
essential, and do not further our
development in deeper realization are
withheld. Prayer prepares us for bigger
things. That which is best for our
development comes to us by the eternal
working of the Law of Life. At one time I
prayed for light; and light came. I felt
that I was touching God; I was alive in
God. I am living my answered prayer now.
I do not ask for this and that; I seek
realization. The larger prayer in my life
grew out of years of deep inner longing,
without my knowing what the results would
be. The way was opened for me to come
into a greater revelation of truth. I was
led to study; I entered the first class
held in Pueblo thirty-six years ago; in
that class my prayer of the years was
answered. I found God. I saw my first
great light; it has been growing deeper,
clearer, and more powerful ever since. In
this light there is no darkness. I was
one of a simple little group searching
for more of truth when I saw this great
light; how well I recall that afternoon
in the class when radiant glory filled
the room. I knew that I was healed. I
felt the Spirit’s blessing upon me;
I had touched God.
We have been
taught to pray without ceasing. What does
this mean? It means true aspiring, high
thinking, being infinitely patient,
keeping the faith, trusting deeply,
serving with integrity of purpose. Prayer
is not a matter of words merely; it is a
treatment, an affirmation, a thought of
love, an assertion of faith; these
establish within us an attitude of
certainty and of confidence in the
goodness of God-Law and Love which is the
most powerful prayer. When I am going on
a journey, I do not say that this or that
must be done; I rest in the certainty
that Spirit is going before me to prepare
the way. Your ways and my ways are
divinely directed; all is well. When I
rise to speak before a strange audience,
I know that only the Spirit is speaking;
I get myself out of the way. These are
some of the ways of praying without
ceasing.
We are
agreed, I trust, that all prayer is
powerful; its effect is always uplifting.
It reacts for good upon the one offering
it. The one who knows that he is praying
according to the nature of the Universe,
and whose affirmations are backed by
faith, prays the dynamic prayer, and it
reacts wholesomely upon him. The man who
lives the praying life is not moved by
outer conditions; he is able to solve
these. He says with Paul, "None of these
things move me." The praying life is the
powerful life, for it touches all the
fundamental principles and is able to
apply these. To him who knows himself one
with all Life only good comes; all of his
prayers are answered; his thoughts,
words, and deeds are worthwhile. The
praying attitude was the Jesus attitude;
he identified in his thinking with
Spirit, and showed us the meaning of
praying without ceasing.
There is no
longer mystery about the perfect
communion of God and man that we call
prayer. We have found the key that
unlocks all of the mysteries in the
concept of Omnipresence. In the light of
Omnipresence we see that God and man are
One; that heaven and earth are One; it is
this established attitude that is our
most powerful prayer. Time and space
vanish from our thinking as we grow in
the realization of Truth. We see now that
the garden in which Adam walked at the
close of day was itself Infinite Mind in
manifestation, and that as we walk among
the flowers, we walk with God. Sincere
that there is no separation, there is no
true need, uplifted thought, or loving
aspiration, of which God is not aware.
Instead of asking to be given more, let
us make the best use of what we have--the
gift of God within us. What is the
powerful prayer? It is the life lived in
the realization that God and man are
one.
* * * * *
Mysteries
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