Our “Daily Prayer”

In the Manual of The Mother Church (p. 41) Mrs. Eddy has given us a By-law which reads as follows: “It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to pray each day: ‘Thy kingdom come;’ let the reign of divine Truth, Life, and Love be established in me, and rule out of me all sin; and may Thy Word enrich the affections of all mankind, and govern them!” The daily use of this prayer is clearly the duty of every student of Christian Science; and he must watch that no suggestions of error enter consciousness to make him neglect it.

In a letter to The Christian Science Board of Directors which was published in the Sentinel of August 22, 1914, Mrs. Eddy wrote: “The present and future prosperity of the cause of Christian Science is largely due to the by-laws and government of ‘The First Church of Christ, Scientist,’ in Boston. None but myself can know, as I know, the importance of the combined sentiment of this church remaining steadfast in supporting its present by-laws.” Manifestly, then, the support of these By-laws requires consecrated obedience to them; it demands putting them into practice.

Rightly appreciated, our “Daily Prayer” can never become commonplace. It is a declaration of the truth, an expression of the desire that we may reflect God—Truth, Life, and Love—to the exclusion of all error, and that His Word may go forth to bless all men.

“Thy kingdom come”! In “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” (p. 16) Mrs. Eddy has given as the spiritual interpretation of these words of the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy kingdom is come; Thou art ever-present.” The understanding that God’s kingdom is now, always has been, and always will be everywhere, and that God is therefore ever present, is fundamental to every Christian Science prayer or treatment. “For in him we live, and move, and have our being,” declared Paul. One cannot have a more encouraging, helpful, and protecting thought with which to start the day’s work than that of the ever-presence and availability of God.

“Let the reign of divine Truth, Life, and Love be established in me, and rule out of me all sin”! As the reign of divine Truth, Life, and Love is established, that is, accepted and proved true, the real man in God’s image and likeness appears. The Apostle John may be said to have declared this truth thus: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

All truth is attributable to Mind, the intelligence that gives man dominion over all the earth. “What is truth?” was Pilate’s question, to which Jesus made no reply. Truth is infinite; and it was to the power of Truth that Jesus had daily borne witness as ever available to overcome the false beliefs and limitations of material sense. The understanding of the truth that divine Mind, God, governs man means freedom and protection from the supposed laws of material medicine, scholastic theology, superstition, necromancy, hypnotism, mesmerism, and all other human beliefs. The understanding of divine Truth uncovers error as a lie, destroys the false claims of sin, discord, age, and decay, and establishes the forever fact of the real man’s perfection and unity with his divine Principle, God.

Life is eternal, deathless. The understanding of divine Life is therefore a law of destruction to sin, disease, and death, establishing in consciousness the recognition of Life as Spirit, entirely independent of matter, and showing that divine Love reigns to the exclusion of hate and fear. Love demands humility, self-immolation, purity, patience, and knows no unkind criticism. Love lived—reflected—establishes the brotherhood of man. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,” said the apostle. The reign of divine Truth, Life, and Love in consciousness means having the Mind of Christ.

“And may Thy Word enrich the affections of all mankind, and govern them!” Our “Daily Prayer” is thus universal; and this daily reminder prevents any false notion that our work in Christian Science can possibly be circumscribed by, or restricted to, any particular area or locality. Thought turns naturally to The Mother Church, which is ever widening and extending its influence throughout the world.

Whatever has been or is being done by other religious denominations and by philanthropists, we know that full salvation can come only through Christian Science, the final revelation of absolute Truth. Our prayer for mankind, then, to be sincere, must carry with it the desire and resolve to do our part to support The Mother Church mentally, morally, and financially, as well as the branch church to which we may belong. Support of The Mother Church must certainly include uniting with it in membership at the proper time. We may have to ask ourselves: Are we allowing aggressive suggestions of error to cause us to neglect taking the step of applying for membership in The Mother Church? Salvation is eternal and assured to all, but failure to take each step as it unfolds in the line of orderly progression, hinders the next step. The realization in our “Daily Prayer” of the universality of Christian Science, and of the need of more love for mankind, will help to overcome any apathy in this direction.

The privilege and duty of every member of The Mother Church “who can afford it,” to subscribe for the periodicals, the organs of this church, are clearly indicated in Article VIII, Section 14, of the Church Manual. As we realize the great work these periodicals are doing to bless mankind, we shall see more clearly how to support them by our subscriptions, by reading them, and by distributing them.

Christian Scientists the world over have cause to be grateful for the devoted work of The Christian Science Board of Lectureship, the universal character of whose work Mrs. Eddy refers to in “The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany” (pp. 248, 249). To many a Christian Science lecture comes as a bugle call awakening them from a night of doubt and despair to a day of glorious hope and promise; to all it comes as an angel messenger “with healing in his wings.”

The Mother Church is also fulfilling the purpose of divine Love through The Christian Science Benevolent Association and the Charitable Institutions Fund; and now there has come The Christian Science Pleasant View Home, opening its doors in further demonstration of the brotherhood of man.

The last command of Master to his disciples, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” is thus being fulfilled through the activities of The Mother Church Christian Scientists have the privilege and opportunity of obeying this command of Jesus. They therefore go into all the world through their “Daily Prayer,” realizing that the Word, as it goes forth to the uttermost parts of the earth through the great activities of The Mother Church, cannot return void, but must accomplish its purpose of enriching and governing “the affections of all mankind.”