Prayer that is more than ‘just praying’

News stories suggest that prayer is not enough to stop violence and bring peace to a troubled world. But writing off prayer as ineffectual seems based on stereotypes and doesn’t take into account the depths of transformation brought about by prayer. The third of the Ten Commandments in the Bible tells us that we are not to take the name of the Lord in vain (see Exodus 20:7). Could that mean we are not to pray in vain – without expecting progress and results?

Prayer cannot be either just wishing for things to go our way or accepting discord and suffering as God’s way. Throughout the Bible, we learn that God is Love, the rock, our refuge – the all-knowing, ever-active power. Effective prayer is communion with infinite Love, and it transforms consciousness, molding and elevating our motives, expectations, and actions to become more selfless and effective.

Consider prayer as desire, as Mary Baker Eddy, Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, explains in the chapter “Prayer” in “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.” Our deepest desires are heard by God as our whole heart is lifted into harmony with the law of God, good. This desire blends with what Science and Health describes as the “calm, strong currents of true spirituality,” which root out the false sense that claims evil is more powerful than good. The book explains, “The calm, strong currents of true spirituality, the manifestations of which are health, purity, and self-immolation, must deepen human experience, until the beliefs of material existence are seen to be a bald imposition, and sin, disease, and death give everlasting place to the scientific demonstration of divine Spirit and to God’s spiritual, perfect man” (p. 99).

Jesus’ method of prayer was based on the two greatest laws that are just as reliable and effective today as when he shared them: to love God with all our heart and to love our neighbor as ourselves. The foundation of these commandments is the spiritual fact of our oneness with God, Love, and with one another. It neutralizes whatever is discordant and transforms and stabilizes the human condition.

So why is prayer based on God’s love enough to heal violence? Because this prayer brings our thoughts and actions in line with the spiritual cause of all real being, divine Love, and its effect is seen as God’s law governing the universe. So then prayer based on God’s law is Christianly scientific – meaning that it demands understanding and proof. It is not pleading for omnipotent Love to do more or asking God, good, to remove what He never created.

Christ Jesus’ prayers were “deep and conscientious protests of Truth, of man’s likeness to God and of man’s unity with Truth and Love” (Science and Health, p. 12). They broke the hold of ego, hopelessness, malice, and other evils while opening doors to a higher, truer peace and justice. These Christlike protests illustrate the corrective power of prayer. They ignite the divine influence in consciousness that silences personal sense, overpowers evil, and readies us to humbly do the will of God.

All actions stem from thoughts. Prayer, with its direct impact on consciousness, changes it to higher, more spiritual views. And as this change occurs in thought, we can reasonably expect to see less violence and more humanity, affection, compassion, and healing appear in our experience.

But what if we feel that our prayers are ineffective? Prayer cannot be used as a way to manipulate, punish, exclude, or condemn others. To weed out those self-centered inclinations, it is helpful to know our motives for prayer. Are they used for self-justification or for personal gain? Effective prayer is an unselfed and active uniting of our desires – our prayers – to God’s will, not human will.

One incident proved to me the practical effect of prayer in healing violence. At one time, a fight broke out in a school where I worked, and quickly escalated to include much of the student body. While police and reporters streamed into the school, I prayed, affirming the power of God to maintain peace. I went from fear to confident authority. And in a moment, calm and order were restored in my classroom; the chaos throughout the school also soon quieted, and the larger issue was resolved.

We can stand with the conviction that Love is all-powerful and that therefore good is never helpless. By basing our prayer on love for God and all humankind, we can refuse to let hatred, anger, or fear be the stronger thought and let Love rule our actions.

Prayer that yields to Love’s rule is never in vain, and it is enough.

Adapted from an editorial published in the Oct. 16, 2023, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.