The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-11-17

P Church and surrounding buildings 
 is well to stop often in our busy lives and take time to give thanks to God for just being God. Working, watching, searching, and endeavor- ing to understand God, expressing gratitude for His goodness, is prayer. This is not an arduous task, but, on the contrary, 1t Is joyous, refresh- ing Jesus promised that those who really hunger and thirst for right eousness shall be filled <
 Have you ever known the bangs of hunger? Perhaps some of you have. But have you ever been hum gry with no immediate prospect of relief? When you reach that stage you make @ more determined effort to remedy 1t. And so he who hum gers and thirsts for righteousness to know God and His thoughts will make a definite effort to find Him. When men understand the true nature of prayer they will re- alize how it is not only possible, but necessary, to pray without ceasing, as Paul admonishes us.
 Prayer, as understood in Christian Science, establishes receptivity to right thinking, and opens the way for the fulfillment of Gods prom ises. It makes us realize that we can always pray to God, for He is omnipresent, and always right where we are. True prayer is the be- ginning of right activity. for 1t Is the beginning of right thinking. It lifts human thought above the mist of materiality into the atmosphere of spiritual reality. Every honest de- sire to be better, to reflect more of Love, more of good, is a prayer that will never go unanswered. Every ef- fort for reform, to leave off sinful habits and thinking, is a prayer that Is answered.
 True prayer obviously does not seek to change that which is real, nor entreat God to change His perfect creation. It does not ask for more blessings, new life, greater power, but that the eyes may be opened and the vision cleared. that the ever.presence of God and His great power and abundance may be recog- rlized here and now. Christian Sci- ence teaches us not only how to pray, but how not to pray amiss.
 Christian Science Treatment
 Some of you here may perhaps have sought healing through many ma terial means or physical methods before coming, in your extremity, to Christian Science, to find out whether or not 1t really does heal, and, if 50, if It can heal you. While you were doctoring and examining the body for cause and effect, did you take time to consider and analyze your thoughts to see If there was any resentment, fear grief, remorse, criticism, ct cetera ranking therein?
 All the medicine that you could pour Into the body would not coun- teract the bad effects of these de- structive thoughts. I know Q person who was irstantaneously healed of a discordant condition of the skin when she realized that fear was all there was to it---that the intense fear in her thought was manifesting itself on her body. That which had developed in severity and intensity for many weeks disappeared almost overnight, and within 6 few days left without the slightest scar. She said that she knew the exact mo- ment when the fear left her thought, and that the irritation of the skin ceased at that moment.
 Truth heals instantaneously. God spake and 1t was done. It doesn't take time to know the truth about anything, but 1t does take recep- tivity of thought. When one came to him seeking healing, Jesus spiritual perception enabled him readily to recognize whether or not the seeker was sincere. receptive, or had faith humility, and willingness to be obedient to the law of God. Whep his disciples failed to heal @ case brought to them, and asked Jesus the reason for their failure, he told them 1t was because of their un- belief-because they didn't have faith enough.
 The healing of disease Is of itself only . sign. Spiritual growth is the ultimate of al healing. One may acquire added spirituality in the process of @ slow healing, but this does not imply that an equal amount of spiritual growth could not have been attained otherwise. God sup- piles all good continuously, so we may make use of 1t at once. If q lack of good seems to be apparent, 1t Is because Gods law has been mis- applied or misunderstood.
 A person may fall into the habit of accepting the argument that certain errors take longer to conquer than others. God, Truth, knows nothing of error of any kind. and thus knows nothing of the mortal measurements called time, so this element of mortal mind could not possibly govern the operation of di- vine Mind. God knows nothing of the degrees which mortal mind would seek to establish Whether one difficulty is more trying than another, more lasting, or more severe, is all the mesmerism Of mortal mind. of which divine Mind takes no cognizance.
 The absent treatment was prac- ticed by Jesus. for instance, when the nobleman came to him in Cali lee and asked him to heal his son who was sick at Capernaum. Jesus told him to go back home and he would find that his son was healed. When he inquired of his servants at what time his son recovered. he knew that it was at the same hour when Jesus spoke to him. This proved that neither time nor space was factor in the healing.
 The absent treatment has been thousands of times successfully given in Christian Science practice. Its students have proved beyond