Responsive Reading: Psalm 107 : 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 14, 20

1.     O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

2.     Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy.

5.     Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.

6.     Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.

8.     Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

9.     For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

14.     He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.

20.     He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.

1. Psalm 65 : 2

2     O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.

2. Psalm 42 : 1-5, 8 (the Lord)

1     As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

2     My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

3     My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

4     When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multi-tude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.

5     Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

8     …the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.

3. Matthew 4 : 23-25

23     And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

24     And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

25     And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judæa, and from beyond Jordan.

4. Luke 11 : 1, 2 (to 1st ,)

1     And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

2     And he said unto them,

5. Matthew 6 : 6 (when thou prayest), 9-13

6     …when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

9     After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10     Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11     Give us this day our daily bread.

12     And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13     And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

6. Matthew 7 : 7-10, 11 (how much)

7     Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8     For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

9     Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

10     Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

11     …how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

7. Matthew 8 : 5-10, 13

5     And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,

6     And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.

7     And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.

8     The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.

9     For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

10     When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

13     And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.

8. Matthew 9 : 1-8

1     And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.

2     And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

3     And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.

4     And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?

5     For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?

6     But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

7     And he arose, and departed to his house.

8     But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

9. Luke 7 : 11-15

11     And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.

12     Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.

13     And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.

14     And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.

15     And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.

10. Matthew 10 : 1, 5 (to 3rd ,), 8

1     And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

5     These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying,

8     Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

11. James 5 : 13-16

13     Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.

14     Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

15     And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

16     Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

1. 473 : 7-12

The God-principle is omnipresent and omnipotent. God is everywhere, and nothing apart from Him is present or has power. Christ is the ideal Truth, that comes to heal sickness and sin through Christian Science, and attributes all power to God.

2. 395 : 11-14

When divine Science overcomes faith in a carnal mind, and faith in God destroys all faith in sin and in material methods of healing, then sin, disease, and death will disappear.

3. 228 : 27-29 (to 2nd .)

The humble Nazarene overthrew the supposition that sin, sickness, and death have power. He proved them powerless.

4. 1 : 1-9

The prayer that reforms the sinner and heals the sick is an absolute faith that all things are possible to God, — a spiritual understanding of Him, an unselfed love. Regardless of what another may say or think on this subject, I speak from experience. Prayer, watching, and working, combined with self-immolation, are God's gracious means for accomplishing whatever has been successfully done for the Christianization and health of mankind.

5. 12 : 1-15

"The prayer of faith shall save the sick," says the Scripture. What is this healing prayer? A mere request that God will heal the sick has no power to gain more of the divine presence than is always at hand. The beneficial effect of such prayer for the sick is on the human mind, making it act more powerfully on the body through a blind faith in God. This, however, is one belief casting out another, — a belief in the unknown casting out a belief in sickness. It is neither Science nor Truth which acts through blind belief, nor is it the human understanding of the divine healing Principle as manifested in Jesus, whose humble prayers were deep and conscientious protests of Truth, — of man's likeness to God and of man's unity with Truth and Love.

6. 14 : 12-30 next page

Become conscious for a single moment that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual, — neither in nor of matter, — and the body will then utter no complaints. If suffering from a belief in sickness, you will find yourself suddenly well. Sorrow is turned into joy when the body is controlled by spiritual Life, Truth, and Love. Hence the hope of the promise Jesus bestows: "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; ... because I go unto my Father," — [because the Ego is absent from the body, and present with Truth and Love.] The Lord's Prayer is the prayer of Soul, not of material sense.

Entirely separate from the belief and dream of material living, is the Life divine, revealing spiritual understanding and the consciousness of man's dominion over the whole earth. This understanding casts out error and heals the sick, and with it you can speak "as one having authority."

"When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and, when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly."

So spake Jesus. The closet typifies the sanctuary of Spirit, the door of which shuts out sinful sense but lets in Truth, Life, and Love. Closed to error, it is open to Truth, and vice versa. The Father in secret is unseen to the physical senses, but He knows all things and rewards according to motives, not according to speech. To enter into the heart of prayer, the door of the erring senses must be closed. Lips must be mute and materialism silent, that man may have audience with Spirit, the divine Principle, Love, which destroys all error.

In order to pray aright, we must enter into the closet and shut the door. We must close the lips and silence the material senses. In the quiet sanctuary of earnest longings, we must 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 must "pray without ceasing." Such prayer is answered, in so far as we put our desires into practice. The Master's injunction is, that we pray in secret and let our lives attest our sincerity.

Christians rejoice in secret beauty and bounty, hidden from the world, but known to God. Self-forgetfulness, purity, and affection are constant prayers. Practice not profession, understanding not belief, gain the ear and right hand of omnipotence and they assuredly call down infinite blessings.

7. 16 : 1-5, 7-11, 24-15

A great sacrifice of material things must precede this advanced spiritual understanding. The highest prayer is not one of faith merely; it is demonstration. Such prayer heals sickness, and must destroy sin and death.

Our Master taught his disciples one brief prayer, which we name after him the Lord's Prayer. Our Master said, "After this manner therefore pray ye," and then he gave that prayer which covers all human needs.

Here let me give what I understand to be the spiritual sense of the Lord's Prayer:

Our Father which art in heaven,

     Our Father-Mother God, all-harmonious,

Hallowed be Thy name.

     Adorable One.

Thy kingdom come.

     Thy kingdom is come; Thou art ever-present.

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

     Enable us to know, — as in heaven, so on earth, — God is omnipotent, supreme.

Give us this day our daily bread;

     Give us grace for to-day; feed the famished affections;

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

     And Love is reflected in love;

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil;

     And God leadeth us not into temptation, but delivereth us from sin, disease, and death.

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.

     For God is infinite, all-power, all Life, Truth, Love, over all, and All.