The Science of Prayer

EOM Ida Mingle

Prayer is the most common connection between man and God. This is not to say that all who pray make connection with God. The efficacy of Prayer is greatly unknown even among the Christians. How many Christians, or those who believe in Christ, have witnessed answered Prayer? How many know anything about its science, so as to apply it? Not a great many feel absolutely within themselves that they have touched the Spirit of God, or that they are in communion with the Inner Laws. Very few have witnessed the extending Love of God into the life and affairs, so as to control conditions and the consciousness. Yet, Prayer is the oldest known approach to God.

There are laws governing Prayer, and there is a science of Prayer. There is an unceasing Prayer that availeth much. There is a praying that people may consume the results of Prayer upon their own flesh; and there is a sentimental, emotional contact with the oversoul of oneself that passes as Prayer. There is a Truth about Prayer, and there are many delusions about it.

Prayer as a Science

Science is the application of Principles and Laws in an orderly manner that conforms to the nature of the Principles and Laws applied. One cannot take Principles and Laws and apply them in a manner foreign to their nature and expect them to work; yet people approach Prayer in the most haphazard manner, and wonder why they do not obtain results. Prayer is a factor of Being that is always present in potentiality, a science that is always operative, when cooperated with, to produce the desired results of the Divine Laws. It is a scientific conclusion that Prayer may not always produce the results desired by the one who prays, but it does produce that which is needful by which consciousness is more advanced, and more conformed to the Standard of Being. Prayer is for the purpose of producing man, in image and likeness of God, and not to selfishly give him the harmonies desired and protection from the inharmonies. If the inharmonies are never met and overcome, the ego remains a weakling, not fit to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, or realm of Principles within the consciousness. It is this realm that opens in the science of Prayer, whose Principles, operative in the consciousness, promote the realities of being, by which the genuine nature of Man appears.

There is no exception to the operation of the science of Prayer, though at the ends of cycles there is a "suffering it to be so", that the whole Law of Life may be fulfilled, At these times it may appear that Prayer is not answered, for the Divine Laws are at work bringing forth the fruit of themselves in the nature of man, this necessitating the mastering of tribulations and inharmonies. Man may pray that this cup pass from him, but the Divine Laws are best served by his drinking this cup; because it is the establishment of Man in righteous expression of being that is the goal of progression, and not protection from inharmonies. Another peculiar situation attends the ends of cycles. God is identified as Christ, in Man conformed to the Divine Laws, this bringing the direct action of God into the plane of consciousness; therefore communion between man and God, as it operated preceding the cycle's close, is not possible because God is no longer within the domain but has established its working Principles on the Plane of Life. This is not to say that God is not present on the invisible, but the invisible has now become the Unknown God in contradistinction to that which is known, identified in man. Thus, at these times, when man attempts to pray it is as though there is no answering response from God, as Spirit, for God as Being is operative in consciousness, and drawing its own as progressed states of being. In other words, the works of Prayer are being proven, and the gathering in the without of the effect of that promoted from within, through communion with God, is the dominant issue at the cycle's close.

In order to apply the science of Prayer, the laws governing Prayer must be known. These are stated in many ways in scripture, that guide offered to man in absence of his own unfolding spiritual consciousness, and which is verified in living power and presence, when consciousness has attained spirituality. The science of mathematics hinges upon the rules and the principles underlying them. The science of Prayer hinges upon the Laws and the Principles underlying them. It is the understanding of the Principles relating to God and Man, and the Laws of their application, that constitutes the science of Prayer, by which spirituality of being is promoted.

The Principles of Being and Prayer

Principles are the inner aspects while Laws are the outer. Laws pertain to the application of the Principles to consciousness. Being is the result of Prayer, when its science is worked out, the science of Prayer being known through applying the Principles of Being. The Principles of Being pertain to the Qualities of God. These Qualities seek expression and manifest as Man, conformed in spirit and body, to the Laws of God. The Qualities of God are indicated by the activities of God in forming man, and are hidden in the seven days of Creative action. These seven days are translated into seven Qualities, viz., Wisdom, Love, Substance, Understanding, Will, Life, Truth. These seven Principles or Qualities of Being are made to be five on the plane of the senses, this identifying as twelve centers through which the Qualities of Being are unfolded spiritually and physically. The seven pertain to the inner completion, and the five to the outer completion; or the former to the spiritual, the outer to the natural, Qualities of Being express by means of Man and when formed reveal Man in the image and likeness of God. Man must see himself as he is in God­Mind, and affirm as reality that which he would be. In this procedure, he follows along the lines of the Creative Law, that declares as being all that God is, even to seeing Man in perfection, though man is yet to be made, and to become conscious of the Qualities of Being that form him. God is the innermost, Man is the outermost, this relation making Man the means by which God is expressed. Since Man is created to be the image of the Qualities of Being, he must begin to image them in Spirit. Mind is the means by which images are promoted, realized, and identified. Recognizing the Qualities of Being, and Man created to be the expression of them, one begins to declare that I am their expression, this conforming with the Creative Law. For example, Wisdom is omnipresent as a Quality of Being, and I am (Man) the expression of Wisdom. Life is omnipresent as a Quality of Being, and I am (Man) the expression of Life. This is affirmed in connection with the seven Qualities of Being, and opens to consciousness the opportunity to repulse and overcome the many forces adverse to these Qualities that naturally arise when these declarations of Truth are made.

Every Principle of Being, to which the Qualities of Being relate in their outworking, is reversed on the plane of consciousness, therefore the holding of the Qualities of Truth in Mind as already being, which they are in Principle (but not in fact) is the stirring up of the adverse and reversed forces in opposition to the Truth declared. If this did not occur one could put new wine into old wine skins, or the new spirit of advancement into the old organism of consciousness, and eventually suffer the loss of both; but because the new spirit demands a new body, the old conditions of the physical plane must be overcome and mastered, that the realities of the unfolding Qualities of the Spirit may be revealed. If one affirms, "God is Understanding, I am Understanding expressing," one invites knowledge that transcends the race mind; though this is possible only when one brings to cessation the forces of thought that do not pertain to understanding, as a Principle. It is to say that when the truth is declared, the opposite untruths are also made known. The ego realizes it is not the mortal man who is Understanding expressing, but that in reality of Principle, Understanding has its expression by means of spiritual man.

Prayer, in its scientific sense, is the expression of the Principles of Being. The declaring that Man is what God intends him to be is the declaration of scientific statements of Being. This involves seeing oneself as one is, when seeing Being, and the mastering of all that should not be. Affirming, "God is Love, and I am Love expressing," ultimates, when scientifically realized, in the overcoming of the love of the flesh, as well as in understanding the many activities associated with the promotion of love and the reproduction of mortal man. God as Love, realized, is the understanding of the many aspects of love developed on the sense plane. Understanding is always one with Will, in Divine Laws, therefore the willingness to be what is understood accompanies genuine understanding. The application of the science of Prayer is fraught with transformation of the entire nature, and ultimates in the translation of the consciousness from the natural to the spiritual qualities. The Principles of Being, contacted through Prayer, become activities and realities within the consciousness, ultimating in the revelation of Man as spiritual being. Man as spiritual being is the Truth, this being spiritually realized and actualized before it is physically revealed. The physical revelation of spiritual being is in the universal operation of God, through Christ, the Truth; this operation changing the nature of the individual, the race, and the p1anet.

Prayer is instituted as a means of contacting the Principles of Being, so that man is eventually their embodiment. Prayer is not a matter of thought and desire, though all people go through the preliminaries of prayer in the symbol, before they enter into the reality of its practice. The practice of Prayer cleanses the consciousness, so that Man is eventually a clean vessel for use in the service of the Divine Laws. There is a physical side to the effect of Prayer, though it is not until the love of the flesh gives way to the Love of God, that man is translated so as to partake of the nature of spiritual being. Physical effects register through the practice of prayer, and outer results are obtained, this being the outworking of Prayer that draws closer in devotion to the Inner Spirit; without which man could not realize the presence and power of God.

The Law of Prayer

There is a scientific Law of Prayer: All things whatsoever, ye pray and ask for, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. This is also stated in the words, "What things soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye have received, and ye shall have". To believe that one receives what is asked for in Prayer, is to understand that all of God is present, therefore what one asks for is already present in Principle. One's consciousness must be centered to the omnipresence of Qualities of Being, and their effects to have Prayer answered. Prayer is a contemplation of good omnipresent, rather than a striving after that good as though it were not present. This is the secret of Prayer, but it involves something more than making believe that all good is present, for it is based upon an understanding of the Omnipresence. One cannot pray in faith alone, but must also pray in understanding. Needs are particular, therefore each ego is inviting his own, according to his capacity to receive it, and his receiving is in keeping with his giving. Giving has its identification in what one has developed in consciousness, or given expression to, that which conforms to the underlying Principles of Being inviting the goodness of God.

Before one learns to pray in Truth and science, one prays in the sentiments of the self. However, God, the author of all good, is selfless, therefore can be contacted only in a selfless spirit. Fortunately, when conditions force people to pray it is usually in relation to those beloved, or in relation to important issues of life, this lifting the consciousness out of oneself, and centering it toward the giver of good, inviting the answer to Prayer because some aspects of its laws are conformed to. Much prayer is unanswered because it never ascends to the Throne of God, but is a communion within the self center of consciousness for selfish gain, for oneself or for others. "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may spend it in your pleasures". People are emotionally disturbed or distressed, this promoting Prayer that may bring about a change, but it is not to say that God has caused the change. Many can be changed, through liberating forces stored up in the consciousness, in emotional experiences, even to producing a change on the physical plane of living, but this is not necessarily Prayer.

Christ is the Truth, therefore, Prayer is present only when Truth is contacted. Truth is the totality of the Qualities of Being realized in the consciousness, and it is because this attainment is not yet made by the many that Prayer is not scientifically expressed. However, "I, if I be lifted up, shall draw all unto myself," therefore one ego conformed to the Divine Laws, by which Truth is identified, is a Throne of Power by which the Qualities of Being are disseminated into the consciousness of the race, that all who will can receive them and partake of their nature. Yet, each must work out his or her own salvation, making connection with God through Christ, before communion with God can bring forth realities of being.

Prayer can be in generalities, but it must conform to the omnipresence of Principles and Qualities of Being. All the praying for God to grant this and that, the telling to God of one's troubles, the making of Prayer a public exhibition of emotion or ignorance as it is so often done, has no standing before God because it does not comply in any way to the demands of the Law of Prayer. If all things are already present in the Divine Laws, and man is the means by which the fact of the good is revealed, and he is admonished to believe that he has received, that he may have, why conduct Prayer as though no good was present, or pray for effects without recognition of the Omnipresence of all that is? Prayer, as it is practiced by the praying public is a delusion rather than a virtue, though the tendency to pray will promote seeking after the Spirit, if one will surrender the letter and grow in understanding. This is to say that the tendency to pray can bring good results, if people will comply with the governing Law of Prayer.

Unceasing Prayer

Man is admonished to pray without ceasing. To pray without ceasing necessitates an understanding of Prayer, different than that associated with the formality. If one is to kneel in order to pray, one could not enter into the ceaseless prayer. Kneeling in Prayer is for the purpose of developing humility of character, and recognition of a Supreme Power; but, other than the humble spirit it might promote, kneeling has no power to induce answer to Prayer. Unceasing Prayer reduces praying to a realization of Truth, to the capacity to understand all things in relation to underlying Principles, or to discern their lack of relation. Unceasing Prayer is in the mind, mind being the activity of the spirit of man, in formulated expressions of energies projected to the consciousness. Unceasing Prayer is a matter of righteous thought and desire, but righteous thought and desire pertain to letting the Will of God be done in the consciousness, according to its Laws, that a righteous expression of man may be revealed.

When the Mind is stayed on ideas and Principles of Truth, Prayer is continually operative and unceasing. This is the only way Prayer can be unceasing. This unceasing mode of Prayer is compatible with the, science of Omnipresence, for there is not an instant when God is not present, in its Qualities of Being, in Principles. It remains however for consciousness to know the Laws by which the Principles are set into operation. The result of the operation of the Principles of Being is not to produce material good for man, though this is incidental to unceasing Prayer, but to make Man in the image and likeness of God, Therefore, the answer to Prayer, is Man conformed to the Principles of Being. The answer to Prayer is I AM Being, for this answer is one with the Omnipresence of Being.

Prayer, as a religious rite and function, is the means by which recognition of a Supreme Power is promoted, as well as a formality associated with religious progression. Prayer, as a formality, does not always lead to humility, but it may exalt the nature, especially when made publicly. It is the works of Prayer that should be made public, but Prayer itself relates to the secret recesses of one's soul, and one's relation to God; though a carrying over to the outer plane of the declaration of the Principles of Omnipresence aids others in belief and reliance upon these Principles. Prayer to be effective must rest upon the realization of omnipresent good, whatever be its nature, and be attended with thankfulness that the good is now manifested in Laws of Divine Love. Prayer must be reduced to the character of Omnipresence, if one is to pray without ceasing. This is to be constantly in the translation of things to the forces that produced them, and the alignment of these forces to Principles; or seeing wherein they fail to align. Prayer is as much a denial of the untruth as it is the affirming of the Truth, though this is the practice of prayer and not its reality. The reality of prayer is consciousness dwelling in omnipresence. When prayer is omnipresent, and one is in its unceasing spirit, one is not inwardly moved by outer conditions. This is not to say that one is not touched outwardly by them, for those who attain to Truth must also serve toward subjecting the adverse forces of the world, therefore are inwardly kept from the evil forces, though outwardly made to serve the Lord's conquest over them.

Living in keeping with spiritual knowledge's, on the plane of mind, soul, and body, is prayer. Prayer is a communion between man and God; through Christ, the Truth, by which one is more attuned to the Spirit and its Qualities, than to the forces of the world. Christ is the Qualities of Being identified in consciousness through processes of living, and is gained through unceasing Prayer.

Violations of the Law of Prayer

The entertainment in the mind of all opposed to Being, as though the adverse forces are more actual and real than the Qualities of the Spirit, is the greatest transgression of the Law of Prayer. Prayer hinges on Being, and Being has its expression by means of man. If man expresses in a manner opposite to Being, he not only fails to bring forth the Qualities of Being, but he fails to bring forth himself. The belief that man is sustained by his own efforts, that he has his being through the sexual law of reproduction, that Prayer is a formality to be indulged in by the weak, all retard man's advancement and hold him in bondage. Man cannot receive from the Laws of Being more than he is capable of receiving, and his receiving capabilities measured by what he has given expression to in living. If one has never given expression to that which relates to the Spirit, the Spirit can bear no relation to man.

Prayer is progressive in its spirit because the Spirit is progressive. Prayer expresses in keeping with the advancement of the consciousness, when it is practiced, and produces results according to one's ability to receive, which is one's giving ability also. Because scientific Prayer, based on Principles of Being, has characterized progression the last century, superseding formality and sentimentality of Prayer, does not imply a violation, but rather a further unfoldment of understanding. The advanced capacity of Prayer is attended by its works. Never before in the history of the race has man so closely contacted God, as now, nor had he before gained an understanding of the Principles of Being, These are known now because they can be, for knowing and being are one. This is to say that man knows the things of God through the Spirit of God, operative in the consciousness, though it is understood that more of God is always introducing itself to be known at the ends of cycles, be cause that already introduced is known. Thus the progression of man permits a greater progression of God, and the introduction of more of Being to be expressed.

The attainment of the Christ Mind, or Truth, is possible only through bringing every force of mind and feeling into subjection to the Principles of the Spirit, this being a discipline promoted in the practice of unceasing Prayer. The advancing consciousness, in its ignorance, has violated the Law of Prayer. It has presumed that when it declared, "God is Wisdom and Wisdom is Omnipresent, that this was all that was required. Advancing egos refused to consider the errors that were opposed to Wisdom, afraid of being contaminated by something they thought God did not control. All growth is attended with waste and ignorance, and the new school of religious thought committed errors of deductions, but those who made up this group indicated willingness to advance; which is itself commendable before the Divine Laws that ever seek to establish themselves as working factors in the lives of men.

The Results of Prayer

Prayer promotes security, protection, confidence, poise, mastery, power. It develops reliance upon the inner Powers, with capacity to meet all issues of living in service to Truth, so that eventually Truth will enthrone itself and control all things to accomplish its own purpose. Prayer promotes spiritual victories over material conditions, making even the enemies of Christ to serve in promoting the fruits of the Spirit. Prayer is a constant renewal of the spirit, a means by which the body is penetrated by energies of a spiritual nature, and by which it is eventually transformed. "Be ye transformed, by the renewing of the mind," becomes actualized by the practice of Prayer. It is scientific Prayer that changes the body, for only that which is lived changes the body; through fashioning the essences of Being within to be formed as reality of being. This formation is through Christ, in universal service.

Prayer enables man to keep the mind stayed on Truth, and to be at peace. Prayer is not a protection from the evil forces, as many have supposed, but an enabling to meet and master them that they may eventually be wiped off the record of life. While it is Christ that wipes the evils from the record of living, racially, the individual, attained to Christ, can graduate from the necessity of mortal embodiment and go free from sin and death. Prayer not only renews the mind but it makes youthful the body, by permitting higher energies to emanate into the organism. However, this also involves the mastering of the adverse forces that are stirred up, therefore promotes a daily dying; but the new man is formed as the old man is unformed, therefore every spiritual victory is a physical gain also. Prayer is a constant contacting of the Qualities of Being, when scientifically understood and practiced; the means by which one comes to dwell in Omnipresence, and to be constantly in the presence of Truth.