Chapter I - Prayer
Diabolism destroyed
6:1
We cannot escape the penalty due for sin. The Scrip-
We cannot escape the penalty due for sin. The Scrip-
tures say, that if we deny Christ, "he also will deny us."
Pardon and amendment
6:3
Divine Love corrects and governs man. Men may
Divine Love corrects and governs man. Men may
pardon, but this divine Principle alone reforms the
sinner. God is not separate from the wis-
dom He bestows. The talents He gives we
must improve. Calling on Him to forgive our work
badly done or left undone, implies the vain supposition
that we have nothing to do but to ask pardon, and
that afterwards we shall be free to repeat the offence.
6:11
To cause suffering as the result of sin, is the means
To cause suffering as the result of sin, is the means
of destroying sin. Every supposed pleasure in sin
will furnish more than its equivalent of pain, until be-
lief in material life and sin is destroyed. To reach
heaven, the harmony of being, we must understand
the divine Principle of being.
Mercy without partiality
6:17
"God is Love." More than this we cannot ask,
"God is Love." More than this we cannot ask,
higher we cannot look, farther we cannot go. To
suppose that God forgives or punishes sin
according as His mercy is sought or un-
sought, is to misunderstand Love and to make prayer
the safety-valve for wrong-doing.
Divine severity
6:23
Jesus uncovered and rebuked sin before he cast it
Jesus uncovered and rebuked sin before he cast it
out. Of a sick woman he said that Satan had bound
her, and to Peter he said, "Thou art an of-
fence unto me." He came teaching and
showing men how to destroy sin, sickness, and death.
He said of the fruitless tree, "[It] is hewn down."
6:29
It is believed by many that a certain magistrate,
It is believed by many that a certain magistrate,
who lived in the time of Jesus, left this record: "His
rebuke is fearful." The strong language of our Mas-
ter confirms this description.
7:1
The only civil sentence which he had for error was,
The only civil sentence which he had for error was,
"Get thee behind me, Satan." Still stronger evidence
that Jesus' reproof was pointed and pungent is found
in his own words, – showing the necessity for such
forcible utterance, when he cast out devils and healed
the sick and sinning. The relinquishment of error de-
prives material sense of its false claims.
Audible praying
7:8
Audible prayer is impressive; it gives momentary
Audible prayer is impressive; it gives momentary
solemnity and elevation to thought. But does it pro-
duce any lasting benefit? Looking deeply
into these things, we find that "a zeal . . .
not according to knowledge" gives occasion for reac-
tion unfavorable to spiritual growth, sober resolve, and
wholesome perception of God's requirements. The mo-
tives for verbal prayer may embrace too much love of
applause to induce or encourage Christian sentiment.
Emotional utterances
7:17
Physical sensation, not Soul, produces material ec-
Physical sensation, not Soul, produces material ec-
stasy and emotion. If spiritual sense always guided
men, there would grow out of ecstatic mo-
ments a higher experience and a better life
with more devout self-abnegation and purity. A self‑
satisfied ventilation of fervent sentiments never makes
a Christian. God is not influenced by man. The "di-
vine ear" is not an auditory nerve. It is the all-hearing
and all-knowing Mind, to whom each need of man is
always known and by whom it will be supplied.
Danger from audible prayer
7:27
The danger from prayer is that it may lead us into temp-
The danger from prayer is that it may lead us into temp-
tation. By it we may become involuntary hypocrites, ut-
tering desires which are not real and consoling
ourselves in the midst of sin with the recollection
that we have prayed over it or mean to ask for-
giveness at some later day. Hypocrisy is fatal to religion.