Tag: prayer

Constant prayer

Published on by lindseybiggsLeave a comment

The Bible talks about “praying without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17), which can sometimes sound like an unattainable goal.

How does one pray all the time? Is it even possible?

I recently came across two statements in the Christian Science textbook, which helped me understand this better.

“The habitual struggle to be always good is unceasing prayer.” (Science and Health, p. 4)

“Consistent prayer is the desire to do right.” (Science and Health, p. 9)

So, when I desire to do the right thing and to be good, I am praying.

I wanted to ask a friend for a favor the other day. Then thought came to me: rather than just invite him over to help me on a project, I should invite him over for dinner, hang out with him and enjoy his company. We could get the project done at the same time, and I could take the time to appreciate getting to know him in a new way (he has helped my family on many occasions). Later, I realized that my desire to do the right thing in this situation, was actually a form of praying.

So whether we’re picking out a movie to watch on a Friday night or making plans with friends, our desire to do good in every situation is a form of praying.

That certainly makes the goal of “praying without ceasing” much more tangible to me!

We tread on forces…

Published on by lindseybiggsLeave a comment

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great holiday and that you are all enjoying the freshness and spiritual promise of a new year!

I often contemplate this statement when I pray:

We tread on forces. Withdraw them, and creation must collapse. Human knowledge calls them forces of matter; but divine Science declares that they belong wholly to divine Mind, are inherent in this Mind, and so restores them to their rightful home and classification.(Science and Health, p. 124)

Sometimes it seems like everything is on the verge of falling apart. I contemplate this statement to know that my home, family, and society are fully sustained by divine Spirit. Goodness is natural and normal. God made us and sustains us. He made us healthy, harmonious and good. These attributes are spiritual forces, or laws, that we can draw on and underlie our being.

God’s being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss (Science and Health, p. 481). And we reflect that being. We are at one with that being.

So next time that things feel shaky remember that you draw on forces of good (a real force of nature) which sustains your very being.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Published on by lindseybiggsLeave a comment

Hope you have a great holiday and enjoy giving gratitude!

Here are two inspiring blog posts about the healing effect that gratitude has.

It seems like a lot of people–including Oprah–think gratitude is healing. Is it really healing or does it just make you feel better?

…This experience helps to illustrate the two ways that I’ve come to think about gratitude. First, it can be a means for rising higher in thought so that I can commune with God and reach the summit of what God is seeing or knowing. Seeing things from God’s perspective is kind of like the view you see from the top of a mountain: The completeness and glory of the view are always there, but the fullness of that view becomes increasingly apparent the higher you go. Only at the summit do you get the full 360 degrees— where no part of the view is blocked….

Thanksgiving Grace

…Imagine the effect of the intention of sincere gratitude being expressed by millions of hearts in one day! I believe this effect can be healing, because whenever the heart is full of remembered blessings, how can there be room for hurt, resentment, anger, bitterness, fear? When those negative feelings are not remembered, well, they simply disappear. Healing is the lasting effect…the healing effect of grace….