Have we taken time today to be quiet? Have we turned aside from the rush and pressure of human affairs and, in the silence of spiritual communion with the one God, renewed our confidence, strength, and joy, praying for others as well as for ourselves? If so, then we have returned to our tasks refreshed and comforted.
Mary Baker Eddy set the example of communing with God, as she did in so many right things. She tells us in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 133): "Three times a day, I retire to seek the divine blessing on the sick and sorrowing, with my face toward the Jerusalem of Love and Truth, in silent prayer to the Father which 'seeth in secret,' and with childlike confidence that He will reward 'openly.' In the midst of depressing care and labor I turn constantly to divine Love for guidance, and find rest." In Isaiah (30:15) we read, "In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength."
The question may arise, "How much time should I give to the study of Christian Science, to prayer and meditation?" To keep God first in our lives, abiding steadfastly in a conscious sense of God's allness, requires absolute consecration. To find time and opportunity to achieve this end must be worked out by demonstration. A sense of being under pressure and overworked never comes from God. Actually, the one and only Mind is doing all, and man is Mind's humble servant, reflecting God's perfect attributes of wisdom, health, holiness, and love.
