Is prayer effective? Does what we think of God and of His perfect creation have any beneficial effect on mankind? To both questions Christian Science gives an affirmative answer.
On page 210 of "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany," Mary Baker Eddy advises Christian Scientists to keep their thoughts filled with that which is good only—with Truth and Love. She then explains: "Good thoughts are an impervious armor; clad therewith you are completely shielded from the attacks of error of every sort. And not only yourselves are safe, but all whom your thoughts rest upon are thereby benefited."
There is an inherent assurance in the consciousness of most people, at least of those who believe in the Supreme Being, that prayer is in some degree ameliorative. Just how to pray and why prayer is beneficial may not be so clear to them. But in every heart there is a capacity to comprehend and employ prayer. The highest prayer unfolds from one's earnest desire for that which is good, spiritual, pure, true. One imbued with such desire is very close to God, the source of all good.
