The use of the two-edged sword of prayer and scientific demonstration, of spiritualization of thought and its practical effects, underlies effective church work. Principle and proof, prayer and demonstration, go hand in hand. We cannot have one without the other. The efficacy of our prayers for the church is coincidental with the Christliness of our lives. Mrs. Eddy writes in "The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany" (p. 203), "Pray aright and demonstrate your prayer; sing in faith."
Effective prayer enables us to "sing in faith." It makes us wise and practical witnesses to God's omniaction. Only when our thought is spiritualized by prayer and our lives are Christianized by Christly works can we evidence to mankind the divine origin and operation of Christian Science. To accomplish this, we all have work to do. Daily we must pray for the Church our Leader founded. We must understand and affirm that God is forever unfolding His idea, Church. This divine idea of God irresistibly reflects the energies of Truth, and we must practice these energies in our lives. Good works inspired by effective prayer reveal our lives.
In addition, the basic beliefs of mortal mind, such as fear, sin, and the ignorance of God's goodness and allness, need to be discerned as unreal. Man is not ignorant of the divine idea, Church. The Church of God's creating cannot be forever hidden from human consciousness.
