"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.1 Thus lovingly spoke the Master, Christ Jesus, to his disciple, Simon Peter, on the occasion of the Last Supper. He must have been aware of Simon's unproven love of the Christ. Subsequently, he said to him, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."2 The Master knew well the value of prayer and the need of constant alertness to reject evil's insidious suggestions before they can be activated in thought, word, or deed.
In the accomplishment of his successful life—the most successful ever experienced by any individual—Jesus was continually endeavoring to please God, whom he recognized as the One alone, the only genuine cause. This enabled him to reject promptly the enticing suggestions of the carnal mind, no matter how alluring their glitter might appear. He knew that false attraction only diverts one from experiencing true satisfaction and fulfillment of one's purpose. And he knew man's purpose to be of the highest order, for he said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."3To attain this millennial state in human experience, and to retain it, he knew that a very special effort was required of everyone, and that this effort was prayer, spiritual communion with the one God.
The temptations of the world, referred to in the Bible as the efforts of Satan, are enticing in their insidiousness. For example, the suggestion may appear, "Oh, if only this position of world acclaim can be acquired at any cost!" Or the suggestion may be, "Go ahead and try a little sin; no one will see or know; take the easy way according to worldly standards." Many are familiar with such suggestions. Even the Master was not exempt from temptation, for in the Bible we read that just before he entered into his ministry he experienced the three great temptations of materiality.
However, the significant result of overcoming such temptations is also known to all who have successfully done so, even in limited degree. The result of overcoming is always as the Bible describes it in the account of the Master's temptations: "Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."4
Mrs. Eddy defines "angels" in the Glossary of Science and Health as "God's thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality."5 And under the marginal heading, "The armor of divinity," she gives a paragraph full of practical help, showing how one may defend himself against evil: "At all times and under all circumstances, overcome evil with good. Know thyself, and God will supply the wisdom and the occasion for a victory over evil. Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you. The cement of a higher humanity will unite all interests in the one divinity."6
Emphasizing the teachings of the Master, Christian Science teaches the importance of correctly identifying man, recognizing him to be in accordance with the Bible's illumining and basic statement, "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him."7 According to this divine standard the students of this Science are learning to identify themselves and their fellowmen as created by a perfect creator, an all-loving, all-wise, unchanging, and infinite cause. In identifying themselves and their brother men with this one and only cause, students are able to reject readily the temptations of evil, the anti Christ, as unworthy, misleading, trouble making. They will not be enticed by them. Instead they will recognize the unifying influence of love for God and man, in which lust, hatred, and selfishness have no part.
It is not unusual that young people, upon leaving Sunday School and going into the world of broader human experiences, are tempted by the attractions of the world. They may be told, "You never had it so good. Look at the accomplishment of natural science, the advancements of materia medica, the lushness of the improving material conditions of life. You are on your own now; you can do as you please." But the student of Christian Science is well armed to meet these situations insofar as he has learned to know God—defined in Science and Health as "the great I am; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence."8
The student who is prepared to master the suggestions of the new experience is the one who has been thoroughly taught and is well aware of his true identity as the child of the great I am. Such a student recognizes that he and his being are forever maintained in the beauty and harmony of Soul, Spirit. He knows through his increasing appreciation of love and harmony that he will always strive to stand for Principle and therefore, as the idea of Mind, will be guided to act intelligently. Because of his reaching out for that which is eternally true, the awakened student lovingly appreciates ever-available, unchangeable God as Truth.
In his study of the human arts and sciences he is increasingly aware of the fundamental law of Love as the supporting strength and harbinger of good. By accepting this law and subscribing to it, he puts on the Mind of Christ and proportionately finds the conniving methods and temptations of evil to be unworthy, despicable, and powerless. His life becomes exemplary. He understandingly appreciates the Master's life and prayers in his behalf.
Parents and teachers in Sunday School find themselves in the position of the Master when he spoke to his disciple, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you: . . . but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." In helping the students to learn to turn to God and to pray understandingly in appreciation of Him, they are equipping them for their important God-provided, Love-maintained, Principle governed, Mind-directed place in life, in the community, and in world affairs.
The outstanding and successful life of the student so blessed will strengthen his brother, who in turn will convert and strengthen others as they recognize in his uplifted and spiritualized thought something special, a joyous something to be sincerely sought after. The effective young Christian Scientist is not a follower of the materially-minded group. Rather, in his love for God he becomes a leader in his community, one whose supporting source of strength and inspiration will never fail.
What a reward for the one who can know, "I have prayed for thee"!
