Prayer in Christian Science does not plead with God to change a sick mortal into a well one or a sinner into a saint. Rather, it seeks to understand more fully what God is and what He has already done for man, made in His own image and likeness. In proportion as we grasp the perfection of God's being and the consequent perfection of our real selfhood as the spiritual reflection of God, the healing is accomplished.
"Asking God to be God is a vain repetition," writes Mary Baker Eddy in Science and Health. And in the preceding paragraph she says: "Do we expect to change perfection? Shall we plead for more at the open fount, which is pouring forth more than we accept?" Science and Health, p. 2;
God is the source of all true action, but He does not react to human circumstances. God's action is a continuous and constituent part of His being. It is not a variable factor, influenced by the prayers of men.
