Scientific prayer embraces the knowledge that the kingdom of heaven is a present reality, is within us right now, as Christ Jesus said and proved. He told his disciples, "Into whatsoever city ye enter, . . . heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you." Luke 10:8, 9;
Like everything else, our ability to give Christian Science treatment improves with practice. But all treatment rests on our understanding of God and His spiritual creation as the only reality. Our prayers become more effective as our understanding of the nature and allness of God increases. The more clearly we understand God, the more faith we have in His omnipotence. At the same time we come to see man as inseparable from Him and always under His control. And we see that spiritual creation rather than the material sense of the universe is the reality.
Although there are certain fundamental rules for treatment, there are no set formulas. Scientific treatment is not stereotyped, because we are looking to God, the infinite source of ideas, to inspire our prayer, and because every situation requiring prayer is different. Yet all treatment includes the realization of Spirit's allness and matter's nonexistence, the perception of spiritual existence as the only reality. Without this basic stand there can be no genuine healing, no lasting proof of perfection.
