A sermon that appeared earlier this year in an issue of The Christian Ministry tells of the time when the great composer George Frederick Handel was going through rough waters in his life and career. He had recently faced a serious illness that left his hands partially crippled. In the social circles of eighteenth-century Europe he couldn't seem to fit in, even among fellow musicians. But perhaps most devastating for him personally was the knowledge that his music wasn't being appreciated. In fact, as far as public opinion was concerned, his new operas were failures. Creditors were hounding him.
Here was a lonely man with very little in the way of recognition for his lifework. Yet there came a turn in Handel's life. As the story is told, he had been snubbed at a gathering of musicians one night, and he returned home in a despondent mood. Handel found, however, that a friend had come by and "left a package on his desk containing a compilation of Bible verses, a grouping his friend called 'Messiah.' " At first, Handel was in no temper to consider the verses, yet one particular passage captured his attention. It was from the Old Testament (Isa. 40:1, 5): "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.... And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together."
Almost miraculously, those Bible verses opened a new window on life for the composer. "Handel's loneliness began to lift....The harmonies of mighty choruses and the music of orchestra and organ flooded his barren soul, enlivening him. With incredible rapidity he filled page after page. He worked all night, without sleep."
For the next three weeks, the composer wrote on and on, inspired, alone with what must certainly have been his private prayer. "Those days of solitude were the highlights of Handel's life. He said, 'The gates of heaven opened wide, and I was in the company of God Almighty.'" See Dick Underdahl-Peirce, "When God Seems Far Away," The Christian Ministry, January-February 1989, p. 24.
Of course, when it was completed, Handel's Messiah became one of the greatest, most moving, and most loved works in all the literature of classical music. His remarkable experience demonstrates the power that lives in the Scriptures. And it shows the grace and wonder that can come to human life when our solitude in prayer brings us into the conscious presence of God.
The Messiah himself, Christ Jesus, taught his followers the vital importance of living a life of prayer. He talked about earnest, importunate prayer—a consistent seeking after truth and a pure worship of God. Yet he also gave the disciples some cautions about hypocrisy in prayer. He taught them, for example, that there is an essential difference between public displays of prayer that are primarily intended to impress others and private communion with the Father, which allows the heart to speak honestly of one's deepest yearnings. After warning his disciples about the vanity of those who would pray "standing...in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men," Jesus counseled, "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." Matt. 6:5, 6.
In quiet, we each can go directly to God without fear of being misunderstood. It is in this "secret" place of prayer that we have an opportunity humbly to examine our own aspirations, priorities, and desires. And it is here we can discover the spiritual truth of God and man that establishes the government of divine Principle in our lives. Such consecrated prayer opens the way of freedom from sin and rules it out of our character. Prayer brings healing of disease and lifts the burden of grief or despair. It truly broadens, enriches, and deepens our affections for God and His creation.
What is this spiritual truth that prayer illuminates? Among many things, it can include a growing realization of God's nearness, His ever-presence, and of His unopposed power as the one infinite Spirit, all-knowing Mind, divine Love. Prayer helps us to recognize that God's goodness is not absent even when we might feel as though it is. Prayer nurtures us in the conviction that God is always caring for His children; and we begin to see that we all are actually—truly—God's children ourselves.
Prayer brings healing of disease and lifts the burden of grief or despair. It truly broadens, enriches, and deepens our affections for God and His creation.
Students of Christian Science learn that to be sincere followers of Christ Jesus they must freely accept this fundamental responsibility to pray. And the Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy elucidates our Christian obligation in a number of important ways. It speaks of the daily duty to watch spiritually and to continue faithfully in prayer. See Man., Art. VIII, Sects. 1, 4. The Manual also shows the central place of unselfish prayers in Christian Science churches—prayers that embrace the entire congregation. See ibid., Art. VIII, Sect. 5. And the Manual surely points to the strength, vitality, and joy that come as we wholeheartedly answer the spiritual call to pray and study. "A Christian Scientist," Mrs. Eddy writes, "is not fatigued by prayer, by reading the Scriptures or the Christian Science textbook." Ibid., Art. XVII, Sect. 1.
For the Christian Scientist, the individual study of the Bible and the textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mrs. Eddy, is wholly invigorating. That study develops in us a deeper understanding of the spiritual implications of what our prayer itself is revealing. From the inspired Word of the Scriptures and the teachings of Christian Science it becomes clear that to grasp what it means to be the child of God is not simply to have human life improved or made a bit more comfortable; it is to be transformed, made new. We awake to discover man as the spiritual image, the pure expression, of God Himself. And this spiritual relationship that we all have to God is where the power for healing and redemption is realized.
Science and Health includes this observation of what is required of the Christian's prayer-life: "In order to pray aright, we must enter into the closet and shut the door. We must close the lips and silence the material senses. In the quiet sanctuary of earnest longings, we must deny sin and plead God's allness."
Then comes the actual commitment and day-to-day living: "We must resolve to take up the cross, and go forth with honest hearts to work and watch for wisdom, Truth, and Love. We must 'pray without ceasing.' Such prayer is answered, in so far as we put our desires into practice. The Master's injunction is, that we pray in secret and let our lives attest our sincerity." Science and Health, p. 15.
To be alone with our prayer is to be alone with God—at one with the true source and substance of our being. It's where we find the strength to accomplish all the good that is rightfully ours to do. We may not write a Handel's Messiah. But we will certainly discover other ways to help our world, uplift our neighbors, and bring healing. And spiritual healing through prayer is surely among the most important contributions anyone can make to the welfare of humanity.
The promise in Isaiah continues to inspire every humble effort in the Father's service: "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God....And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed." To be alone with our prayer is to feel the grace of God, to witness His saving power. We need to take time for this quiet heartfelt prayer, daily and often—and to do all that we can to live our prayer "without ceasing."
