The Manual of The Mother Church by Mary Baker Eddy nurtures the life of prayer characteristic of Christian Science. It repeats the spirit of Christ Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, cultivating the moral and spiritual character required for Christian demonstration. The practicing Christian Scientist cannot help observing that every demand Christ Jesus made of his disciples has a corollary in the law of Love, revealed in Christian Science. An effective observance of Article VIII, Section 4, "Daily Prayer," actually brings about the Christian development that is summarized in the Sermon on the Mount and that is reflected throughout the provisions of the Church Manual. The more one studies the Gospels in the light of Christian Science, the more one will learn of the "preparations of the heart," which lead to the "answer of the tongue...from the Lord." Prov. 16:1.
Following the example of our Saviour, Christ Jesus, Mrs. Eddy faithfully labored and sacrificed to bring an understanding of the efficacy of prayer to all mankind. The chapter "Prayer" in Science and Health leads the reader and student into the heart of Christ Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. It makes clear to all the continuing power and authority of Jesus' teachings. Demonstration of the power of prayer to heal and save is a great demand of this age. Those who actually do this begin to understand the significance of Mrs. Eddy's lifework and her place in Christian history.
The Manual provision "Daily Prayer" helps every student to maintain a constant sense of man's relationship to God. As Mrs. Eddy notes in Science and Health, "The Christlike understanding of scientific being and divine healing includes a perfect Principle and idea,—perfect God and perfect man,—as the basis of thought and demonstration." Science and Health, p. 259. To live by this scientific truth requires both Christian regeneration and spiritual discipline.
