As members of The Mother Church, we are asked by our Leader to do special daily praying for ourselves. In the Manual of The Mother Church, Mary Baker Eddy says, "It shall be the duty of every member of this Church to defend himself daily against aggressive mental suggestion, and not be made to forget nor to neglect his duty to God, to his Leader, and to mankind." Manual, Art. VIII, Sect. 6
Just how to accomplish this is a question worthy of some deep thought. Even though I've been a Christian Scientist for years and have known that doing this praying is essential to my life and work, not until recently did I take the time to investigate just how I might do it more effectively. One reason I wanted to learn more about this subject is that I felt my work to defend myself had become somewhat humdrum —routine, boring, and quite uninspired. I needed an overhaul.
Much to my delight, I found specific and very helpful guidance when I turned to the Bible as well as to Mrs. Eddy's writings. Pondering the story of David and Goliath See I Sam. 17:20-50 was fruitful. Having discarded the heavy armor offered to him by Saul, David was able to run to meet Goliath with confidence. Why had David been able to go forward without traditional protection? Perhaps because he had always found his trust in God to be sufficient in the past. He told Saul that God had already delivered him from a lion and a bear, and he was certain God would save him from Goliath as well. David was facing a physically threatening situation, but he evidently felt his best protection came from God. How can we achieve through our prayer the same confidence in God that David felt?
