“I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also” (I Corinthians 14:15).
There are many ways to pray. Christ Jesus instructs us first of all to “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” (Matthew 6:6). And he gave us a model we can base our prayers upon, which we know as the Lord’s Prayer. Among her many insights into prayer, Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, says this: “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” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 15).
By following these inspired instructions, we will be prepared to receive the spiritual inspiration we need in each moment. We will be on the way to finding our oneness with our heavenly Father, and to knowing the truth that Christ Jesus assures us will make us free (see John 8:32). As suggested in the quotation at the beginning of this article, St. Paul found praying and singing to be effective. For it to be of benefit to us also, we too can pray and sing with the Spirit and also with understanding.
