(Learn more about the Five Steps of Affirmative Prayer here.)

If God — Infinite Spirit — ever answered prayer, It always answers prayer... since God is the same yesterday, today and forever. If there seems to be any failure it is in man's ignorance or misunderstanding of the Will and Nature of God.

There is a place in us which lies open to the Infinite; but when the Spirit brings Its gift, by pouring Itself through us, It can give to us only what we can take.

Every day and every hour we are meeting the eternal realities of life, and in such a degree as we co-operate with these eternal realities in love, in peace, in wisdom, and in joy — believing and receiving — we are automatically blessed. Our prayer is answered before it is uttered.

We can be certain that there is an Intelligence in the Universe to which we may come, that will guide and inspire us, a love which overshadows. God is real to the one who believes in the Supreme Spirit, real to the soul that senses the unity of the Whole.

Most people who believe in God believe in prayer; but our idea of prayer changes as our idea of God changes; and it is natural for each to feel that his/her way of praying is the correct way. But we should bear in mind that the prayers which are effective - no matter whose prayers they may be - are effective because they embody certain universal principles which, when understood, can be consciously used.

In Science of Mind we expand the meaning of the word prayer by using the word treatment.

As Ernest Holmes writes:

Prayer and Treatment

One of the questions most frequently asked about Science of Mind is, "Are prayers and treatments identical?" The answer to this question is both yes and no. If when one prays the prayer is a recognition of Spirit's Omniscience, Omnipotence and Omnipresence, and a realization of each being's unity with Spirit, then the prayer is a spiritual mind treatment.

If, on the other hand, one is holding to the viewpoint that God is some far - off Being, whom one would approach with doubt in thought; wondering if by some good luck s/he may be able to placate God or persuade God of the wisdom of one's request - then, there is but little similarity between prayer and treatment. Nothing could bring greater discouragement than to labor under the delusion that God is a being of moods, who might answer some prayers and not others.

God manifests Itself through all individuals. No two people are alike; each has a unique place in the universe of Mind; each lives in Mind; each contacts It through his/her own mentality, in an individual way, drawing from It a unique expression of Its Divine Nature. If one makes her/himself receptive to the idea of love, s/he becomes lovable. To the degree that s/he embodies love, s/he is love; so people who love are loved. Whoever becomes receptive to the idea of peace, poise and calm — whoever embodies these divine realities — finds them flowing through him/her and s/he becomes peaceful, poised and calm.

Prayer Is Essential To Happiness

Prayer is not an act of overcoming God's reluctance, but should be an active acceptance of Its highest willingness. Through prayer we recognize a spiritual law, that has always existed, and put ourselves in alignment with it. The law of electricity might have been used by Moses had he understood this law. Emerson said: "Is not prayer a study of truth, a sally of the Soul into the unfound Infinite?"

Prayer is constructive, because it enables us to establish closer contact with the Fountain of Wisdom, and we are less likely to be influenced by appearances around us — to judge "according to appearance." Righteous prayer sets the "law of the Spirit of Life" in motion for us.

Prayer is essential, not to the salvation of the soul, for the soul is never lost; but to the conscious wellbeing of the soul that does not understand itself. There is a vitality in our communion with the Infinite, which is productive of the highest good. As fire warms the body, as food strengthens us, as sunshine raises our spirits, so there is a subtle transfusion of some invisible force in such communion, weaving itself into the very warp and woof of our own mentalities. This conscious communion of our thought with Spirit is essential to the well-being of every part of us.

Prayer has stimulated countless millions of people to higher thoughts and nobler deeds. That which tends to connect our mind with the Universal Mind lets in a flood of Its consciousness. If we think of God as a Heavenly Dictator — something apart from that which lives and moves and has Its being where we are — then we are certain to believe ourselves to be disconnected from this Infinite Presence; and the inevitable consequence of such thinking would be a terrible fear that we should never be able to make contact with Infinite Spirit! But if we know God as an Indwelling Presence, our prayer is naturally addressed to this Presence in us. We long for, and need, a conscious union with the Infinite. This is as necessary to the nature and intellect of man, as food is to the well-being of his physical body.

Prayer Is Its Own Answer

Cause and effect are but two sides of thought, and Spirit, being ALL, is both Cause and Effect. Prayer, then, is its own answer. The Bible tells us: "Before they call will I answer." Before our prayer is framed in words, God has already answered, but if our prayer is one of partial belief, then there is only a tendency toward its answer; if the next day we wholly doubt, then there is no answer at all. In dealing with Mind, we are dealing with a Force we cannot fool. We cannot cheat Principle out of the slightest shadow of our most subtle concept. The hand writes and passes on, but the writing remains; and the only thing that can erase it is writing of a different character. There is no obstruction one cannot dissipate by the power of Truth.

So we learn to go deeply within ourselves, and speak as though there were a Presence there that knows; and we should take the time to unearth this hidden cause, to penetrate this inner chamber of consciousness. It is most worthwhile to commune with Spirit -to sense and feel It. The approach to Spirit is direct… through our own consciousness.

The Spirit flows through us. Whatever intelligence we have is this Spirit in us. Prayer is its own answer.

Ernest Holmes, The Science of Mind

Learn about the Five Steps of Spiritual Mind Treatment here.