”Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” (James 4: 3)

All things are possible to God. Prayer can reveal healing, perfection, peace. Are we asking rightly? Are we making demands on God according to our wishes and wants rather than yielding up our desires for God’s higher design?

Asking amiss means using human will to pray for divine benefits; telling God, the all-knowing, our sense of what is best and right and needed. This willful asking can also often be selfish, seeing only our side and not taking others into consideration, as God’s will must always do. He sees and knows all. He is Father-Mother to all. Your needs met do not collide with another’s. They harmonize, when we leave those needs to God’s perfect Mind and activity.

We also may be asking amiss and not receiving because we are praying to the wrong God. Are we praying to One that we feel is trustworthy and capable, or are we praying to a god that we somehow think is arbitrary or needs convincing of our goodness and of his own? Are we praying to a god of matter, or One of Spirit? Are we praying to a god who has limits, or are we praying to the Infinite Almighty?

Ask and receive. Know to Whom you pray and honor Him for that richness, goodness, and wisdom. Yield up the human will for the divine will. This does not leave you in the hands of fate, or possible failure. It leaves you in the hands of infinite, intelligent, perfect, all-seeing, always-active, perfecting, cleansing, healing, merciful, saving Love.

This is today’s e-inspire. These messages are based on passages from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy. These books are our “pastor” in Christian Science. Come back every Tuesday and Thursday for fresh inspiration. Or get a free subscription to receive an inspirational message like this one every morning directly to your inbox by contacting me at lamolitercs@aol.com. A downloadable compilation of categorized messages is also available by request.