“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” (Matthew 6: 9)

Jesus taught us many things. One of the most important of these is how to pray. He gave his disciples and the world a prayer to meet all human needs. It must have held within its words the very spirit of Truth that he utilized in his own wonderful healings.

I’m often asked and I often ask the question myself: How does one really pray? Those who have been devoted to God for years will still often wonder why they seem to have forgotten exactly how to pray. It seems at times like an elusive concept or one requiring more consecrated time, understanding, and faith than we think we have.

But Jesus showed us here the simplicity of it. This first line of his prayer gives us our starting point that opens up awareness to whatever blessings, inspiration, and guidance must come next.  Our Father. The Father and Creator of all of us and of everything dwells in harmony and is the very substance of goodness, reality, heaven. He is the conscious presence of all that is right and good.

So, our prayer is to honor this. It is to hallow His name. It is to reflect on and worship and love the fact of God, good, and His allness, power, perfection, control. When we begin our prayer with this recognition and praise of God, we have turned in the right direction, obeyed that all-important First Commandment, and have left self behind for earnest praise of Soul, of God’s name as the power, the presence, the flawless love.

This one line of prayer speaks volumes and there is surely more to see in it than I have shared here! But when you are seeking a starting point for prayer, begin as Jesus did. Simply love God for all that He is and let Him do the rest.

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.