Amy
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I don’t have a daily regiment. I kind of like to go with whatever God’s telling me at any given moment. But I totally agree that Christian Science (and church!) isn’t/aren’t a spectator sport.
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John
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I like to cherish one Mind right when I wake up, and then follow where that thought and prayer leads. I’ve really enjoyed practicing praying RIGHT when I wake up – I’ve certainly woke myself from a night dream in prayer! – and that start to the day gives such an illumination for everything else.
Isn’t it interesting how the connotations of language make things so unique for all of us? Like Amy, I wouldn’t say that I have a daily ‘regimen,’ but I do certainly enjoy starting every day in that prayerful way!
Maybe some people don’t / don’t like to work for themselves because of some negative connotations to that word, ‘work.’ It is work, certainly, but it’s such a joyful thing, to commit to listening to, and trusting, what our Father-Mother knows about each of us. Nothing could be more attractive than those prayers!
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Amy
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I like this a lot: If you are not going to take care of yourself first and foremost, who is? So true (well, besides God!).
And the rest of your post reminds me of something I heard at a talk on prayer by a Christian Science lecturer a long time ago. He said that he thinks it’s interesting that the chapter Prayer in Science and Health tells us more what NOT to do than what to do. That leaves the rest wide open and God directed.
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Gordon
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There’s a difference between protection and promotion. Humility is a key ingredient in Christianity and in effective prayer. We aren’t working to promote ourselves or gain applause or fame. But that’s different from protecting yourself, which is absolutely vital and something we NEED to do.
I really like what the apostle Paul had to say when it came to the concept of promotion though, since we all like to feel appreciated. He believed that as church members it was our job to collectively promote and celebrate everyone else. Unfortunately he himself writes about feeling the sting of other church members not being very reliable in this regard in the 12th chapter of 2nd Corinthians. Here is an excerpt from The Message translation of that chapter:
Well, now I've done it! I've made a complete fool of myself by going on like this. But it's not all my fault; you put me up to it. You should have been doing this for me, sticking up for me and commending me instead of making me do it for myself. You know from personal experience that even if I'm a nobody, a nothing, I wasn't second-rate compared to those big-shot apostles you're so taken with. ... So how does it happen that the more I love you, the less I'm loved? ...
Kind of discouraging, actually, that he had to chastise his fellow church members for not celebrating him, but nevertheless I do admire the model he presented: that we should all be celebrating each other rather than promoting ourselves.
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Amy
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I’ve found my most effective prayer moments are actually when I quit talking to God and I just listen to Him/Her. For me, when I am doing the talking, I’m stuck in the problem. ;) But that doesn’t mean I think there’s one right way to pray. And I have a feeling I’m going to keep discovering more ways all along the way. :)
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