Series 1 - Lesson 2 - Annotation 15
Is it right to give a treatment to any person who has not requested it?
15. It is always right to pray for such things as health, happiness, or prosperity. However, we have no right to pray for a definite outcome of events, especially where other persons are involved. To do so would indicate that we want God to express through another individual according to our standard or belief of what is right for him. Man is a free-will being, and no lasting good is gained by coercion. Neither can one judge as to what experiences are necessary for the awakening and growth of another.
It is good to recognize and affirm for another his innate divinity and thus surround him with a mental atmosphere that will dissolve the barriers he has unconsciously built around himself, and help to arouse in him the realization of his spiritual nature. A positive "treatment" of this kind strengthens his consciousness of spiritual life without in any way interfering; with his individual will and helps him to grasp the full significance of his true relationship to God as His' son.
True prayer is prayer for an understanding heart — prayer that one may come consciously into right relation in his every thought, feeling, word, action, and reaction with the divine law of good. Therefore, it is always right to offer a prayer for a person, or persons, to be divinely illumined, awakened, guided, protected, healed, prospered, and blessed in God's own wonderful way. It is good to pray for the uplifting of mankind everywhere, and for the betterment and improvement of the entire world, that the kingdom of heaven may be established in the minds and hearts of men, and upon the physical earth.
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Preceding Entry: Explain how to treat another.
Following Entry: What is meant by holding a person "in the universal"?
