Desire is Prayer

“Desire is prayer, . . “
-Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p.1.

I see it - all these people, here at Matthews Beach, are full of prayer. That very large man with the very large sandwich, opening his mouth wide to receive - in prayer. That woman stretching herself out in the sun. The little girl, running down to the beach with every step pushing more upward than forward, a clear desire to fly - in prayer. The young men posturing, playing frisbee and talking in tones designed to carry to nearby females; the young families shepherding their children; the girls on the swimming platform - all full of desire, all in prayer.

Desire is prayer, and prayer is the soul’s flight toward goodness, the homing urge that draws us through our days. Desire is the engine of our motion, what gets us up in the morning and makes us keep doing our daily tasks. Or sends us off in a new direction. All of us are full of desire, and so, full of prayer.

Divine Life answers prayers. Everything we most deeply wish for is just our longing for what we know we are - beloved, accepted, perfect children of our creator. Reflections of Love. We may chase after our desire with a hamburger, or mark it with a cigarette, or pine for it as a love of our own. In the end the place we’re trying to satisfy is the same for all of us. We all deserve it, and we all will find it.