“Are we benefited by praying?”
Mary Baker Eddy poses this question in “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” – and immediately follows with the answer: “Yes …” (p. 2). As I was reading this passage recently, the words stood out to me as if they were the only ones on the page. It’s so clear: Yes, we are benefited by praying.
As I reflected, I realized that Mrs. Eddy expands on that “Yes” to give an even bigger sense of its promise. The full passage reads: “Are we benefited by praying? Yes, the desire which goes forth hungering after righteousness is blessed of our Father, and it does not return unto us void.” In this, we have a magnificent assurance that God hears and blesses our prayers and that they are effective. But if it doesn’t feel that way to us, it’s important to note that this inspired direction indicates a specific type of prayer: “the desire which goes forth hungering after righteousness.”
So if our role is to hunger after righteousness, what does it mean to do that? It must be important, for Christ Jesus referenced it in the part of his Sermon on the Mount known as the Beatitudes: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6).
What is this righteousness we are to actively seek so that our prayers are beneficial? The meaning of the Greek word translated “righteousness” in this verse includes “the condition acceptable to God” and “integrity, virtue, purity of life, uprightness, correctness in thinking, feeling, and acting” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon: Strong’s G1343 – “dikaiosýnē”; see blueletterbible.org). To be hungry for righteousness is to seek this state of thought and living with urgency and focus. And according to the Bible, qualities such as purity, virtue, and integrity are actually inherent in us.
The first chapter of Genesis says that God made man in His image and likeness – which is to say, in our true, spiritual identity as God’s child. Therefore, we are each the perfect and complete expression of God, Spirit. Christ Jesus’ magnificent words and works demonstrated the practicality of knowing this truth of the spiritual nature of man, and Christian Science explains that this is how Jesus healed. Where others accepted flawed mortality as the truth of themselves and others, Jesus saw all as that perfect man, and as a result of this right, or righteous, divine seeing, he was able to restore harmony of mind and body to so many.
We, too, can strive to see nothing but God’s likeness in ourselves and others, uncovering what we truly are and enabling us to see through anything that would impede such a pure view.
What an active, engaged way to pray! To pray with a sense of hunger for integrity, a hunger for virtue, a hunger for purity, a hunger for rightness and correctness. This is prayer impelled by self-reflection and infused with humility, spiritual discernment, and honesty. It’s deep and thoughtful and takes shape as a heart’s desire.
I’ve found prayer to be most effective when I start, and stay with, deeply cherishing what’s true about God – the nearness, nowness, and loving presence of our divine Father-Mother. This kind of humble prayer “is blessed of our Father, and it does not return unto us void.” The full promise is essential to understand and accept. Not only are these hungering-after-righteousness prayers blessed of God, but they’re also not void – meaning they’re not empty of substance or effect.
It’s imperative that we don’t believe any suggestion that sneaks into our thought arguing that our prayers are ineffective, unheard, or empty. Mrs. Eddy explains that these suggestions are nothing more than animal magnetism, which is “the false belief that mind is in matter, and is both evil and good; that evil is as real as good and more powerful.” She adds, “This belief has not one quality of Truth” (Science and Health, p. 103).
If we find ourselves in a situation where we’re tempted to wonder if God has heard our prayers, we can mentally step back to consider: Have I truly hungered after righteousness with my prayers? Am I striving to more fully express integrity, purity, honesty, and rightness through reflecting God? Above all, am I honoring what God is, or am I more focused on finding a solution to whatever it is I’m praying about?
Honoring God’s majesty and allness keeps thought elevated and clear and enables us to better see whatever may need more attention in our prayers. And as we hunger for that righteousness and a clearer expression of it, our prayers are answered in ways that benefit us and others.
Are we benefited by praying? Yes!
Adapted from an editorial published in the Jan. 5, 2026, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.
