Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2019 with funding from
Princeton Theological Seminary Library

https://archive.org/details/psychologyofprayOOstol

®fit Sbtngbon Religious Ctmcation (Eexts

©ahib <S. ©ohntep, (general €bi tor

NORMAN E. RICHARDSON, Associate Editor

THE PSYCHOLOGY
OF PRAYER

KARL R. STOLZ

Professor of Religious Education,
Wesley College, North Dakota

THE ABINGDON PRESS

NEW YORK CINCINNATI

Printed in the United States of America

THE MEMORY OF MY FATHER

1859-1919

A MAN OF PRAYER

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

Editor’s Introduction. 9

Author’s Preface . n

I. The Point of View. 15

The Psychological Approach. The task—Sources of
prayer material—The essence of prayer—Petitional
and devotional prayers—Psychological phases. The
Theological and Philosophical Position. Explanation
« and description—The immanence of God—Christian
psychology.

II. Suggestion. 28

The Essentials of Suggestion. Holding the suggested
idea in mental focus—Faith included in suggestion—

The self-realization of the suggested idea—Effort and
relaxation. Classification of Suggestion. Social and
autosuggestion—Positive and negative suggestion—
Intentional and unintentional suggestion. The Influ¬
ence of Suggestion. The threefold effect of suggestion
—The province of suggestion—Real and imaginary
results. Points of Contact with Prayer.

III. Attention in Prayer . 52

Accessories to Attention. Privacy in Prayer—Social
praying—Physical posture—Suspending the vision—
Automatic movements — Emotion — Oral praying —
Shifting of attention—The law of inertia—Praying
at night—The rosary—The will. The Function and
Nature of Attention. The function of attention in
prayer—Voluntary attention. Summary.

IV. Faith in Prayer. 75

Facts Which Inspire Faith. Religious environment
—Devotional literature—Testimonies of others—Mem-

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

CHAPTER P

ory —Serviceable interpretations—Ignoring negative
cases—Coincidence—Repetition. The Nature and
Function of Faith. Faith as will—Faith as self-surren-
der—The independence of faith.

V. The Answer to Personal Petitional Prayer .

Prayer for Regeneration. A sense of incompleteness
—Effort and result—Self-surrender—Is conversion
instantaneous?—Subconscious parallels—The points
of contrast between Christian conversions and others
—The divine element. Prayer for Ethical Betterment.
A case in point—Parallel instances—The religious
element. Prayer for the Cure of Disease. The prin¬
ciples of faith cure—Illustrations of various effects of
suggestion—The scope of faith cure—Prayer and
science. Prayer for Divine Guidance. Prayer and
poise—Prayer and unconscious memory—Guidance by
voices and visions—Temperament and prayer response.
Summary.

VI. The Answer to the Cooperative Prayer.

The Answer to the Known Cooperative Prayer.
Known Prayers for Substance and Action. Prayers for
material aid—Prayers for the control of action.
Known Instructional and Hortatory Prayer. Pulpit
prayers—Other public prayers—Prayer in the home
and inner circle—Prayers for the dead. The Answer
to the Unknown Cooperative Prayer. Mental Telepathy.
Hallucinations and telepathy—Suggestion and telep¬
athy—Coincidence and chance. Subconscious Sensi¬
tivity and Unrecognized Petitions. Experimental evi¬
dence for subconscious registration—Subconscious
registration of prayer. Direct Impressions by God.
Summary.

VII. Objective Answers.

Human tendencies—Undiscovered connections—
God and nature—The higher ministry of prayer.
Summary.

.CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE

VIII. Ungranted Petitions. rrrTT. . 161

Ungranted' Personal Petitions. An uneasy con¬
science—Theological struggles—Temperamental dis¬
qualifications—Lack of perseverance—Negative sug¬
gestion—Vain repetitions—Periods of spiritual dry¬
ness—Lack of rest periods—Want of faith. Un¬
granted Social Petitions. Lack of information—Direct
suggestions.

* - - ' *

IX. Prayers of Confession and Praise. 178

Psychoanalysis. The Rise of Psychoanalysis. Aristo¬
telian katharsis—Freud’s theory. Mental Conditions
and Materials Involved. Distracting memories—
Childhood trends—Sex influence. The Method of
Psychoanalysis. Discovering the complex—Disposing
of the complex. Prayer in the Light of Psychoanalysis.

The prayer of confession—The divided self—The
reinstatement of the distraction—Disposition of the
religious complex—The consciousness of divine' for¬
giveness—The prayer of praise^-Worship and adora¬
tion—Thanksgiving—Praise and psychoanalysis—How

confession and praise differ. /-

X. Other Devotional Prayers .... 202

Psychosynthesis. Illustrations of the synthetic
process—-The synthetic activity in religion. Psycho¬
synthetic Prayers. The prayer of aspiration—Unitary
effort—Illustrations—The prayer of consecration—
The psyChosynthetie process in the baptism of Jesus
—The subordination of the physical to the spiritual
by Jesus—Jesus and self-consistency—The prayer of
submission—The prayers of resignation as limitless—
The**martyr -spirit—Dramatic responses—The prayer
of communion—The social nature of man and fellow¬
ship with God—Ethical communion with God—
Metaphysical communion with God—Attention—
The function of communion—The dignity of man
and prayer—The intelligence of God and fellowship.
Summary.

' A-V'

8 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

CHAPTER * PAGE

XI. Prayer as Instinctive. 224

Religion and Prayer as Instinctive. The variable¬
ness of the form of instinct and of religion—The
primacy of instinct and religion—Prayer elemental—
Is there a special religious instinct? Science and
Prayer. Difference in purpose—Difference in approach
—Religion as creative—Religion as conservation. The
Prayer Instinct and the New World. Misplaced faith—

Prayer as a builder of a new world order.

Appendix. 237

Bibliography. 239

Index of Topics. 243

Index of Names. 246

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

There are three outstanding facts which, taken
together, make the following study of The Psy¬
chology of Prayer a distinct contribution to the
literature on this subject. One is psychological;
one, philosophical; and one, pedagogical.

As a psy</hologist, Professor Stolz has seen the
far-reaching, practical implications of suggestion
and of the more recent developments in the fields
of psychoanalysis and psychosynthesis. He is
intelligently familiar with the dynamic theory of v*"
psychology. Approaching the problem of prayer
. from this general point of view, he has been able
to throw new light upon its essential nature and
function. After reading this book many persons
will use prayer intelligently and reverently as a
distinct method of mental and moral _ control.
Prayer cannot be understood in its essential nature
by one who makes the states of consciousness
coextensive with the horizon of psychological in-
^ quiry. /Prayer is an expression of the entire psychic ^
nature of man, and as such puts at the disposal
of the individual the most dynamic forces of his
personality.

As a philosopher, the author holds a theory of
reality and of ultimate values which is entirely
compatible with an active, personal faith in God
as revealed and interpreted in the Christian religion.

This study, though not concerned primarily with
philosophy, has its setting in a theology which

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

closely resembles that of Borden Parker Bowne.
The one who believes in prayer and its almost
limitless possibilities will find his faith strengthened,
as well as his insight into the technique of prayer
clarified, as he catches glimpses of Professor Stolz’s
philosophical position.

Finally, this book has been written by a skilled
teacher. The splendid organization of the ma¬
terial will be a welcomed relief from the disorder
found in so many texts on the psychology of re¬
ligion. “How does prayer differ from suggestion?”
“Is prayer efficacious outside the range of personal
and social influence?” “Can unanswered petitions
be described as failures of suggestion?” “Can the
response to petitional prayer be described in terms
of subconscious reaction?” It is when face to face
with such significant questions as these or with
an unusually happy illustration that the reader
will appreciate the teaching ability of Professor
Stolz. Though dealing with materials which the
ordinary layman looks upon as subtle and illusive,
the author has been highly successful in presenting
his argument in simple, clear terms.

Students of psychology, particularly of the psy¬
chology of religion, will recognize the value of this
study primarily because of its scientific nature.
The rightful limitations of the field and the method
of science are clearly distinguished. But within
this scope the study is rich in discovery and in
practical suggestions. It is a substantial illustra¬
tion of the spiritually constructive, the faith-creating
work that can be done by one who is both scientific
and devout.

• \

Norman E. Richardson.

AUTHOR’S PREFACE

In writing this book the author has had in mind
the religious interests and needs of intelligent
people of to-day. The stress and strain of our
modern life rather than the circumstances of former
times have largely determined the selection of the
material herein presented and its treatment. Every
oncoming generation must find itself religiously in
a perpetually shifting social order. It has been the
purpose of the writer to assist in the discovery of
those prayer values which will further adjustment
to the expanding universe of to-day.

Prayer is religion alive; hence the salient phases v
of religion are considered in a study of prayer.
He who understands the principles of the one has
a lively appreciation of the facts of the other. This
book may serve as an introduction to a psycholog¬
ical study of religion.

The Christian religion and prayer experience
have been given the preference and preeminence
throughout this study. Only incidental and illus¬
trative references have been made to the prayer
habits and beliefs of other types of religion. Spec¬
ulation about the religious life of primitive and
extinct peoples has been almost entirely avoided.
Within the range of Christian doctrine and prac¬
tice extreme varieties, with but few exceptions,
have been excluded from consideration. The nor¬
mal life of prayer has been regarded as most profit¬
able for study and emulation.

Petitional prayer has been given a comparatively

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

large amount of space for two reasons. In the
first place, according to the statistics compiled by
students of the psychology of religion, of the several
forms of prayer, the petitional is still the one most
frequently made. It has a practical value which
we do well to conserve. In the second place, the
religious strains and tensions created by modern
science are particularly severe and critical in the
field of petitional prayer. A special effort has been
made in this book to confirm or reestablish con¬
fidence in this form of prayer.

Prayer has been approached herein from the
angle of the doctrine of the immanence of God.
The author’s contention is that God is not an im¬
personal force like the ether, if there be such; or
the personification and deification of the complex
of social values which are the resultant of race
experience; but, rather, the personal spirit, un¬
created and eternal, from which the world of man
and nature is derived, the self-conscious and self-
governing ultimate court of appeal. It is not easy
for a mind untrained in scientific method or unfa¬
miliar with the fundamentals of a theistic philos¬
ophy to correlate and assimilate the results of a
psychological study of religion; hence the findings
of the present investigation have been constantly
related to a spiritual conception of the universe.

The difficulties which have been encountered in
the study of prayer have been both numerous and
serious. The prayer relation is rich and varied
_ in its structure and effects. Its psychological ele¬
ments are subtle and elusive. Furthermore, it is
hard to treat dispassionately and impartially such
a personal and central experience.

AUTHOR’S PREFACE

In order to make this contribution accessible to
laymen as well as to professional readers, the ma¬
terial has been cast into the thought-forms of the
modern man of intelligence. In many instances
the use of technical terms has been avoided, and
those employed have been expounded by definition,
illustration, and context. In order to simplify the
thinking of the student, to supply supporting evi¬
dence, and to assist the memory, concrete cases
have been cited in quite liberal quantity and variety.

The writer’s appreciation of and indebtedness to
the work of other students of religion have been
indicated in the many references scattered through¬
out this book, and in the appended selected bibli¬
ography. It is hoped that the numerous direct
and indirect quotations from the writings of others
will induce the student to read the wider literature
produced by the science of the psychology of religion.

Karl R. Stolz.

Grand Forks, North Dakota.

CHAPTER I

THE POINT OF VIEW _

Prayer is a source of inspiration in the lives of
many whose character and intelligence compel
respect. It occupies a unique place in man’s quest
for the higher values. In the midst of the various
interests which men cultivate, such as art and
science and politics and industry and trade, religion,
the heart of which is prayer, is still fundamental
and dominant. Many devout people temporarily
^withdraw Irom the presence of their fellow men,
fall upon their knees, fold the hands, close the
eyes, bow the head, pour forth their deepest yearn¬
ings and hopes, and arise clothed with peace and
power.

It is not strange that many protest against a
critical examination of prayer. They instinctively
shrink from submitting this sacred and intimate
experience to a rigorous analysis, lest unholy hands
commit a sacrilege and religion itself be discredited.
The fear that an investigator is an iconoclast has
not always been groundless. An unsympathetic
or irreverent approach to prayer results in negative
findings, and even destructive activity. Since it
is the nature of religion to disclose and conserve
the eternal verities which formal logic cannot
demonstrate and which the laboratory of the scien¬
tist cannot reveal and test, it is only normal that
religion be on the defensive when threatened by a
cold and irreverent intellectualism.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

Many are content with their practical expe¬
rience and feel no need of a critical examination,
but there are others who have a sincere desire to
understand the nature and place of prayer. In¬
quiring minds that demand a reasonable basis for
the prayer life have rights that others should respect.
They assume that no fact is too personal or holy
to be tested to the utmost. The^ consider the
scientific method a means to a higher end, a crucible
in which the dross is separated from the gold. They
hold that a psychological study of prayer should
be more than a formal exercise or the gratification
of mere curiosity; they insist that analysis and
description should disclose the merits of prayer and
lead to a better control of its principles. This
attitude is manifestly constructive and positive.
All investigations of the prayer relation should be
attempted in this spirit.

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH

What is the purpose of the study of the psy¬
chology of prayer? Where can enough material
be found to make the study scientific and reliable?
Are all prayers of the same general nature, or are
there various types? What are the various types
of prayer? What are the general psychological
characteristics of each of the several varieties of
prayer? A comprehensive answer to these pre¬
liminary questions will indicate the lines which
the psychological study of prayer follows.

The task.—Although the facts of prayer may be
approached from various angles, the present task
is to ascertain how and to what extent they may
be expressed in terms of psychology. The task is

THE POINT OF VIEW

1 7

to disengage what for the sake of convenience may
be called the human elements from the total prayer
experience, to describe them, and to compare them
with like known mental factors. We shall con¬
stantly be mindful that the psychological phases
analyzed out do not constitute the whole prayer
experience. The botanist knows that when he
has dissected a rose he no longer has a rose, for
a rose is an organism^r union of parts sustained
by plant 'vitality. Prayer, likewise, is more than
the constituent elements to which it may be re¬
duced; it is a unified process prompted and sup¬
ported by the religious nature of man. It is well
to keep this fact before us as we proceed with the
discovery and discussion of the psychological traits
of prayer. ^, v -

Sources of prayer material. — A prerequisite of this
undertaking is an abundance of prayer data. For¬
tunately, it is not hard to collect a wealth of material.
The stores of religious biography and devotional
treatises are available. Psychological expositions of
religion and particularly of prayer contain many
serviceable references. About two hundred auto¬
biographical confessions of the prayer life, received
in response to four questionnaires, contribute to
✓ this study . 1 The majority of the respondents are
members of such leading Protestant denominations
as the Methodist, the Baptist, the Presbyterian,
and the Congregational. Both male and female,
the laity as well as the clergy, are represented.

The faults of the questionnaire method of gather¬
ing data are well known and need not now be re-

1 Three questionnaires were circulated by students of Professor J. B. Pratt,
who generously placed the responses at the service of the present writer. The
questionnaire sent out by the author appears in the Appendix.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

hearsed. Nevertheless, its severest critics have not
suggested a more excellent way of collecting tna-
terial of a personal and intimate nature. The psy¬
chology of religion must take such facts into
consideration. Religion is a personal as well as a
social experteneer'and the individual himself has a
right to testify to what he feels and knows and
does. The intelligent, use of the questionnaire
takes it for granted that the oral or written testi¬
mony may be confirmed oY modified or discredited
by further personal interview or correspondence.
The historian, for example, who relies upon ancient
relics and documents for information does not possess
this advantage. His method has all of the defects
without the redeeming features of the question¬
naire. To be sure, a conscientious effort must be
made to discriminate between trustworthy and
unreliable answers to the list of questions. To
reject all personal confessions of religious experience
because many of them are inaccurate is, as the
Germans say, to pour out the child with the bath¬
water. The accounts from which deductions have
been made in this study have been selected from
the responses of those in whom there is reason to
repose confidence. No far-reaching conclusion based
upon this material has been accepted and urged
unless convincingly supported by broader factors.
Many accounts serve to illumine and confirm in¬
ferences drawn from wider considerations.

The essence of prayer.—Prayer may be simply
and comprehensively defined as man’s intercourse
with God. All true prayer, spoken or unexpressed,
is included in such a general description, and at
the same time all meaningless and merely formal

THE POINT OF VIEW

participation in exercises and rituals, incorrectly
termed prayer^ is excluded. That which does not
function\religiously is not prayer. “He that cometh
to God must believe that he is .” 2 Though they be
accompanied by all the outward forms of prayer,
words without faith are dead. Though they be
devoid of the external accompaniments usually
associated with prayer, thoughts and feelings di-

1 1

rected to God as the One unto whom all flesh corties
are prayer. Kneeling, bowing, closing the eyes,
folding the hands, formulating sentenres do not
constitute the heart of prayer, significant as they

are. To these must be added the inner attitude

of humility and expectancy, the movement of the
soul toward its God.

Petitional and devotional prayers. —An examina¬
tion of a mass of representative prayers reveals
two large classes—the petitional and the devotional.
The basis of the classification is the psychological
structure as well as the purpose or function of the
prayers. The difference in mental traits between
the two .classes will be discussed later. Petitional
prayer is primarily an entreaty, a request, a solicita¬
tion addressed to God for definite favors, rights,
or concessions. It is a means to an end. It is
instrumental. It is an appeal to God for such values
as regeneration, mojral cleansing, divine guidance,
restoration of health. The devotional prayers, as
a whole, move within the sphere of appreciation.
There is a tendenc J in religious devotion

devotional attitudes

for its own sake.

culminate in themselves. They are motivated not
so much by a desire to use God as by a disposition

2 Hebrews 11. 6 . ^

ti4e psychology of prayer

to be used by God. Adoration, worship, thanks¬
giving, confession, consecration, communion, and.
aspiration are specific forms of this common type
of prayer.

The - petitional prayer reaches out after some¬
thing special, the function of the devotional is more
indefinite and general. Of course such a classifi¬
cation is not absolute; There is overlapping; the
line of demarkation between thertwo classes wavers
here and there. Furthermore, one should bear in
; mind that the religious interest usually combines
and fuses the petitional and devotional elements
in a single prayer.

Psychological phases.— It is evident that prayer
as a human process involves mental elemehts.
Without such psychological ttaits as thought and
-feeling, memory and imagination, will a^id |habit,
the life of prayer would be impossible. The mind
expresses itself in these and other ways in the prayer
relation as in other humane experiences. For in¬
stance;, according to -what has been attained in
prayer in the j past, memory stimulates or represses
the prayer impulse-,_Again, one cannot pray for
what one cannot imagine. In imagination there
N is pictured to oneself that which is desired as a
possession or as,an experience. The scop6 of prayer
is limited only by~ the creative imagination. Even
God is mentally pictured. Although we realize that
God is a spirit and that it is- impossible for us to
conceive of a purely spiritual being, we form a
mental image of him when we pray to him. ( Since
j prayer exhibits known mental principles^ a psy¬
chological study of it is possible.^

Bringing the wider facts and more comprehensive

THE POINT OF VIEW

principles of psychology to bear upon an abundance
of typical prayer material,! we discover, in petitional
prayers, the presence and influence of a psycho¬
logical complexity called “s uggestion.! ! From the
standpoint of structure, devotional prayers may be
subdivided into two groups. ^.The chief psycholog¬
ical characteristic of one group seems to be a re¬
lease, an escape or eradication of certain disturb¬
ing mental states. A process known as psycho¬
analysis will throw grateful light upon this form of
devotion, ^-The other group is marked by the assim¬
ilation of a situation or an idea which reorganizes
the personality. The essential feature is the
adoption of a new center of insight and power.
The mental aspects of this group may be described
in terms of synthetic activity.

The following chapters develop this outline of
the psychological phases of prayer.

THE THEOLOGICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL POSITION

To those who are unfamiliar with the limited
field of psychology, a statement of the psychological
facts of religious experience may prove to be dis¬
quieting. After having made a rigorous and honest
analysis and comparison of all psychological aspects
of prayer, a perplexed religious mind may raise
such' momentous and pressing questions as the
following: Is the universe mechanical? Is there
an element of free will in the psychological processes?
Should not the prayer life be abandoned? What
is the nature and character of the God consistent
with such findings? Is there not some way of
proving his objective reality?

These are questions which psychology as such

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

does not and cannot answer. They fall within the
sphere of theology and philosophy. The psychology
of religion has nothing to do with such problems as
the moral responsibility of man and the transcend¬
ent existence and attributes of God. But in order
to forestall any possible misunderstanding and con¬
fusion it is advisable to set forth in a few words the
theological and philosophical position adopted and
maintained in th£se pages.

Explanation and description. —At the outset it
should be state'd that much confusion is avoided
when the description of a mental aspect is clearly
distinguished from the final explanation of it. The
mere description of any event is by no means identi¬
cal with its explanation. The former is only a por¬
trayal and delineation of a manifestation of some¬
thing which is more basal. Explanation is concerned
with the nature and constitution of that which
cannot be reduced to a more elemental value. It
involves ultimate considerations. Description is'
confined to the forms and processes in which the v
irreducible reality ^expresses and expands itself.
Science describes the outward manifestation of that
which theology and philosophy attempt to explain.
Science as such does not occupy itself with the
origin, destiny, and final value of the world. The
last word belongs to faith, not to science. Science
is limited in its scope, faith penetrates to the heart
of the world of nature and man.

Men may agree in their description of a thing,
but differ radically in their explanation of it. A
number of geologists may agree in their portrayal
of the earth, but diverge widely in their conception
of its origin and purpose. The geologist with an

THE POINT OF VIEW

agnostic view of the world will deny the possibility
of knowing anything about the origin and mean¬
ing of the earth. The atheistic scientist will flatly
reject God as the explanation of the existence of
material things. The scientist who holds a theistic
point of view will reduce the earth to a dynamic
principle, to a supreme creative Mind, to God.
On the other hand, they may be in agreement
as to their explanation of the globe, but disagree
as to its structure and history.

In like manner the mere description of religious
processes leaves the v explanation untouched: the
tracing of the psychological elements of prayer is
* one thing, the final estimation of prayer quite
another. This distinction will prove to be perti¬
nent and serviceable.

The immanence of God. —The scientific discus¬
sion of prayer in no way militates against the
doctrine of an intelligent and benevolent God, a
vein of self-direction in man which makes him
morally accountable, and the superlative value of
, the religious impulse.- Without hesitation or reser¬
vation the writer accepts the conception of - God as
Father with all which that symbol implies of self-
\ consciousness, creativeness, and love.

Nor is such ground sinking' sand. While it is \
true that psychology cannot by searching find out
God, while the affirmation of. the existence of the j
, God of Christianity is not a scientific finding but the
outcome of religious faith, an unbiased study of
the facts of prayer moves in the direction of a
God who unfolds and realizes his purposes in the
response of humanity to his promptings. The
reduction of certain prayer processes to discover- <

- ' . • ^

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

able psychological principles, far from rendering
the existence of 1 God unnecessary and therefore
highly improbable, lays bare his accustomed modes
of self-activity which we call laws. It is superficial
to exclude the reality of God from all consideration
when once his method of self-fulfillment or of
self-expression has been described.

The idea that God lives apart from the world
of man and nature, self-contained and self-sufficient,
the only proof of whose existence and potency is
an interference with the ongoings of the natural
order, is both unchristian and untenable. The
doctrine of the immanence of God, according to
which God is the animating and controlling Spirit
of the world, the Sustainer as well as the Creator
of all things, is the more logical conclusion from
science and the positive teachings of Jesus. A free
Spirit, a personality, God is immanent in the uni¬
verse, nowhere absent and never disconnected from
its life. Not that he is limited by the natural world.
Like the spirit of man directing and even tran¬
scending the human body, God makes the world
which he creates and inhabits the servant' of his
will.

Subjecting the mental traits of prayer to a deeper
penetration, we hold that the uniform processes
we call psychological laws and principles are the
habitual manifestations of the creative energy of
God. Natural law is not independent and self-
existing; it is not in itself an entity. The world
is not governed by law, but by God through law.
The self-activity of God is* not irregular and con¬
fused but uniform and orderly. Prayer is not only
in a universe of law but also of it. To assign prayer

✓ «

THE POINT OF VIEW

a well-merited place in God’s reign of law is to
rescue it from the chaotic and capricious, from the
weird and bizarre, from portents and prodigies,
from the magical and superstitious.

This idea of God removes the artificial barrier
which has been erected between the sacred and
the so-called secular. The arbitrary classification of
all things under these two heads has been most
unfortunate and productive of much mischief.
When life is divided into secular and sacred com¬
partments a tendency arises to reject the sacred
and to regard all as secular. God’s creation cannot
be partly sacred and partly secular. We must
hold fast the principle that one and the same God
operates through the law of gravitation and the
answer to prayer. When once the significance of
the immanence of God is grasped in its various
bearings and relations everything that ministers to
the needs of man and makes for moral and religious
progress is sacred.

Not that there may not be various degrees of
the immanence of God. There is a higher form of
the immanence of God in the animate than in the
inanimate world; in man, than in animals. A tree
is higher in the scale of the divine immanence than
a rock, a sheep than a tree, and a man is worth,
more than a sheep./ God doubtless comes to unique
self-expansion in the prayer that springs from the
depths of the religious soul, and reflects his will and
purpose. God is the same yesterday, to-day, and
forever in his benevolent intention, but his possi¬
bilities, opportunities, and resources are multiplied
when man yields to the inner and divine prompt¬
ings. When men hunger and thirst after righteous-

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

ness the way is prepared for the expression of God’s
moral attributes x in human conduct. In a vital
sense we not only live and move and have our
being in him, but he, in turn, would live and move
and have his being in us.

Christian psychology. —There is a discernible
movement among some students of pronounced
Christian convictions, to disengage the psycholog¬
ical interpretations of religion from atheistic atti¬
tudes or vague and impersonal notions of God.
To such attempts the term “Christian psychology”
is frequently applied. ' Such a movement is unfor¬
tunate and unnecessary. Psychology as the
observation and comparison of evidences and ex¬
pressions of the mind is wholly independent of
any religious outlook. The principles of psychology
are, or should be, the same for all. For analogous
reasons one would hesitate to formulate a Chris¬
tian botany. Religious affiliations condition the
ultimate interpretation of mental states, but they
should not affect the study of human nature as such.

Nevertheless, the point of the scholars who
desire to relate and combine sound psychology
with wholesome religious belief should not be flouted.
y The tendency in certain quarters to reduce re¬
ligious experience to nothing more - than human
behavior, or mechanical processes, or sociological
activities, or a contentless abstraction, or an im¬
personal force, should be strenuously opposed.
Those who would base the mental sequences of the
Christian life upon the nature and work of God
as revealed in the teaching and person of Jesus
are quite within their rights. They are justified
in interpreting the type of life motivated and

THE POINT OF VIEW

directed by the enthusiasms of Jesus as ,something
more personal and enduring than a by-product of
the nervous system, self-operating natural laws, or
a passionless energy. So long as the series of psy¬
chological phases is correctly described and properly
related to the larger system of law of which it is a
part, it is neither scientific dogmatism nor religious
bigotry to explain Christian experience in terms
of moral responsibility and an immanent God.

CHAPTER II

SUGGESTION

/ - -

> - ■* \

Since the element of suggestion in petitional
prayer is to receive special attention, it is obvious
that a detailed study of it is indispensable. A
clear understanding of the structure and function
of suggestion in general makes possible a worth¬
while study of the mental traits of petitional prayer.

THE ESSENTIALS OF SUGGESTION

A suggestion may be defined as a mental pressure
which tends to express itself without conscious
effort or control. The essentials of suggestion are:

(1) the introduction of an idea into the mind,

(2) faith in the realization of the idea, (3) the
automatic realization of the idea, (4) relaxation.
No suggestion can be effective if any one of these
factors is wanting. Each makes its contribu¬
tion to the process as a whole, but is at the same
time so intimately related to the others that it is
impossible to determine where the activity of the
one ends and that of the others' begins. The unity
of this process should be borne in mind during the
following brief description of its salient aspects. 1

1 The following definitions are more or less serviceable:

“I have myself defined suggestion as ‘from the side of consciousness . . . the
tendency of a sensory or an ideal state to be followed by a motor state.’ ”—Bald¬
win, J. M.: Mental Development in the Child, and the Race, p. 105. The Mac¬
millan Company.

“A suggestion is, we might say at first, an idea which has a power in our mind
to suppress the opposite idea.”—Munsterberg, Hugo: Psychotherapy, p. 86.
Moffat, Yard & Co.

‘‘By suggestion is meant the intrusion into the mind of an idea; met with more

SUGGESTION

Holding the suggested idea in mental focus.—

The lodging of^n idea in The mind is the basal
factor in suggestion. This process may be described
in terms of attention; the idea to be realized is a-)
mental impression; it is forced v upon the mind.
When an idea is held in mental focus critical and>

v , / - 1 r*

opposing tendencies are withdrawn. When reason
and judgment are held im,abeyance the idea glides
into the mind without encountering the resistance
which a more critical state offers. The emotional
and nervously unstable persons are highly suggesti¬
ble; that is, their mental constitution is favorable
to suggestion.

Of-all persons little children are the most sug¬
gestible. They lack control over their mental
impressions, they have no fund of established ideas
to serve as a basis for distinguishing fact from
fancy. Their critical powers are dormant. Hence
suggestions remain uncontradicted and tend to
realize themselves subconsciously. A small boy
was one day commanded to perform an odious

task. It occurred to him that if he were ill he

would be excused, and at once the wish was enter¬
tained that he might plead some form of ailment,
say a pain in one of the limbs. The wish was the
father of the sensation, for almost at once a dull
pain was experienced in the calf of the leg. It was
duly reported, and he was excused.

or less opposition by the person; accepted uncritically at last; and realized unre-
flectively, almost automatically.”—Sidis, Boris: The Psychology of Suggestion, p. 15.

D. Appleton & Company.

‘‘Suggestion is only another name for the power of ideas, so far as they prove
efficacious over belief and conduct —James, William: The Varieties of Religious
Experience, p. 112. Longmans, Green & Co.

“Suggestion is a process of communication resulting in the acceptance with
conviction of the communicated proposition in the absence of logically adequate
grounds for its acceptance.”—McDougall, W.: Social Psychology, p. 97. John
W. Luce & Co.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

An elocutionist was reading poems of child life
at the request of her niece, a child three years old.
In the course of the impromptu entertainment the
reader ran her fingers through the locks of the
eager little listener, repeating at the same time
these words, “The wood-ticks are crawling through
your hair.” So effective was this unintentional
suggestion that the child at once insisted that
wood-ticks were in her hair, and so realistic was
her sensation that only after her scalp had been
thoroughly washed did she regain her composure.

Such examples taken from chifdhood show us
what occurs in adult life in a modified form. The
efficacy of a suggestion, then, depends, in the first
place, upon the impression made upon the mind.
The idea must be planted in the mental soil before
it can grow and bear its fruit. Self-control, self-
analysis, reason, and judgment tend to combat
the suggested idea; uncritical attitudes, emotion,
imagination, and a restriction of the field of con¬
sciousness increase the state of suggestibility. The
degree of opposition met by a suggested idea is in
inverse proportion to the suggestibility of the mind
for that suggestion.

Faith included in suggestion. —Suggestion is more
than attention, it embraces a faith state. Belief
I that the idea held in mind is about to express itself
or has already been realized is absolutely essential
to the success of suggestion. At first the suggested
idea may meet with more or less opposition, but
eventually it must be uncritically accepted by the
person. The degree of faith exercised is in direct
proportion to the state of suggestibility, i or mot all
, suggestions are equally powerful or arresting. Like

SUGGESTION

3 i

a check presented for payment, the idea must be
indorsed before it can be “cashed.” In the case
of suggestion, however, the indorsee and the'cashier
are one and the same personality.

The fact that suggestion transcends mere 1 atten¬
tion may become more obvious when we examine -
a concrete case. A small boy, four years old, came
running home crying. In response to the ques¬
tions of his father he explained that some apples
„ he had eaten were pronounced poisonous by his'
playmates. His confidence in the integrity of his
playmates resulted in the excruciating pain gen¬
erally associated with the eating of tainted food.
Assureds by his father that he had been misled
and that the fruit was edible, the youthful sufferer
soon rid himself of the pain. have made mere
poisoning the material of attention would have
occasioned no physical distress, but the belief that
he was actually poisoned induced the reaction.
Attention fis such is merely selective, faith is the
^ personal acceptance of an idea as activity. T]ie
mental prominence / qf an idea does not of itself
constitute a suggestion, but only when the person
is inclined to act upon it or to be influenced by it '
does the mental impression tend to express itself.
The idea of heat becomes a suggestion only when /;
a sense of risiqg temperature is induced.

Faith may be regarded as an inverted memory
image. If is a' much warmer state of mind than
an imaginary picture. While memory is conscious
knowledge of the past, faith is a firm assurance
that a future event is as certain to occur as if it
had already happened. It is more than simplel
apprehension; it transcends the feeling of mere \

32 - THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

reality. It attaches to its object a sense of security
tand confirmation. While knowledge and emotion
are not foreign to faith, its unmistakable criterion
is preparedness to act. Faith without works is
dead. Action is its very essence.

We have faith in that which, for us, is uncon¬
tradicted. Doubtless the small child is credulous,
believing everything and proceeding upon the un¬
tested assumption that whatever is presented to
him is the truth. He has no suspicions because he
lacks experience and the power of reasoning. As>
the mind develops and a fund of experience accumu¬
lates, the demand for proof and confirmation be¬
comes increasingly insistent. Faith tends to become
rationalized. It is a belief of mind as well as a
trust of the heart. When credulity is shocked by
contradictions, the range of ideas in which one
can believe is restricted.

We are likely to have the greatest faith in the
idea which spontaneously holds the attention. One
is easily swayed by ideas which are related to one’s
bodily appetites, the emotions and passions, or which
promise gratifying and immediate results. Ideas
concerned with far-off considerations and postponed
emergencies are relatively cold. In the face of the
- overwhelming surge of instincts and emotions, a
distinct effort must be put forth by the average
man to hold before the mind the more rational and
moral ideas. It requires effort to make such ideas
controlling factors in conduct.

The part which faith plays in suggestion is para¬
mount. It expresses itself in an expenditure of
energy. Its function is to initiate a subconscious
process and to give it point and direction. It is a

SUGGESTION 33

strained expectancy which increases the circulation
of the blood, the outlay of nervous force, and which
centers nutrition for the expression of the sug¬
gested idea. In its initial stages faith is self-asser¬
tion, activity of the will, a striving toward the
expression of the suggested idea. Its stimulative
feature will be still more clearly brought out
when the subconscious element in suggestion is
treated.

The subconscious mind reacts to faith as such.
The outcome of a suggestion is not determined by ^
the nature of the object of faith but by organic
activities aroused by expectations. It is significant
that mind cures are placed to the credit of divers
agencies. It has been abundantly demonstrated
that the idea of health tends to realize itself regard¬
less of whether the patient relies upon the efficacy
of a sacred relic, a bread-pill, or a magnetic healer.
The reliance upon a motley variety of remedial
agencies coupled with the added fact that all are
effectual in the healing of the same kind of diseases,
makes it necessary to draw the conclusion that,
it is faith as such, and not necessarily the powers
invoked, which cures. The expectation of the
reaction is of primary importance, the character
of the reputed means is irrelevant.

The self-realization of the suggested idea. —The
third essential of suggestion is the self-expression
of the idea through the automatic processes of the
personality. Once securely lodged in the mind
and accepted, an idea by virtue of the constitution
of man tends to fulfill itself. Any idea held in
mind tends to express itself. “In short, mental
and motor automatism constitute the prominent

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

elements of suggestion. ,,2 The procedure is largely
subconscious.

The range of our mental life is fa£ more extensive
than the activities of which weTare pointedly aware;
growths and connections within the personal life,
of which we have no momentary clear conscious¬
ness, are all the while occurring. A subconscious j
/ process is any form of mental action which is influ¬
ential but not clearly" recognized and identified by
M:he self. Only the ripples of the great stream of
life come within the sphere of consciousness. Most
of life is submerged beneath the level of awareness.
It is the function of the waking consciousness to
cope with novel situations. If problems are solved
often enough, awareness refers the task to the
automatic apparatus. Observe the conscious effort
expended by a child when he learns to button his
shoes, / and ' the ease and lack of attention with
which an adult performs the same operation!
Through repetition and practice that which is . at
first consciously undertaken tends to become auto¬
matic, subconscious.

The mental pathology of daily life affords many
striking examples of subconscious activity. On
close inspection, such seeming aberrations as lapse
of memory, slips of the tongue and pen, misspelled
words and oversights suggest the presence of this
underlying stratum of mind. Some time ago the
writer was requested to inquire about the health
of the wife of a friend with whom he was then
conversing by telephone, but hung up the receiver
without complying. The failure seemed as inex¬
cusable as unaccountable, but later, while reading,

* Sidis. Boris: The Psychology of Suggestion, p. 10.

jp. Appleton & Co.

SUGGESTION

it flashed across his mind that that very afternoon
he had met the woman upon the street and had
most solicitously inquired about her health. Again,
when building a fire he passed by a newspaper
within easy reach and hunted elsewhere for com¬
bustible material. Later it occurred to him that
' the paper contained an editorial which he had
resolved to read at his earliest convenience. Re-

y .. v . - v . •,

cently he has discovered a pronounced tendency
to strike lightly the wrong key when using the x
typewriter. Grotesque mistakes in spelling are
frequently traced to the intrusion of fresh ideas
while writing. Psychologists are convinced that
these apparent deviations from the normal are at
bottom subconscious correctives or supplements.

As intimated above, the subconscious is that
vast tract of mental life which is not the material
of momentary reflective scrutiny. In the very
nature of the case it eludes introspection, and any
information of it which we may possess is gained
by indirect means. We may reasonably infer that
it includes our biases and prejudices, our moods
and instincts, our memories and impressions of the
past, our habits of appreciation and modes of de¬
cision. Some of its elements we-welcome when
they invade the focus of consciousness; others we
tend to repress whenever they assert their presence.
Many subconscious accumulations have at one time
been the object of awareness others have glided
into the mind without attractmg attention. Often
impressions sink beneath the level of cognizance
ohly to reappear in transformed shape. It is said
that in the European War certain officers began to \
issue written orders to those subordinates who were

36 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

at a distance, because messages transmitted orally
from soldier to soldier until they reached the^ person
for whom they were intended were often delivered
in garbled or even unrecognizable form.

The relation between the subconscious and con¬
scious mental activity is one of absolute unity and
complete continuity. There is no gulf fixed be¬
tween them. They are not independent of one
another. Each influences the other. The one
merges into the other. The subconscious is not
split off from the main stream of thought and
activity. There is no so-called subjective self
with an identity and consciousness of its own.
Neither is there an objective self having a distinct
and separate existence. The subconscious is not
an artificer, self-conscious and subject to moments
of exaltation and periods of depression of which
dear consciousness is ignorant. Far from acting
upon its own initiative and responsibility, it is
definitely and organically related to a centrally
organizing and unitary self. Such forms of mental
behavior as hypnosis and multiple personality are
not independent selves, but abnormal variants of
the one central self. We are not two or more selves,
but one self which may, it is true, experience various
alterations.

Just what goes on beneath the level of awareness,
or just how suggestive ideas are realized, is still
largely a matter of speculation. The student
\ should beware lest he impute to the subconscious
magical powers it does not possess. It can com¬
bine and develop its furnishings only within certain
limitations. It is not a factory in which substantial
things are made from material elements or forces

SUGGESTION

having no connection with our ordinary life. Ideas
are not substantial and material things. They are
a form of mental reaction.' 'Possibly they may be
thought of as highly specialized and articulate phases
of feeling. • ' . ' *

A suggestion is, after all, just what the word
implies, namely, a hint, a prompting, a cue whicb'^
tends to express itself in accordance with the laws
of our being. It is tolerably certain that every
idea held steadily before the mind inspires belief
in its worth and exerts a pressure upon the nervous
system. Many experiments prove that even ab¬
stract ideas obey the law of motor discharge, reflect¬
ing themselves in changes in heart-beat, breathing,
digestion, and secretion. As a normal consequence
of the structure of the nervous system, the natq^al
outcome of every sensation and idea, of every
impulse and mental current, is action. Hints
gleajied from various sources indicate that complex
suggested ideas, expectantly attended to, occaid/bn
a process of subconscious growth in the direction
of their realization. Professor Jastrow writes,
“There exists in all intellectual endeavor a period
of incubation, a process in great part subconscious,
a slow, concealed maturing through the absorption
of suitable pabulum.” 3 And Professor Starbuck
says: “After one exerts an effort, the fruition of
it is accomplished by the life-forces which act
through the personality. It is a well-known law
of the nervous system that it Tends to form itself
in accordance with the mode in which it is habitually
exercised.’ It is only a slight variation on this law
to say that the nervous system grows in the direc-

3 Jastrow, Joseph: The Subconscious , p. 99. Houghton Mifflin Company.

38 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

tion of the expenditure of effort.” 4 These supple¬
mentary quotations throw a few grateful rays of
light upon the subconscious processes involved in
suggestion. Attention as a selective agency deter¬
mines just which idea shall be held in mental focus.
Faith as the challenge of expectation encourages
subconscious activities. The interaction of the will
and the organic vitality creates the subconscious
product.

The element of time is an important factor in
the realization of the suggested idea. The length
of the period of subconscious incubation varies
directly with the difficulty and complexity of the
idea. The time also varies with different indi¬
viduals, for what may be complex and difficult
for some may be relatively simple and easy for
others. Some suggested ideas realize themselves
almost instantly; others require a longer period of
time. In response to the suggestion that one is
blushing, it is highly probable that the blood will
flow to the surface of the face in copious quantities
at once. Blushing involves a relatively simple
subconscious activity; hence the suggestion is real¬
ized almost instantaneously. On the other hand,
considerable time may be consumed and repeated
stimulation be necessary in the cure of a nervous
disease through suggestion. The time required is,
then, a variable quantity, being regulated by both
the condition of the person and the complexity of
the suggested idea.

Effort and relaxation. —Furthermore, it is a com¬
mon experience that after many seemingly fruitless
attempts to realize a difficult suggestion have been

4 Star buck, Edwin D.: The Psychology of Religion, p. hi. Charles Scribner’s Sons.

SUGGESTION

followed by a period of rest, a fresh effort is attended
by astonishing success. For instance, "one may
make a prolonged and conscientious effort to master
the art of typewriting. After a certain degree of
skill has been attained one may fail to detect any
appreciable progress despite continued effort. If
the work is discontinued for a season and then
resumed, one may be astonished at the ease with
which one now masters the typewriter. During the
interval of complete rest two things probably
occur. Countless hindering tendencies which are
naturally developed through unsuccessful effort dis¬
appear during the rest period. The more firmly
established associations involving speed and accu¬
racy, however, tend to become- the more deeply
intrenched. The inhibiting activities, being only
slightly drilled Jn, tend to atrophy during the time
of rest, but the correct impressions being sufficiently
ingrained grow through the nutrient changes brought
about by the action of the blood. 5

It is quite certain that, in difficult and complex
suggestion, an intermission has the same dual
effect. On the one hand, it furthers subconscious
incubation in the right direction. On the other,
it tends to uproot hindering associations built up
through misdirected effort. If, in such cases, no
temporary release from effort occurs, there is grave
danger that the wrong tendencies gain the
ascendency over the correct ones, and that the
very purpose of the suggestion be defeated. In¬
ability to realize a suggestion beyond a certain
point, in spite of repeated stimulation, may be an
indication that a respite is needed.

8 See Book, W. F.: Psychology of Skill. University of Montana.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

In some casjes' of suggestion the person comes
to feel that further striving can avail nothing; and
then, when he becomes inactive, the self-realization
’ of the idea is completed. An analogous occurrence
is the recollection of a name after one has ceased'
all effort to bring it to remembrance. One may
try to recall the word “pear” and strain in the
direction of the word “peach”; which is the rigjht
general direction so far as the first three letters
are concerned, but wrong with respect to the last
two. Cessation of effort, however, permits thfe
process of association to correct and complete the
act of memory.

• When the suggested idea has been almost realized
benpath the threshold of consciousness, cessation
of conscious striving and straining seems to open
the w&y-for its emergence. Subconscious develop¬
ment and conscious exertion may be working toward
the same general end but from slightly different
angles. So long as the two lines of action are not
parallel, or the opposition of the conscious endeavor
is not withdrawn, the subconscious product cannot
be completed. Slightly misdirected activities of
the will guard the entrance to consciousness but,
when they relax, the subconsciously incubated idea
t crosses the threshold. Passivity, inactivity, apathy,
j indifference, and sometimes even despair, accom-
i pany the surrender of the will, but when the sug-
• gestion is N expressed they are replaced by satis¬
faction, interest, exhilaration, and exaltation. Self-
surrender, or cessation of effort, may be regarded
as a form of faith. It is passive faith, as contrasted
with the active, stimulative faith already con¬
sidered.

SUGGESTION 41

* i

CLASSIFICATION OF SUGGESTION

7 V

Suggestion may be' classified from am almost
indefinite number of approaches. Thus far, only,
normal suggestion has engaged our attention, be-,
cause with the abnormal form we shall have but
little to do. Abnormal suggestibility characterizes,
hypnotism, and this mental state will receive only
incidental reference. Our interest centers in the
normal, regular, ordinary, and waking mental
state in which suggestion is a natural and common
occurrence. All normal suggestions may be divided
into social and autosuggestions, and these, in
turn, may be subdivided into positive and negative,
and intentional and unintentional varieties. Fur¬
ther sifting would doubtless disclose additional
kinds, but those indicated will serve the present
purposes.

Social and autosuggestion. —A social suggestion o
f has its source indirectly in a volitional pressure >
'^exerted by another self. ~ In autosuggestion theA
’idea is self-imposed, the field of consciousness being j
/ restricted on one’s own initiative. That a social
suggestion arises from without and an autosug¬
gestion from within is a distinction that must
not, however, be pressed too hard, for in auto¬
suggestion, the prompting may be merely imme¬
diately internal. More remotely, it may have
been external. Often the difference is simply one
in the degree of mental elaboration which a sug¬
gested idea undergoes before it is realized. When
an idea suggested by another person is but slightly
elaborated in the mind before it is expressed, we
may speak of a social suggestion; but when an idea

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

is considerably modified before it is expressed, we
may. call it an autosuggestion. In a sense, every
social suggestion to become effective must become
autosuggestion. An idea, introduced into the mind
by an external will, may be so modified by the
sentiments and instincts, biases and prejudices it
encounters, by the associations and emotions it
arouses, that it loses its original force and character.
Every suggestion becomes more or less tinged with
the mental states of the self in which it is efficacious.
Hence it is not always possible to determine abso¬
lutely whether one is having to do with a social or
an autosuggestion.

Positive and negative suggestion. —From the
point of view of form, all suggestions may be
divided into two classes—the positive and the
negative. The object of the positive suggestion
is the creation of something new, something which
the self is eager to obtain. The negative suggestion
is in terms of what one wishes to rid the self of or
to avoid. The former is constructive, the latter
destructive. If a child, who is afraid of certain
unpleasant dreams that have a tendency to recur,
at bedtime suggests to himself that he will have
delightful dreams, like those of success at play or
the bestowal of gifts upon himself, he is making
a positive suggestion. But he is engaged in making
negative suggestions when he suggests to himself
that he will not dream horrible dreams, like those
of being attacked by wild beasts. As he passes in
mental review the dreaded nocturnal visitations,
he heightens the probability of their recurrence.
Since whatever is persistently held in mental
focus tends to generate belief in its reality, the

SUGGESTION

positive suggestion is on the wfhole the more
efficacious.

A negative suggestion is sometimes ineffective be¬
cause the mind is in a state of confusion. The con¬
sciousness of facing a dilemma imperils its effective¬
ness. Who has not been tormented by misspelled or
mispronounced words? When there is an occasion
to make use of them, there is, at least momentarily,
confusion as to their correct spelling or pronuncia¬
tion. Ideas of abnormalities sometimes tend to
become embarrassingly prominent in the mind.
If one suggest to a maiden that she shall not blush,
her face is likely to become crimson. One method
of remembering is trying to forget. - Because it
expresses repression, denial, refusal, and negation,
the adverb, “not” is the most uninteresting and
unattractive word in the English language; hence
it tends to evaporate from prohibitions. Some
minds are so organized that a restraint assumes
the form and force of a challenge, of defiance.

Nevertheless, one should not be in hot haste to
conclude that negative suggestions are invariably
futile. The contrary is often true. But when they
are effective the outcome may be traceable to the
fact that they serve to purge an otherwise whole¬
some personality of unwholesome elements. It is
well known that emotional and ideational expression
'tends to liberate certain distressing states of mind.
A common method of obtaining mental relief is to
get a troublesome element “off the mind,” or “out
of the system.” “Confession is good for the soul,”
is a psychologically justifiable adage. Unless chan¬
nels are opened for the effectual discharge of fester¬
ing mental conditions, serious disturbances of the

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

mind are likely to obtain. We shall have occasion
to examine the psychological basis of this unique
process when we study devotional prayer.

Intentional and unintentional suggestion. —With
reference to the individual’s knowledge of its pres¬
ence, suggestion may be divided into two addi¬
tional classes—the intentional and the unintentional.
An intentional suggestion is deliberately made with
the knowledge that the principles of suggestion are
being applied with a specific end in view. A case
in point would be the conscious and circumspect
use of autosuggestion for the purpose of inducing
pleasant dreams. But when a child, blissfully
ignorant of the theory and first principles of auto¬
suggestion, which he nevertheless applies in seeking
undisturbed repose, attributes the result to the
influence of an extraneous agency, such as a guardian
angel, we have to do with unintentional sugges¬
tion. We are constantly giving and receiving sug¬
gestions unintentionally the effect of which it would
be impossible to measure.

It is evident that since whatever is unintentionally
done is accomplished with great ease and effect,
unintentional suggestion is the more efficacious.
Note the vast difference between intentional and
unintentional imitation! How crude and imperfect
the former, how perfect and easily accomplished
the latter! In fact, imitation may be defined as
a form of social suggestion which reinstates a copy.
Professor Jastrow says that he can readily adjust
a certain kind of necktie if he does not consciously
attempt the adjustment, that if he begins to reason
which end goes under and which over and observes
his movements in a mirror a hopeless failure is the

SUGGESTION

probable issue. 6 Professor Baldwin reports that it
is impossible for him to induce a state of drowsi¬
ness by imagining himself asleep. The first effort
leads to a state of restfulness only to be succeeded
by a condition of steady wakefulness, which is
intensified by an increasing consciousness of self. 7
Another case in point is the frantic effort of one
learning to ride a bicycle to preserve his balance
and to avoid obstacles in the way. Overguidance
by the conscious powers has a tendency to make
the manipulation of the delicate mechanism of
suggestion awkward and inefficient.

Unintentional suggestion is relatively frictionless,
employing the automatic processes which yield
maximum returns for the effort expended. A
physician relates that one winter night in his hotel
room he became unpleasantly aware of the need
of ventilation. Raising one window from below
and lowering another from above, he soon was
conscious of a refreshing circulation. Experiencing
a positive sense of exhilaration, he retired for the
night in the same room. The following morning
he was amazed to find that all the windows of
the room were reenforced by storm-windows, which
did not admit a breath of air, regardless of the
open inside windows. Imagine the difficulty, but
not the impossibility, of intentionally obtaining the
same result.

THE INFLUENCE OF SUGGESTION

Suggestion has power to affect every variety of
mental activity. It would be difficult to exhaust

6 Jastrow, Joseph: The Subconscious, p. 30. Houghton Mifflin Company.

7 Baldwin, James M.: Mental Development in the Child and the Race, p. 139.
The Macmillan Company.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

its possibilities, for it influences the whole gamut
of personal experience. No person can wholly
escape its effects, for all men are more or less sug¬
gestible. The state of normal suggestibility is not
a pathological condition, unless the person has
lost self-control and is at the mercy of external
forces impinging upon the mind. Man is educable
largely because he is suggestible. It would be
hard to overestimate the value of suggestion as a
factor in social progress. 8

The threefold effect of suggestion. —Suggestion
modifies the self in three ways—by inhibiting, in¬
ducing, and heightening states. It often inhibits,
suppresses, checks mental states. In the hypnotic
state, suggestions that the subject is powerless to
move an arm or to see an object actually present,
and many others of a similar inhibitory character,
are frequently realized. Normal suggestion of this
type is especially effective in affording relief from
pain. The mother kisses and laughs away the
aches of her child. The mind healer banishes phys¬
ical torment. From the above description of
negative suggestion it will be clear that the most
effective method of inhibiting states is to let the
mind function in the opposite direction, to eliminate
by substitution, to close one set of channels by
opening another. The cultivation of objective¬
mindedness will eradicate bashfulness, love will cast
out fear.

Suggestion has the power to induce an almost
endless variety of mental products. Looking at
the full moon shining in a clear sky, one may dis-

8 See Noble, E.: “Suggestion as a Factor in Social Progress,” International
Journal of Ethics, 1898, p. 214ft.

SUGGESTION

cern almost anything the notion of which is imposed
upon the mind—an illuminated fissure-riven sur¬
face, the front view of a fat man’s smiling face, a
woman’s profile half-hidden by her tresses. Mr.
Maurice H. Small, making an experimental study
of the suggestibility of children, found that many
of his subjects in response to suggestion experienced
an illusion of perfume, although only water was
sprayed from an atomizer; an illusion of the taste
of salt, sugar, and quinine, although only pure
distilled water was given; an illusion of the move¬
ment of a cast-iron camel which really remained
stationary; an illusion of heat, although no hot
stimulus was applied; an illusion of itching and
tickling, although the skin was not touched. 9

A student was an eyewitness of a case of sug¬
gestion that involved the removal of the isinglass
of a stove in a village store by a group of practical
jokers, and the substitution of red glazed paper
that gave the appearance, to a superficial observer,
of a comfortable fire although there was none.
Several customers, coming into the store from the
cold without, approached the fireless stove with
outstretched hands, and gave every sign of absorb¬
ing heat. It is evident that the possibilities of
affecting the self by inducing states are legion.

Again, mental states already present may be
heightened. Such activities as perception, memory,
reasoning, and action may be augmented by sug¬
gestion. Memory is strengthened when one makes
the self-suggestion that he will recollect the data
with which the mind is being charged. An other¬
wise impossible action, such as the lifting of a

® The Suggestibility of Children, Pedagogical Seminary, 1896, p. i76ff.

48 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

heavy weight, may be accomplished as the result
of the idea that it can be done. Increase in pulse
rate occasioned by the self-consciousness of the
patient often frustrates the attempt of a physician
to determine the real condition of the heart. Pro¬
fessor Coe refers to a small boy, mildly affected
with asthma, who invariably returned home from
a visit to his grandmother with his malady per¬
ceptibly aggravated. She would say, “Come here,
child, and let me hear you breathe!” The exclama¬
tions and coddling which followed made him worse. 10
These simple illustrations indicate the manifold
operations and ramifications of suggestion.

The province of suggestion. —In an exuberant
appreciation of the possibilities of suggestion, it
is well to remember that it is not omnipotent.
There are limitations which it cannot transcend.
Its direct influence is circumscribed by the im¬
movable boundaries of the mental life. Its limita¬
tions are twofold. In the first place, its direct effect
is restricted to personal influence. In the second
place, within the sphere of mental activity, it is
furthermore limited by the amount of vitality
which the human organism possesses. Since sug¬
gestion is not effective outside the scope of per¬
sonal influence, one is certain to be disappointed
if one throws a stone into the air with the expecta¬
tion that it be suspended in midair. To be sure,
one might be positive that the stone was behaving
in that extraordinary manner; but this would be
an hallucination, a false subjective experience.
No amount of suggestion can bring the mountain
to Mohammed. The most that it can do is to

10 Coe, G. A.: The Spiritual Life, p. 160. The Methodist Book Concern.

SUGGESTION

bring Mohammed to the mountain. Suggestion, it
is true, has an indirect influence on inanimate
objects by affecting the human agent acting upon
them. Its control over what is other than mental
is of necessity indirect and through a self.

On the other hand, only when there is an ade¬
quate degree of force resident within the organism
can the suggested idea be realized. It is possible
to overestimate the potency of the organic processes
and thereby fail to induce the expected reaction.
When disease has lowered the vitality of the human
organism below a certain degree, the life forces are
too weak to realize the idea of health, be it ever
so persistently held in mind and relied upon by the
patient. It would be impossible for a man to lift
a ton by sheer strength of arm in response to the
suggestion that he is equal to the Herculean feat.
Life is too short and the organic processes too
feeble to realize some suggested ideas. The sub¬
conscious is not an inexhaustible reservoir of super¬
human energy. Suggestion is effective only when
it lies within the range of the mental life and when
the personality possesses vitality enough to real¬
ize it.

Real and imaginary results .—It is clear from
the foregoing examples that sometimes the products
of suggestion are imaginary and illusory, and some¬
times actual and real. The distinction must not
be pressed too hard. The ordinary distinction be¬
tween fact and fancy indicates in a practical manner
the line of cleavage. For the purposes of classifi¬
cation one may legitimately refer, on the one hand,
as imaginary, to the realization of the idea sug¬
gested to a hypnotized person that he sees a serpent

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

when there is none present and, on the other, as
real, to the elimination of moral evil by the expul¬
sive power of suggestion.

It is shortsighted to undervalue the actual results
as well as the imaginary effects of suggestion. To
regard all achievements of suggestion as equally
evanescent and illusory is to entertain a perilous
and false notion of the operations of the mind.
The real accomplishments of suggestion are as
perceptible, as legitimate, and as serviceable as
those from any other source.

Thinking back over the salient points of this
chapter, we conclude that a suggestion uninten¬
tionally made, positive in content, engendering faith
in its own worth, and falling within the range of
subconscious influence is the suggestion of highest
efficiency and value.

POINTS OF CONTACT WITH PRAYER

It is not hard to discover elements common to
suggestion and prayer. Both involve a mental
impression. Both are said to depend for success
in large measure upon concentration of the mind
and faith. Not unlike a social suggestion, a prayer
offered by one person may impress itself upon the
mind of another, pass through a series of modi¬
fications, and issue in personal petitions. The
time spent in subconsciously expressing a sug¬
gested idea and the time required to answer a
prayer is in either case a variable quantity. Prayer
may be either personal or social, and positive or
negative in form.

Does petitional prayer appropriate the technic
and mechanism of suggestion? Are their spheres

SUGGESTION

of influence coextensive? Can unanswered peti¬
tions be described as failures of suggestion? How
does prayer differ from suggestion? To answer
these and similar questions is the purpose of the
six following chapters. Accordingly, we shall exam¬
ine the elements which make prayer a mental
pressure, the factors which induce faith in its effi¬
cacy, the answer itself, and finally the unanswered
petition. To anticipate, suggestion in prayer is a
mental process which the religious impulse originates
and uses as a means to an end. It is not an entity
in itself having self-existence, but in prayer it is
dependent upon the creativeness of the religious
nature of man. It is an instrument which is pro¬
duced and employed.

CHAPTER III

ATTENTION IN PRAYER

In symbols peculiar to himself Luther once said,
“Just as a good, clever barber must have his eyes
and mind upon the beard and razor, so as to mark
distinctly where he is to shave, so everything,
which is to be done well, ought to occupy the whole
man, with all his faculties and members. How
much more, then, should prayer, if intended to be
effective, engage the heart wholly and without
distraction.” 1 All writers of devotional literature
agree with Luther that a vital element in effectual
prayer is the concentration of the mind. We are
told that one difference between genuine praying
and the mere saying of prayers is attention to,
and interest in, the exercise. In other words, the
devotional man insists that in order to be efficacious
the prayer must be impressed upon the mind. In
this particular he does not differ from the psy¬
chologist who recognizes in the introduction of an
idea into the mind an essential of suggestion.

ACCESSORIES TO ATTENTION

A-

During the course of the natural history of
religion many elements have appeared or have
been adopted which tend to direct the stream of
the mental life into the channel of prayer. The

1 Morris, J. G.: Quaint Sayings and Doings of Luther, p. 131. The United
Lutheran Publishing House.

ATTENTION IN PRAYER

reference is to such means of attracting and hold¬
ing the attention as the isolation of the individual
or the presence of other prayerful persons, the
posture of the body, the suspension of vision,, motor
automatism, emotional states, prayer repetitions,
the activity of the will, praying at night, and
mechanical devices. Let us now see how these
accessories help to implant the material of prayer
in the mind.

Privacy in prayer. —The very expression' “private
prayer” is suggestive of the isolation of the person.
Of the respondents who answered the question
contained in the questionnaire on prayer circulated
by the writer, “Which do you find the more effec¬
tive: public prayer by either the minister or the
congregation, or private prayer?” seventy per cent
favored private prayer. John R. Mott says, “In
a word, secret prayer is prayer at its best. It is
prayer most free from all insincerity. It is the
true gauge of our prayer life.” 2 Jesus both taught
and practiced privacy in prayer. “But thou, when
thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou
hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is
in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall
reward thee openly.” 3 “And it came to pass in
those days, that he went out into a mountain to
pray u and continued all night in prayer to God.” 4
•U. It is a truism that the isolation of the individual
guards against distractions. Novel impressions,
strange changes in the environment, and inter¬
ruptions by others attract the attention. Alone
and free from social restraints, the person is at

2 The Secret Prayer Life, p. 5. Y. M. C. A.

3 Matthew 6: 6.

i Luke 6: 12.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

liberty to give his undivided attention to the unre¬
served expression of religious needs and desires.
In this negative way, privacy is an aid to prayer.

Social praying. —It goes without saying that
prayer offered either by the minister in the pulpit
or by the congregation, except when it induces
negative suggestions, exerts a stimulating influence.
It is the purpose of the pastoral prayer to express
common wants and aspirations of the congregation,
to reduce all minds to an attitude of worship, to
induce in all a prayerful mood. The ideal pulpit
prayer reflects the sensitivity of its maker to the
religious life of the people, arrests the attention
of the indifferent, finds a lodgment in their minds,
and bears the fruit of peace and moral power.

The prayer meeting and other social forms of
religious exercise manifest the same positive tend¬
ency to induce a prayerful response. These gather¬
ings afford the laity an opportunity to offer their
common supplications for the edification of the
saints, the conversion of the sinful, and the relief
of the distressed. It is self-evident that when such
a variety of social interactions occurs, the prayer
not only reacts upon its author but also impinges
upon other minds. The, following quotation ad¬
mirably expresses, in devotional terminology, the
value of the prayer circle, “Where two or three
are gathered together in my name, there am I in
the midst of them.” 5

Physical posture. —Having found some secluded
spot, or being in a church where the custom is
observed, the person may reverently kneel in prayer.
Many seem to have a native impulse to cast them-

5 Matthew 18: 20.

ATTENTION IN PRAYER

selves at the feet of God in humble submission, or
to assume another bodily attitude which has
significance for the prayer life. A respondent to
a questionnaire sent out by Dr. F. O. Beck says,
“Frequently walking is most effective. Kneeling is
probably more habitual in times of relaxing; walk¬
ing, when any intense personal problems are to be
worked out. In morning, sitting or walking is
perhaps more indulged in; at evening, kneeling.” * 6

The following is a specimen of the various and
uncomfortable positions assumed by the members
of the Yoga cult of India: “The right foot should
be placed on the left thigh, and the left foot on
the right thigh; the hands should be crossed, and
the two great toes should be firmly held thereby;
the chin should be bent down on the chest, and in
this posture the eyes should be directed to the tip
of the nose.” 7 This position is called Padmasana,
lotus-seat, and is highly recommended as a cure
for all diseases. The student of hypnotism can
readily understand how such a posture combined
with restraints of breathing produces such a state
of abstraction that the person is rendered indif¬
ferent to pain and pleasure, hunger and thirst, cold
and heat. It is an extreme method of self-hyp-
notization.

Forty per cent of the respondents to our ques¬
tionnaire answered the following question in the
affirmative: “Do you find that posture, such as
kneeling, etc., has any influence on your state of
mind in prayer?” The following statements imply

‘‘‘Prayer: a Study in its History and Psychology,” American Journal of Re¬

ligious Psychology and Education, vol. ii, p. 117.

7 Muller, F. Max: Six Systems of Indian Philosophy, p. 457. Longmans,
Green & Co.

56 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

that an appreciation of the incompleteness of the
personal life induces such a physical attitude: “It
[kneeling] is a sign of humility.” “Whenever I
am burdened with the cares of life I feel an almost
irresistible desire to fall upon my knees in prayer.”

On the other hand, kneeling may be suggestive
of a want. Who has not been impressed by the
fact that whenever he has had occasion to kneel,
be the situation ever so foreign to prayer, he has
invariably been reminded of prayer? One writes,
“Kneeling makes one more earnest in prayer.”
Kneeling and prayer are so closely associated that
the one tends to induce the other. Many religious
leaders understand the reaction of bodily positions
upon the mental states; hence a special evangelistic
appeal is frequently followed by an exhortation
that all kneel while prayer is being offered.

Any bodily posture which has become habitually
linked with a particular mental activity, naturally
resists any proposed departure from its well-estab¬
lished course. When a position other than the
habitual one is assumed, doubts as to its propriety
arise. These divert the attention from the act of
prayer to the bodily posture. To say that posture
is a matter of indifference is to overlook the fact
that in order to make its greatest contribution to
the prayer life the bodily attitude should be ex¬
pressive of the devotional temper.

Suspending the vision.—The extent of the prac¬
tice of closing or covering the eyes in prayer may
be inferred from the fact that seventy-five per cent
of the answers to the questionnaire confess that
vision is suspended during prayer. The following
typical reasons for doing so seem commonplace:

ATTENTION IN PRAYER

“The closing of the eyes shuts out distracting
sights.” “To concentrate my thoughts.” It is
self-evident that an interesting environment might
provide impressions novel enough to tempt the
attention. The practice is not peculiar to prayer,
for we often see persons with closed eyes engaged
in strenuous mental effort. Possibly the down¬
cast eyes are also an outward sign of an inward
devotional mood.

It is well known that moving stimuli fascinate
the attention. During the early stages of evolu¬
tion movement suggested to the mind of primitive
man the presence of either benevolent or malev¬
olent beings. Hence the resulting oscillation between
fear and desire until the nature of the stimulus
could be determined. Perhaps it is a heritage from
the remote past that makes us still sensitive to
movement occurring even in familiar or monotonous
environments. 8 A horse will start suddenly aside
at the sight of a flying sheet of paper. Although
we fail to notice the usual and familiar distractions
of the city street, how quickly we attend to the
advertisement consisting of electric lights that
come and go. When we wish to attract the atten¬
tion of another at a distance we reenforce our vocal
efforts with suggestive motions of the arms. The
contribution to the prayer experience of the simple
expedient of suspended vision is obvious.

Automatic movements. —When the person is en¬
gaged in the act of prayer, a variety of physical
activities appear of which he is unconscious or but
vaguely conscious. The reference is to such physical
accompaniments of prayer as the swaying or twist-

8 See Pillsbury, W. B.: Attention, p. soft- The Macmillan Company.

58 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

ing of the body, the clasping or clinching of the
hands, the scratching of the head or the pulling of
the hair, the closing or rolling of the eyes, the
wrinkling of the forehead and the distorting of the
face, and the moving of the lips, jaws, tongue, head.
Such motor phenomena are often called automatism.
They increase in number with the seriousness of
the mental activity. Professor E. H. Lindley de¬
tects as many as one hundred and thirty-six distinct
automatisms in such varieties of mental effort as
serious study, attention, and difficult recollection.

Their function is twofold. In the first place, they
are “accessory to the mechanism of attention. In
order that mental activity may be brought to its
maximum, and kept there during a period of work,
the circulation of the brain must be rendered ade¬
quate, and the latent energy of the nerve-cells must
be aroused. To aid in accomplishing this, many
movements have appeared in the race and in the
individual. Their sole raison d’etre seems to be
that they facilitate the work of the brain.” 8 9

A secondary function of the automatism is to
provide an outlet for irrelevant impressions which
may be courting the attention. Impressions foreign
to the task in hand may be discharged through the
channels opened by the automatism. At first the
automatisms aid in increasing cerebral excitation,
under which favorable condition the state of atten¬
tion waxes in intensity. The nerve paths of the
automatism likewise become a way of escape for
all currents of an excitatory and intruding nature
which are excluded from the brain during attention.

8 Lindley, E. H.: “Motor Phenomena of Mental Effort,” American Journal

of Psychology , vol. vii, p. 512.

ATTENTION IN PRAYER

Evidently, the automatisms accompanying prayer
have both a stimulating and a conserving effect.
Heightening the circulation of the blood, thus
setting free latent nervous energy, they are instru¬
mental in generating vitality for the deepening of
the prayer life. Supporting the mechanism of
attention, they help to impose the prayer upon
the mind. Then they tend to conserve the energy
which they have released. Extraneous impressions
which solicit the attention, following the line of least
resistance, find expression through the functional
avenues opened by the automatism. We shall have
abundant occasion to make further reference to
this unique mental process when we consider the
repetition of prayer and the rosary.

Emotion. —The devotional state is essentially
emotional. Effort of the will fortified by reason
may initiate a prayer, but more often it is the
emotions that give rise to prayer and determine
the activity of the will. The intense prayer expe¬
rience is charged with a high potential of emo¬
tion. Situations or predicaments which evoke such
emotions as fear, love, exaltation, guilt, doubt,
anxiety, gratitude are pregnant with prayer possi¬
bilities. /

y w

It is the emotions which tend to sweep one from
one’s rational feet and to prostrate the self before
a higher power. Religion is the refuge of the emo¬
tion-tossed; devotional literature encourages prayer
in critical situations. “And call upon me in the day
of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify
me,” 10 is the invitation of the psalmist speaking in
Jehovah’s stead. The value of x the emotional

10 Psalm so: 15.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

states for the prayer life is admirably expressed in
the following quotation taken from a devotional
study: “Devotion should spring up spontaneously
from an emotive state. . . . Christians, whose lives,
in other respects, are not visibly defective . . . have
no deep subsoil of feeling from which prayer would
be a natural growth. . . . Our theory of the Chris¬
tian life is that of a clear, erect, inflexible head, not
of a great heart in which deep calleth unto deep.” 11

When the emotions control the personality, judg¬
ment and reason are held in abeyance, and the
person is in a condition of extreme suggestibility.
Emotions tend to narrow the field of consciousness.
Corrective elements and wider considerations are
ignored when an intense emotion dominates the
self. Fear of an unpleasant experience often brings
about the dreaded occurrence. Fear of failure has
too often paralyzed the efforts of conscientious and
capable students in examination. When one is in
the grip of fear’s antipode, love, the confidence and
assurance which this emotion begets renders the
personality amenable to glorified conceptions of
the object of affection. It is common for a lover
to be so obsessed of his passion that he is rendered
indifferent to other matters of importance.

It is clear that when the emotion is connected
with the religious life the state is auspicious for
the introduction of prayer ideas into the mind.
The dangers attending an excess of religious emo¬
tion are too well known to require mention here.
From this standpoint emotions evoke prayers, but
it is equally true that prayers themselves in many
cases arouse the emotions. There is, in fact, an

11 Phelps, A.; The StiU Hour, p. 58 . Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co.

ATTENTION IN PRAYER

interaction between the emotive states and the
prayer ideas and ideals, the one stimulating the
other. In a following discussion the part which
prayer plays in inducing the emotions will receive
attention.

Oral praying. —The vocalization of the prayer is 1
itself a means of attracting and holding the atten¬
tion. Saint Teresa says that the first step in a
graduated series of religious exercises ending in
ecstasy is the articulation of the prayer. Ribot
maintains that the vocalization of the prayer leads
“the dispersed consciousness into a single confined
channel.” 12 Experience teaches that the habit of
reading not merely with the eye, but of actually
articulating the words seen deepens the attention
to the contents of the printed page. Speech is the ’Si-
organ of reason. A spoken dream is likely to be
more connected than the one not articulated. It
is conceivable that the constitution of some minds
is such that failure to clothe the prayer in words
as soon as it arises in consciousness nullifies . the
devotional attitude.

Shifting of attention. —During an act of prayer,
the object of interest or of desire must be considered
from various points of view. Otherwise, attention
will wander elsewhere. There can be no sustained
attention to anything unless different aspects and
relations are taken into account in rapid succession.
Attention can be held strictly to a simple and single
thing for less than a second. Doubtless the laws
of association determine the angles from which the
circumstances giving rise to prayer are viewed, for

12 Ribot, T.: The Psychology of Attention, p. 92. The Open Court Publishing
Company.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

the consideration of one detail of a subject naturally
leads to that of another. As the attention flits
from one aspect of prayer to another, the emotions
are aroused. “One may get angrier in thinking
over one’s insult than at the moment of receiving
it.” 13 Viewing the insult from various sides may
reveal the offensive character of the affront and
arouse a veritable storm of emotion. Likewise,
with each consideration of the incomplete self
from a fresh standpoint, the prayer experience
waxes in emotional intensity. In this way, prayer,
begun with but a feeble emotional accompaniment,
begets a rich emotional excitation. We have already
seen that emotional states as a rule control the
attention. Ribot insists that “at the root of atten¬
tion we find only emotional states.” 14

The law of inertia. —Now, when once the mech¬
anism of attention is accommodated to any stimu 1
lus, it offers a certain resistance to an impression
calling for a fresh adjustment. Change of
occupation means a corresponding adjustment of
the physical mechanism to be employed. For this
reason a diligent student at work may find himself
loath to interrupt his studies. The resistance of
the adjusted mechanism to change is known as the
law of inertia. Applying this principle to the devo¬
tional life, we can readily see that when the
mechanism of attention has been adjusted to the
prayer experience, the person, following the line of
least resistance, may feel a tendency to repeat the

13 James, Principles of Psychology, vol. ii, p. 443. Henry Holt & Co. To
be sure, the contrary is often true: a calm consideration of an insult may con¬
vince one that in view of its inconsequential source it is really beneath one’s
dignity.

14 The Psychology of Attention, p. 35. The Open Court Publishing Company.

ATTENTION IN PRAYER

petition rather than to discontinue it and engage
in some other activity. To turn the attention to
another thing would, under religious pressure and
no special distractions, necessitate a decided effort.

The turning of the prayer into a definite channel
opened by articulation, the frequent change in the
point of view by which attention is held and emo¬
tions aroused, the making of automatic movements
generating energy and releasing distractions, the
warding-off of foreign impressions by the adjusted
psycho-physical mechanism, have a collective and
cumulative effect which is positively significant for
the reiteration of the prayer and its impression
upon the mind. Like the little snowball rolling
down the mountainside and gathering volume and
force until it becomes the mighty avalanche, the
prayer born of a feeble appreciation of incomplete¬
ness and repeating itself may become an experience
so intense that all competitors for the attention
are driven from the field, and it, alone, dominates
the personality.

Praying at night. —If a summons of the will be
a difficult method of impressing the mind with
prayer material, the widespread habit of praying
at night just before retiring is perhaps the easiest
way in which petitions may be introduced into
consciousness. A state of high suggestibility is
induced by approaching sleep. When an individual
feels inclined to sleep, his mind is unusually sensitive
and responsive to suggestion. When one is drowsy
and ready to retire, the mind is at least partially
freed from the criteria of the material world. The
critical and corrective powers are held in abeyance.
Any reference to objective standards becomes in-

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

creasingly difficult. Educators are recommending
the giving of suggestions to children at bedtime in
order to correct mental and moral defects. During
the daytime, especially during the morning when
the mind is alert, the waking consciousness acts
as censor of the ideas that come to its notice, often
rejecting and combating what would have been
accepted at night. Apart from the high degree of
suggestibility which obtains at bedtime, the privacy
of one’s room, and the opportunity to assume the
habitual devotional posture and to continue the
prayer at will, are elements which conspire to hold
the prayer in mental focus.

The rosary. —Of all mechanical devices designed
to increase the effectiveness of the prayer life none
is more unique or important than the rosary. Al¬
though Buddhists and Mohammedans have adopted
this devotional mechanism, it is found in its most
highly developed form among Roman Catholics.
It will therefore suffice to note the history, use,
and psychological value of the Catholic rosary.

On Roman Catholic authority it is alleged that
in the period of religious indifference which obtained
in France during the thirteenth century the Virgin
appeared in a vision to Saint Dominic, a Spaniard,
with a rosary in her hand. She instructed him in
the use of this device and enjoined upon him the
mission of preaching it as a means of spiritual
revival. Arriving at Toulouse for the purpose of
proclaiming the new devotion, he found that in
response to a mysterious summons the people had
already assembled in the church. At first his
preachment fell upon unheeding ears, but when a
violent storm arose with flashes of lightning and

ATTENTION IN PRAYER

crashes of thunder, and the statue of the Virgin
began to move, even pointing to heaven and to the
preacher, the obdurate people were touched, and
casting themselves at the feet of Saint Dominic,
they announced their acceptance of the rosary.
The faithful followers of Saint Dominic carried the
rosary into all the countries of Europe, and it was
quite generally adopted. It is affirmed that its
general adoption was followed by a widespread
religious awakening, more than a hundred thousand
souls in France alone returning to the fold of the
church.

This • account of the miraculous origin of the
rosary is, of course, purely legendary. Careful
students of rites and religious practices, like Tylor,
affirm that it is an Asiatic invention, having its
special development, if not its origin, among the
ancient Buddhists. Among the modern Buddhists,
its one hundred and eight balls still measure out
the sacred formulas, the reiteration of which con¬
sumes the major part of a pious life. Toward the
Middle Ages the rosary found its way into Chris¬
tian and Mohammedan lands where, adapting itself
to existing conceptions of prayer, it has flourished
ever since . 15 The Roman Catholic Church grants
indulgences proportionate to the faithfulness of her
adherents in the use of the rosary.

The use of the rosary consists of a union of vocal
and mental prayers. The entire rosary is composed
of fifteen decades of Hail Marys to be orally recited,
each decade or group of ten Aves, being preceded
by a Pater Noster and followed by a Gloria, and

15 See Tylor, E. B.: Primitive Culture, vol. ii., p. 372. Henry Holt & Co.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

accompanied by the meditation of a “mystery.”
Five decades constitute a chaplet. During the
recitation of each chaplet a group of five “mys¬
teries” from the life of Christ and the Virgin is
meditated. Corresponding to the number of chap¬
lets, there are three groups of “mysteries” of five
each: the Joyful Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mys¬
teries, the Glorious Mysteries. The Annunciation,
the Visitation, the Birth, the Presentation, the Find¬
ing in the Temple, compose the first group and are
called the Joyful Mysteries. The Agony in the
Garden, the Scourging, the Crowning wdth Thorns,
the Carrying of the Cross, the Crucifixion, make
up the second group, the Sorrowful Mysteries. The
Resurrection, the Ascension, the Coming of the
Holy Ghost, the Assumption, the Coronation of
the Virgin, comprise the third series known as the
Glorious Mysteries. The contemplation of a
“mystery” is undertaken in connection with the
vocalization of a Pater Noster, ten Hail Marys,
and the Gloria.

Let us observe a devotee at church. The win¬
dows with their masterpieces of sacred art, the
statuary of Jesus, the Virgin and the saints, the
soft and restful light of the candles, the chanting
and droning of the officiating priests, the odor of
incense , 16 the genuflections and responses of the
worshiping congregation, all tend to create within
him a devotional mood. On bended knee the
prayers of the rosary are begun. Let us assume

16 The power of odor to stimulate the associations, the imagination and mem¬
ory is without a peer. When Esther, tne heroine of The Children of the Ghetto
(The Macmillan Company, by Zangwill, I.), returns to her old home after an
absence of several years, “the unchanging musty smells that clung to the stair¬
case flew to greet her nostrils, and at once a host of sleeping memories started to
life, besieging her and pressing upon her on every side.”

ATTENTION IN PRAYER

that while the automatic oral repetition of the
stereotyped prayers occurs, the Scourging at the
Pillar is the “mystery” meditated. “The memory
presents a large hall full of rude soldiers, who drag
in a poor prisoner, pull off his garments, bind Him
to a pillar, and there tear off the flesh from His
bones until His body is all raw and covered with
wounds and His blood streaming over the floor.
Next the understanding considers who this prisoner
is: the adorable Son of the Most High God, the
Lord and Giver of Life. And why does He suffer?
For miserable sinners: for us ungrateful men: for
those who are scourging Him. Now the will is
influenced to make acts of compassion, love, adora¬
tion, thanksgiving, petition, etc .” 17

In the light of the foregoing discussion of the
motor accompaniments of mental effort the psy¬
chological value of the rosary is obvious. Like all
automatism, the automatic recitation of the rosary
arouses mental activity and provides an outlet for
distracting impressions. Furthermore, the oral
prayers of the rosary are gentle reminders of the
religious life. The associations clustered about
them are of such an intimate and sacred nature
that the suppliant cannot but respond to their
subtle influence.

The result would by no means be the same if
for the Aves, the Pater Nosters, and the Glorias
a substitution without religious significance were at¬
tempted—say a group of nonsense syllables, the
alphabet and a mother-goose rime. Such a mean¬
ingless procedure would rob the exercise of its
appropriate suggestiveness. It would be difficult, if

17 Dominican Father, The Rosary, p. 41. Benziger Bros.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

not utterly impossible, to meditate a “mystery”
to such an incongruous accompaniment. As it is,
the rosary, when properly employed, may be an
admirable device for attracting and holding the
attention to the prayer life. The contemplation of
the “mysteries” gives rise to mental pictures out
of which there may be constructed prayers ex¬
pressive of personal needs and devotion to God.
Its stimulative value has made the rosary an almost
indispensable devotion of the religious recluse whose
life is too uneventful to make petitional prayer
spontaneous. Its misuse will be considered under
the head of “vain repetitions” in a chapter deal¬
ing with unanswered petitions.

The will.—According to devotional treatises, it
sometimes requires the exercise of the will to bring
the faculties to bear upon prayer. This may be
true when the course of life is unbroken by crises
of religious value, which naturally engender prayer,
and the offering of prayer is conscientiously con¬
sidered a duty to be sacredly discharged or a priv¬
ilege not to be lightly esteemed. In such a case
attention to prayer is voluntary; an effort is made
to concentrate the mind. The voluntary over¬
coming of the capricious wandering of the atten¬
tion seems to impart to the mind such a powerful
stimulus that a generous amount of energy is set
free for the making of a prayer. Who has not
by an act of the will turned his attention away
from the distractions incident to travel by rail,
and focused it upon his book in the reading of which
he was soon absorbed?

Concerning wandering thoughts and how to recall
them, Brother Lawrence has the following to say:

ATTENTION IN PRAYER

“Our mind is extremely roving; but, as the will
is the mistress of all our faculties, she must recall
them, and carry them to God as their last end.
When the mind for want of being sufficiently reduced
by recollection at our first engaging in devotion,
has contracted certain bad habits of wandering
and dissipation, they are difficult to overcome, and
commonly draw us, even against our wills, to the
things of the earth. I believe one remedy for this
is to confess our faults and to humble ourselves
before God. I do not advise you to use multiplicity
of words in prayer, many words and long discourses
being often the occasion of wandering. Hold your¬
self in prayer before God like a dumb or paralytic
beggar at a rich man’s gate. Let it be your business
to keep your mind in the presence of the Lord.
If it sometimes wanders and withdraws itself from
him, do not much disquiet yourself for that: trouble
and disquiet serve rather to distract the mind than
to recollect it; the will must bring it back in tran¬
quillity .” 18

THE FUNCTION AND NATURE OF ATTENTION

In making a comprehensive survey of the facts
which conspire to restrict the field of consciousness
to the act of prayer only incidental reference has
been made to the purpose and character of atten¬
tion. Why not let the attention wander where it
may in our devotional life? What is the nature of
attention? The answering of these questions will
disclose both the importance of lodging the prayer
in the mind and an elemental activity of the will.

18 Brother Lawrence: The Practice of the Presence of God, p. 35. American
Baptist Publishing Society.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

The function of attention in prayer. — Since it is
impossible consciously to react to all impressions
made upon us, we are compelled to make a selec¬
tion. Attention is the selective process which makes
some things prominent and neglects others. Atten¬
tion is not creative; it does not call ideas into
existence. It merely sifts the ideas already present
in the mind. Their presence is determined by the
operation of the laws of association, according to
which contrasting ideas such as day and night
exhibit a readiness to recall one another, as do
similar ideas such as water and pond, and ideas
connected with the same time or place. Attention
is prompted by interest. We select for scrutiny
and deliberate expression those ideas which we
consider of importance. The consequence of atten¬
tion is interpretation and meaning. Interest arouses
attention, attention results in the understanding
and appreciation of an idea and indicates lines of
activity.

Attention to prayer is born of religious interest.
The prayer occupies the focal point of conscious¬
ness because it is at the time of more importance
to the petitioner than its competitors for recogni¬
tion. Attention does not originate the petition,
but, impelled by religious concern, it makes prayer
prominent and ignores matters of lesser consequence.
As a result, the religious need is defined, clarified,
and formulated. The petition becomes vivid and
urgent, dominant and preeminent, and generates an
emotional tone which intensifies the desire for reli¬
gious satisfaction.

Voluntary attention.—The element of self-deter¬
mination may be detected in voluntary attention.

ATTENTION IN PRAYER

7 1

Heredity and environment cannot explain away
the strain of free will manifested in the effort to
restrict or otherwise control the field of conscious¬
ness. Voluntary attention is elemental, it cannot
be reduced to other and lower terms. To quote
the ever-poignant James, “Effort of attention is
thus the essential phenomenon of will .” 19 Another
writer has a word to the point: “The will reveals
itself most directly in attention. It is often said
sweepingly that a m%n’s environment makes him.
Not to insist upon the obvious fact that there must
be a germ with a certain nature in order that any
environment may work its effect, it is particularly
important to notice in the case of man that not
his entire environment, but only that part of his
environment to which he attends really makes
him .” 20 *

Man has the innate power to attend or not to
attend to prayer ideas. Without attention, the laws
governing prayer cannot operate. Professor B. P.
Bowne has well said: “Human purpose and volition
are perpetually playing into the system of law, there¬
by realizing a multitude of effects which the system,
left to itself, would never produce, yet in such a
way that no law is broken. Natural law of itself
would never do any of the things which men are
doing by means of it. The work of the world is
done by natural forces under human guidance.
It is the outcome at once of law and purpose .” 21

Choice involves the presence of two or more ideas
in the mind, and the focusing of the attention

19 James, William: Principles of Psychology, vol. ii, p. 562. Henry Holt
& Co.

20 King, H. C.: Rational Living, p. 159. The Macmillan Company.

21 Bowne, B. P.: The Essence of Religion, p. 136. Houghton Mifflin Company.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

upon one of them. When man by an act of his
own volition attends to certain objects of prayer,
the realization of which affects himself and others,
he is exercising his power of self-determination.
The extent of his initiative and creativeness de¬
pends upon the number of associations whichT he
possesses. The range of ideas from which a selec¬
tion is possible is the measure of freedom* The
highest form of will is revealed in attention to an
idea, the acceptance of which fs urged by conscience
in the face of an opposing current public opinion. y

In view of the fact that an act of the will may
apply the principles which underlie prayer, it is
puerile to raise the questions: Why must we pray
at all? If a divine Intelligence broods over us and
knows our every want long before we can formulate
it, of what use is prayer? Prayer is not a dumb¬
waiter bringing down from heaven gifts ready¬
made for those who are too indolent to exert them¬
selves. It would be no more irrational to expect to
reap a harvest without sowing or to live without eating
than it would be to demand that God grant religious
enthusiasm and moral poiver to an inactive and passive
personality. Man is, then, morally responsible
because, on his own initiative, he may make operative
the laws which determine his character.

SUMMARY

Religion makes use of many accessories to and
principles of attention in order to give prayer a
safe lodgment in the mind. The isolation of the
person offers a possibility of uninterrupted and
unrestricted self-expression. Social prayer affects
and is affected by the devotional attitude of others.

ATTENTION IN PRAYER

Posture, such as kneeling, is not merely the attitude
of a suppliant and the outward , sign of reverence.
It has a reflex influence on prayer. The closing or
covering of the eyes excludes distractions. The
automatic movements accompanying prayer in¬
crease the flow of blood to the brain, which releases
energy, and their functional paths form channels
of discharge for irrelevant impressions. As a rule,
prayer has its genesis in an emotional state, and
emotions render the personality highly suggestible.
Oral prayer gives consciousness a definite direction.
Automatic movements heighten the processes of
respiration and circulation. They generate energy.
Shifting from part to part, the attention is held to
the prayer and emotion is aroused. Prayer tends to
continue itself in accordance with the law of inertia.
At bedtime when reference to objective criteria is
difficult and the mind is thrown upon its own inner
resources, the acceptance of prayer ideas is highly
probable. Although the emotions generally prompt
prayer, it sometimes occurs that voluntary attention
restricts the field of consciousness to the act of
prayer. The rosary is a mechanical exercise arous¬
ing mental images of religious importance out of
which prayers may be constructed. All of these
elements, and many more, tend to hold in mental
focus the idea for the realization of which prayer
is made. A summary suggests their cumulative
effect.

The purpose of the process of attention in prayer
is to select from the resources which experience has
placed at our disposal, those ideas the expression
of which can best minister to the existing pressure.
It also makes these ideas clear and compelling.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

Voluntary attention displays an elemental effort
of will, the range of which is conditioned by the
number of available ideas which one has. The
voluntaristic strain in attention renders us morally
responsible and creative.

CHAPTER IV

FAITH IN PRAYER

Professor Munsterberg has well said that
suggestion is more than the mere turning of the
attention to one idea and away from another, that
it is characterized by faith . 1 Among the author¬
ities on suggestion there is no dissent from the
opinion that a fundamental requirement of effective
suggestion is a lively conviction that the idea held
in mind will be realized. Now prayer also is more
than the mere turning of the attention to one idea
and away from another. It, too, is characterized
by faith. Nothing could be more indisputable
than that belief looms up large in the answering
of prayer. On the one hand, the psychologist is
certain that a suggested idea depends largely upon
faith for its realization; on the other hand, the
religious self is equally positive that without belief
there can be no answer to prayer. In both sugges¬
tion and prayer an ideal cannot be realized unless a
preliminary faith in its realization is exercised.

In order to appreciate the place of faith in prayer
it will be necessary to isolate it, to consider the
factors which promote its rise and growth, and to
discuss its nature and function.

FACTS WHICH INSPIRE FAITH

Just as there are various factors which, when
understood, tend to make prayer intelligible, so

1 Munsterberg, Hugo: Psychotherapy, p. ioo. Moffat, Yard & Co.

y6 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

also there are discoverable many elements which
suggest the nature of faith. Belief is doubtless
affected by such factors as religious environment,
devotional literature, positive testimonies of others,
memories of answered prayers, favorable interpre¬
tations of unanswered petitions, the ignoring of
negative cases, the acceptance of coincident in¬
stances, the repetition of prayer.

Before these items are examined a little more
closely, it may be well to call attention to the fact
that no sharp line of demarkation can be drawn
between the elements which influence attention in
prayer and those which promote belief. The two
sets of influences interact. Faith promotes atten¬
tion, and attention, faith. Isolation, social praying,
posture, suspension of vision, motor automatism,
emotional states, oral expression, change in object
of attention, the law of inertia, repetition, devotions
at night, mechanical devices, and volition all tend
to engender faith by making the prayer prominent
in the mind and excluding unfriendly ideas. On
the other hand, we involuntarily attend to that
which we believe.

Religious environment. —It goes without saying
that the religious atmosphere into which one is
born and the early impressions which one receives
are influential factors in determining the kind and
degree of faith exercised in prayer. One may be
a firm disbeliever in prayer because one has been
reared by skeptical parents. The type of religious
education received cannot fail to color faith. If
the child is taught conceptions of prayer which
stand the test of experience, his religious faith is
confirmed and established when he develops an

FAITH IN PRAYER

analytical attitude through contact with discrim¬
inating minds.

Devotional literature. —For many persons devo¬
tional literature is authoritative and consequently a
stimulus to the faith state. The teaching of Jesus
concerning prayer, as it is recorded in the New
Testament, is significantly influential. “And all
things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing,
ye shall receive .” 2 “What things soever ye desire,
when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye
shall have them .” 3 Such an emphasis on faith as
the condition of answered prayer, coming as it does
from the lips of the One to whom we accord supreme
religious leadership, cannot fail to increase the
faith of millions.

Statements like the following, taken from the
literature of devotion, tend to confirm the bibli¬
cal promise that faith shall see its reward: “Where
there is true faith, it is impossible but the answer
must come .” 4 “There is no personal duty more
positive or more unqualified than the duty of
faith .” 5 “How many prayers are hindered by our
wretched unbelief! We go to God and ask him for
something that is positively promised in his Word,
and then we do not more than half expect to get
it .” 6 “An astronomer does not turn his telescope
to the skies with a more reasonable hope of pen¬
etrating those distant heavens, than I have of
reaching the mind of God, by lifting up my heart

2 Matthew 21: 22.

3 Mark 11: 24.

4 Murray, A.: With Christ in the School of Prayer, p. 78. Fleming H. Revell

Company.

6 Trumbull, H. C.: Prayer, Its Nature and Scope, p. 69. Fleming H. Revell
Company.

6 Torrev, R. A.: How to Pray, p. 90. Fleming H. Revell Company.

78 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

at the throne of grace .’’ 7 Prayer literature fairly
teems with like affirmations of the value of believ¬
ing prayer. Line upon line and precept upon pre¬
cept, here a little and there much, exhort the reader
to have a faith which knows no shadow of doubt.
In fact, unbelief is the most frequent explanation
of unanswered prayer.

Testimonies of others.—Closely allied to the
influence of religious literature, is the testimony
of those who have received direct answers to prayer.
Faith is contagious. The definite and positive
experiences of others, whose accounts are reliable,
cannot fail to encourage one to make similar venture
of faith. The more highly suggestible one is, the
more likely one is to accept the testimony of an¬
other and to regulate conduct thereby. The com¬
mercial wisdom of the salesman turns to account
the testimonial of one who has purchased his wares.
The prayer meeting and other devotional services
which witness to the efficacy of prayer awaken,
confirm and strengthen faith.

Memory.—The person waxes bold in his devo¬
tions when he recalls positive personal prayer
experiences. The remembrance of the comforting
and encouraging presence of God in an hour of
depression, of the healing of a disease, of conver¬
sion, of the attainment of personal purity, of tem¬
poral prosperity, of divine leading in perplexing
situations, and of countless other things wrought
through believing prayer, tends to raise prayer to
a high degree of efficiency. The object of memory
is suffused with a warmth and an intimacy to which
no mere object of conception ever attains. Memory

7 Phelps, A.: The Still Hour, p. 43. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co.

FAITH IN PRAYER

has a tendency to reinstate a past event with much
of its original emotional glow. Sentimental and
optimistic natures are inclined to place a halo
around the pictures of memory, forgetting unpleas¬
ant details. Time, like distance, lends enchantment.
A former successful petition to heaven now held
in fond recollection is bathed in tender emotion.
There are no more effective means of increasing
faith than such cherished memories.

Serviceable interpretations of unanswered peti¬
tions. —The usual attitude taken toward unanswered
prayers is of such a nature as not to weaken the
faith state. They are generally either interpreted
in terms which cast no reflection on prayer or are
entirely ignored or forgotten. Negative cases when
taken into consideration at all are readily accounted
for by the majority of praying persons as referable
to “lack of faith,” “want of definiteness,” “haste,”
“improper objects of prayer,” and the like. Some
do not distinguish answered from unanswered
prayers, stoutly insisting that “no” is as truly an
answer as “yes.” They hold that often Providence
withholds the insignificant thing asked for in order
that an infinitely greater blessing may be bestowed;
that Divine Wisdom may overrule our shortsighted¬
ness for our own good. Many affirm that God
hears all our prayers, but answers only those which
are conducive to our highest welfare. In some
such manner the unanswered prayer when accounted
for is almost invariably converted into a positive
reason for the continuation and increase of faith.

Ignoring negative cases. —But most of the un¬
answered petitions are not even accounted for;
they are generally forgotten. The writer knows

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

of no book bearing the title “Unanswered Prayer.”
Doubtless an overplus of material would be avail¬
able for such a study if more unanswered prayers
were taken seriously enough to be remembered.
But such a work would be laughed to scorn by
those whose habit it is to disregard negative
instances. On the other hand, there is a super¬
abundance of literature recording positive expe¬
riences. It seems to be human to forget our failures
and to remember our successes; the former we
write in shifting sands, but the latter we chisel in
granite. The ancient kings, whose monuments
are now being brought to light by the spade of
the archaeologist, were inclined to have their military
and architectural achievements recorded on durable
tablets, but were chary of reference to defeat and
failure. Every field of human endeavor reveals
the tendency to view success through the small end
of the telescope and failure through the large end.

The ancient story of the man who was shown
a temple hung with the pictures of all persons who
had been saved from shipwreck after paying their
vows bears repeating in this connection. When
pressed as to whether he did not now acknowledge
the power of the gods, he said, “Aye, but where
are those painted who drowned after paying their
vows?” It is only the exceptional mind that raises
a question like the following: “In the recent Boxer
uprising some of the missionaries escaped, and
their escape was spoken of as a signal case of an¬
swer to prayer. But what of those who did not
escape?” 8 From the foregoing it would seem rational

•Bowne, B. P.: The Essence of Religion, p. 158. Houghton Mifflin Company.

FAITH IN PRAYER

to infer that when ten prayers are made and only
one of them is answered, as a rule the one positive
experience is treasured and advertised while the
nine failures are- graciously overlooked and kept
private. Thus on the whole unanswered prayer
does not reduce faith, while the focusing of the
attention upon the positive response intensifies it.

Coincidence. —Faith is not infrequently so robust
as to overlook the element of chance and coin¬
cidence among answers to prayer. A certain caution
in attributing results to prayer is often a mark of
intelligence. Recently there came to the notice
of the writer the case of a certain man who prayed
God to give the Americans a bloodless victory over
the Spaniards at Manila. When word came that
without loss of life on their part the Americans
had won the battle of Manila, this person rejoiced
and steadfastly maintained that the victory was
a direct answer to his prayer. What other persons
would unhesitatingly refer to coincidence (prayers
for bloodless victories are offered by both sides of
opposing forces) he accepted as the particular
intervention of God in response to his petition.
He seemed to imply that if he had not made that
prayer, some Americans might have been killed.

In all such cases there is presumption and blind
acceptance, but little analysis and discrimination.
If a cyclone lays waste a Western village, sparing
only a lowly cottage the inmates of which prayed
for deliverance, there are still to be considered
the equally fervent petitions of the others whose
homes are a shapeless mass of debris. The mind
tends to interpret fresh experiences in terms of its
general point of view, its expectations, and inclin-

✓ t

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

ations. In an illuminating passage Francis Bacon
describes theh disposition to adapt facts to, our
preconceived notions: “The human understanding
is no dry light, but receives an infusion from the
will and affections, whence proceed sciences which
may be called ‘sciences as one would.’ For what a
man had rather were true he more readily be¬
lieves.” But even the interpretation of certain
occurrences as answers to prayer when there is no
rational justification for doing so, multiplies faith.

Repetition. —Faith may be evoked and increased
by reiterating the prayer. At first belief may
waver like a reed shaken in the wind, but with
each successive repetition it develops strength.
Reiteration makes the mental imagery of the object
of the petition increasingly vivid and realistic and
desirable. Analogies beyond the pale of prayer
are not wanting. Who has not seen wares so per¬
sistently advertised that the prospective buyer,
although skeptical at first, finally comes to believe
in their proclaimed value and makes a purchase?

Since it is a law of our being that we grow in the
direction of exercise, faith expressed increases •
faith. It turns on itself to its own enrichment.
In the words of another, “Now there is only one
way in which we can learn to trust, and that is by
trusting. Therefore the duty of the man who
feels inert and incapable of rising to the level of
his belief, is to arouse himself, to say to himself
again and again until it has become, as it were,
his subconscious possession, ‘Trust in God is rational
and right, and therefore trust I will.’ ” 9

•Worcester, E.: Religion and Medicine, p. 319. MoSat, Yard & Co.

FAITH IN PRAYER

I ^ >

THE NATURE AND FUNCTION OF FAITH

Why is answer to prayer dependent upon faith?
What is its nature and function? The answers to
these queries will bring us close to the heart of
prayer.

Faith as will. —Faith expresses itself in two
modes, activity and passivity. In the incipient
stages it manifests itself primarily in effort, later
in self-surrender. Moved by active faith, the soul
beats its wings against the bars of its prison in
an endeavor to break through its limitations and
live a larger life. In passages already quoted Jesus
makes faith the essential condition of answer to
prayer, but in the following quotation he emphasizes
activity and striving: “Ask, and it shall be given
you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you.” 10 Now activity and faith are
not mutually exclusive, the former being the expres¬
sion of the latter. Jesus’ exhortation to ask, seek
and knock is a commentary on faith. Mr. Murray
doubtless had this aspect of belief in mind when
he wrote, “To believe truly is to will firmly.” * 11

The justification of an aggressive faith is its
stimulative function. This leaning out toward
deliverance arouses and shapes subconscious activ¬
ities of religious significance. If we take seriously
the doctrine of the unity of life, and the cumulative
evidence compels our assent, we must admit that
in prayer as well as suggestion there is a subcon¬
scious response to faith. Prayer literature, testi¬
monials of others, memory of positive instances,

10 Luke 11:9.

11 Murray, Andrew: With Christ in the School of Prayer , p. 75. Fleming H.
Revell Company.

84 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

the favorable interpretation or neglect of negative
cases, the acceptance of coincident answers, the
reiteration of one’s belief, all tend to rise out of
and to give rise to longings, hopes, aspirations,
strivings, endeavors, expectations, and strainings
in the direction of the answer to prayer. James,
with his usual penetration, has somewhere said that
to know our limitations is in a sense to be already
beyond them. The fact that the person who is
praying or under the influence of suggestion is
wholly ignorant and unconscious of any effort to
realize his own prayer or the suggested idea, is no
valid reason for assuming that none is being made,
for the subconscious stimulation may be imper¬
ceptible to clear consciousness. All desires naturally
marshal and turn to account those forces which
normally operate toward their gratification.

How the subconscious accepts the challenge of
active expectation of faith, is neatly described by
Professor Starbuck as follows: “The unaccom¬
plished volition is doubtless an indication that new
nerve connections are budding, that a new channel
of mental activity is being opened; and, in turn,
the act of centering force (trying) in the given
direction may, through increased circulation and
heightened nutrition at that point, itself directly
contribute to the formation of those nerve con¬
nections, through which the high potential of energy
which corresponds to the new insight expends
itself.” 12

Faith as self-surrender. —Strained expectation
gives way to receptivity, self-assertion to self-

12 Starbuck, E. D.; The Psychology of Religion, p. hi. Charles Scribner’s
Sons.

FAITH IN PRAYER

surrender, activity to passivity, tension to relaxa¬
tion. Self-surrender is the casting of the self into
the abyss. As a gambler who has lost all save a
paltry sum which he ventures as his last stake,
knowing well that he has but little to lose and
everything to win, so the person after many seem¬
ingly fruitless attempts to obtain an answer to his
prayer may in utter despair and as his last hope
cast himself without reservation upon a higher
power. Writers of devotional literature are one in
their preachment of self-surrender as an essential
of prayer. Mr. Murray, already quoted in regard
to the activity of faith, expresses the opinion of the
majority of them when he says, “Faith is simply sur¬
render: I yield myself to the impression the tidings I
hear make on me. By faith I yield myself to the living
God” u The act of surrender is frequently followed
by a sudden and dramatic answering of the prayer.

Now, surrender is not peculiar to religious expe¬
rience, it is a common occurrence in suggestion.
As elsewhere indicated, it is necessary to cease from
straining in order that the subconscious may deliver
its product. In order that we may recollect a
difficult name, we abandon our efforts to recall it.
Faith as activity of the will initiates a subconscious
process in the right general direction. Since our
deeper-lying self is often wiser than our waking
self, to attain the desired end the subconscious
activity may deviate somewhat from the initial
tendency given by the will. A conflict arises when
the activity of the will and the corresponding sub¬
conscious growth are not harmonious and parallel.

13 Murray, Andrew: With Christ in the School of Prayer, p. 89. Fleming H.
Revell Company. _ ■ .

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

Surrender of the self, or the cessation of conscious
striving and trying, resolves the conflict and makes
possible the complete realization of the suggested
idea or religious desire.

Under normal conditions the person is induced
to assume a passive attitude by a vague, undefined
feeling that further activity can avail nothing.
The conflict between the slightly misdirected self-
assertion and the subconscious creation may result
in the repose and calm which generally precede the
act of surrender. In extreme cases there is weari¬
ness and despair, which may be the outcome of the
v/ exhaustion of the emotional brain centers. But
be that all as it may, it seems to be the rule that
trust, confidence, passivity, and receptivity must
precede the answering of prayer.

The independence of faith.—We have seen that
psychologists are agreed that a suggestion may be
effective regardless of who or what is credited with
the result. It is a form of experience, the content
of which may be either religious or non-religious.
Belief that the suggested idea will be realized is
of prime importance, the identity of the supposed
agent is a secondary matter so far as the sub¬
conscious response is concerned. It does not in the
least affect the subconscious processes tending to
realize the idea of health, whether the patient
believes in the efficacy of a patent medicine or his
physician. The mental attitude is the essential
element. It is significant that answer to prayer
has been attributed to diverse agencies. Graven
images, prayer wheels, Buddha, Confucius, the
Virgin, as well as the God of Jesus are appealed to
and believed in by millions who witness to the

FAITH IN PRAYER

efficacy of their prayers. Religious faith as such
makes effective the laws of the spiritual life. God
moves upon the hearts of all men. He is the governor
of not only the Christian fraction of the world but
of the whole earth, and feeds the soul-hunger of
millions who call, however mistakenly, to what
they sincerely believe to be Lord of all. If answer V
to prayer depended upon a correct understanding
of the metaphysical nature and character of God,
religion, if it could have risen, would have died
long ago.

There is, for instance, the peculiar practice that
makes of prayer a charm, a talisman, a fetish. It
is characterized by a belief in the mere repetition
of prayer rather than by faith in a prayer-answering
God. It is a dependence on the mere saying of
prayers. A case in point is the following example
of the so-called prayer-chain, which has been so
widely circulated that it has become a veritable
nuisance: “Lord Jesus, I implore thee to bless all
mankind. Keep us from evil by thy precious blood
and make us to dwell with thee in eternity. This
is an exact copy of an ancient prayer. Copy it
and see what will happen. It is said in Jerusalem
that he who will not copy it, will meet with mis¬
fortune, but he who will write it nine days, begin¬
ning with the day he received it and shall send it
each day to some friend, will on the ninth day
experience some great joy and will be delivered
from all calamities. Make a wish while writing
this and do not break the chain.”

The incessant and utterly meaningless repetition
of the Lord’s Prayer on the part of numberless
persons savors of the magician’s incantations. The

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

conception of prayer as a magical rite is well illus¬
trated in the boyhood practice of the Rev. F. W.
Robertson. He says: “I recollect when I was
taken up with nine other boys at school to be un¬
justly punished, I prayed to escape the shame.
The master, previously to flogging all the others,
said to me, to the great bewilderment of the whole
school: ‘Little boy, I excuse you; I have particular
reasons for it;’ and, in fact, I was never flogged
during the three years I was at that school. The
incident settled my mind for a long time; only I
doubt whether it did me any good, for prayer be¬
came a charm. I fancied myself the favorite of the
Invisible. I knew I carried about a talisman,
unknown to others, which would save me from all
harm. It did not make me any better, it simply
gave me security, as the Jew felt safe in being the
descendant of Abraham, or went into battle under
the protection of the ark, sinning no less all the
time.” 14

A somewhat higher type of this variety is repre¬
sented in the following method: “Times without
number, in moments of supreme doubt, disap¬
pointment, discouragement, unhappiness, a certain
prayer formula, which by degrees has built itself
up in my mind, has been followed, in its utterance,
by quick and astonishing relief.” 15

In a letter to a friend Mr. F. W. H. Myers ex¬
presses himself as follows in regard to the inde¬
pendence of prayer: “Plainly we must endeavor
to draw in as much spiritual life as possible,' and
we must place our minds in any attitude which

14 Robertson, F. W.: Lije and Letters, p. 52. Harper & Brothers.
l * Unbekannt: The Outlook, vol. lxxxiii, p. 858.

FAITH IN PRAYER

experience shows to be favorable to such indrawal.
Prayer is the general name for that attitude of
open and earnest expectancy. If we, then, ask
to whom to pray, the answer (strangely enough) must
be that that does not much matter. The prayer is
not, indeed, a purely subjective thing; it means a
real increase in intensity of absorption of spiritual
power or grace; but we do not know enough of
what takes place in the spiritual world to know
how the prayer operates —who is cognizant of it,
or through what channel the grace is given. Better
let children pray to Christ, who at any rate is the
highest individual spirit of whom we have any
knowledge. But it would be rash to say that Christ
himself hears us: while to say that God hears us is
merely to restate the first principle—that grace
flows in from the infinite spiritual world.” 16

Many lean upon the petitions of others. Their
faith seems to be faith in deeply religious persons
rather than in God. They request the prayers of
others motivated by an undefined assumption that
others stand closer to God than they. Such belief
and practice seems to be a survival of the ancient
confidence in the medicine man or magician to con¬
trol the forces that affect the people. Something
of this primitive faith is reflected in the appeal to
a system of mediating personalities between God
^and man. God is so majestic and holy that it were
a sacrilege to approach him directly; hence the
saints are implored to intercede and exert their
influence.

While many facts sustain the conclusion that

11 Cited in James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, p. 467. Longmans,
Green & Co.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

it is religious faith, and not necessarily an interpre¬
tation of that which is appealed to and acknowledged
as the grantor of the request, which acts upon the
forces realizing the prayer, it should not be over¬
looked that the nature of the things petitioned for
varies with the character of the power implored.
While it is a comfort that a theology cannot affect
God, while'it would be the world’s greatest tragedy
if the answer to our petitions depended upon an
exact metaphysical conception of God, nevertheless,
a low conception of God begets prayers of a corre¬
spondingly low type , and a loftier conception lifts
prayer to a higher moral plane. Prayer cannot fail
to reflect one’s world-view, and, conversely, our
philosophy influences our devotions. The prayers
of primitive man for a bountiful harvest and vic¬
tory in battle differ radically from those of a Chris¬
tian for the advancement of the kingdom of God
on earth.

SUMMARY

Faith is an indispensable element in both sug¬
gestion and prayer. True prayer is impossible
without a lively conviction that there is a Gtod
and that he will respond to all who sincerely call
upon him. Certain attitudes and practices have
arisen which support and establish faith in prayer.
The attitude toward unanswered petitions and
coincident answers is in most instances of such a
character that faith is not only undisturbed but
actually increased. What we repeatedly hold before
the mind develops a readiness to generate belief
in its validity and value. Wise education in morals
and religion, the reading of stimulating devotional

FAITH IN PRAYER

literature, the witness of others rich in prayer
experience, the memory of productive cases all
conspire to arouse and multiply faith.

Faith is a constructive force. In the earlier
stages of the answering of the prayer faith awakens
and regulates the subconscious powers which realize
the expectations of the petitioner. When the
answer has matured sufficiently to be ready to be
the conscious acquisition of the self, faith assumes
the nature of receptivity and passivity. Self¬
surrender withdraws all opposition to the developed
product. The doctrine of the divine immanence
makes inevitable the conclusion that God mani¬
fests himself creatively in the subconscious response
to the appeal of faith.

The efficacy of faith as such is not absolutely
conditioned by our theological doctrines. In the
merciful economy of God men praying upon the
various levels of religious insight receive the reward
of faith. Nevertheless, the objectives of faith
accord with the degree of spiritual culture attained,
and in turn are themselves a partial disclosure of
our religious conceptions.

CHAPTER V

THE ANSWER TO PERSONAL PETITIONAL

PRAYER

What is the nature of the response to petitional
prayer in as far as that response lies within the
field of psychology? Is it a product of the mental
life, religiously influenced, or is it independent of
and at variance with what we are pleased to call
God’s natural order? Is it describable in terms of
subconscious reaction, or is it totally unlike any¬
thing else with which we are acquainted? Does
prayer at this point part company with suggestion?
What are the criteria, what are the methods that
reveal the nature of the individual’s response to
petitional prayer?

The method of analyzing each typical subjective
form of answer to such prayer and of comparing
its psychological traits with like subconscious results
will be adopted. This procedure is called the method
of analogy. If it can be conclusively shown that
answers to this type of petitional prayer and kindred
subconscious products are related, the inference
may be drawn logically that prayer employs the
mechanism and technic of suggestion. If such a
conclusion be imperative, it does not follow that
prayer and suggestion are necessarily identical.
As has already been anticipated, the prayer impulse
creates the process of suggestion and employs it.

The many varieties of prayer response which are

PERSONAL PETITIONAL PRAYER

reported make a classification extremely difficult.
Tentatively, petitional prayers may be divided
, into~ two classes: prayers answered through the
self and prayers answered through another self.
Prayers falling under the first division are answered
through the spiritual and mental forces of the
personality itself; those of the second class depend
for their response upon the cooperation of two or
more selves. This grouping i$ in harmony with the
classification of suggestion into social and auto¬
suggestion. Prayers answered through the peti¬
tioning personality itself include autosuggestion,
and those answered through another self involve
social suggestion. This chapter concerns itself
with answers coming through the praying self,
such as regeneration, ethical betterment, the cure
of disease, divine guidance. It will be well to bear
in mind that the purpose of the chapter is not so
much to discover which prayers contain social
suggestion and which self-suggestion as it is to
inquire into the nature of the answer itself.

PRAYER FOR REGENERATION

The wonderful experience of regeneration is
quite generally attributed to the power of believing
prayer. In fact, so much have prayer and regenera¬
tion in common that in order to understand the
one it is necessary to have a knowledge of the other.
Scattered throughout Professor Starbuck’s exhaus¬
tive inductive study of the psychology of conversion
there are many autobiographical accounts of regen¬
eration in terms of prayer. When the process of
conversion is characterized by well-definedN crises,
there are recognizable the following factors: a

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

narrowing of the field of consciousness, faith as
strained expectation, self-surrender, &nd elation. In
most cases it is impossible to determine to a finality
whether the prayer has its inception in a social or
autosuggestion of religious origin, but under nor¬
mal conditions the results are the same.

A sense of incompleteness. —The prayer ex^
presses the disquieting sense of undoneness, and
the yearning for the larger self. “There are forces
in human life and its surroundings which tend to
break the unity and harmony of consciousness;
and its unity once destroyed, the contrast between
what is and what might be gives birth to ideals
and sets the two selves in sharp opposition to each
other .” 1 In his poem, “The Buried Life,” Matthew
Arnold has described this state of mind:

“From the soul’s subterranean depth upborne
As from an infinitely distant land,

Come airs, and floating echoes, and convey ^
A melancholy into all our day.”

So long as this mental distress obtains, the person
does not need to force himself to pray; the inner
f conflict is so great that it itself drives him to his
knees. His emotions are aroused. He fasts or
eats sparingly. He prostrates himself. He reiter¬
ates to heaven his petition for salvation. The con¬
version experience of men like Saint Paul, Saint
Augustine, and Luther witnesses to the intensity
of the strain in natures marked by moral sensitive¬
ness and an abundance of emotion. It is needless

1 Starbuck, E. D.: The Psychology of Religion, p. 155. qharles Scribner’s
Sons.

PERSONAL PETTTIONAL PRAYER

to add that, in the circumstances, the idea of
deliverance is imposed upon the mind to the exclu¬
sion of other impressions.

Effort and result. —The person may for some
time continue to be apparently unsuccessful in his
effort to bring about the answering of his prayer
for conversion , 2 Nature’s method of healing a
breach in consciousness is to widen it. The matur¬
ing of the new life is a complex process, requiring
considerable time and repeated prayer. Faith as
strained expectation is supported by the reading
of the Bible and other devotional literature, the
encouragement of friends, and other means of
grace. What one longs for, leans out toward,
strives for, and expects, is a cue for the subcon¬
scious energy. Faith, as effort, and the subconscious
interact. In Christendom where Jesus is the
acknowledged spiritual leader and Saviour, the
subconscious processes of the seeker are naturally
influenced by him. To hold in mind the Christlike
ideal and to believe firmly in the possibility of
attaining it is the first step in its actualization.

Parallels of subconscious incubation in response
to straining are common in realms other than the
religious, if one may make the distinction for the
mere sake of clearness. The subconscious element
in such mental processes as the solution of mathe¬
matical problems during sleep, the acquisition of
skill in piano-plaving, the construction of the plot
for a novel, the recollection of difficult data, the
contriving of an invention, is too generally known

* Since no distinction between conversion and regeneration is necessary in
this discussion, none is made. Repentance is a change of mind, conversion act¬
ing on the new insight, regeneration the rebirth itself.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

and admitted to make further comment necessary.
An account of the steps by which a theologian
reached what he calls his racial theory of the atone¬
ment reveals the kinship existing between the
conscious effort and the subconscious. For six
years he tried to preserve the important qualities
of the three great historic theories of the atonement,
but the result was so mechanical that he was at
last obliged to throw it away. “I had become
hopeless, when there suddenly came to me a vision
of the full Christian meaning of the human race.
This vision not only vitalized, but actually trans¬
formed, my entire theological situation. I saw not
merely the atonement, but every doctrine, and
the total combination of doctrine, in a new light.
From that supreme hour (on one of the hills near
Marburg) my one aim has been to get that racial
vision into living expression .” 3

Self-surrender. —In his extremity the seeker,
feeling that further striving would be useless, ceases
to struggle and at once experiences a sense of pardon
and deliverance from sin together with a feeling
of oneness and unity with God and Christ. We
have seen that cessation of conscious striving dis¬
solves any conflict which may have developed in
the course of the interaction between the will and
the subconscious response. Before the new self
can blossom into consciousness all opposition to
the subliminal activities must cease. The will is
exercised in the direction of the more victorious
self until the old foundations of life become so
shaken and insecure that the person finally casts

•Curtis. O. A.: The Christian Faith, p. 316. The Methodist Book Concern.

PERSONAL PETITIONAL PRAYER

himself without reservation upon the deeper-lying
power ready to assert itself. The unification of con¬
sciousness, the healing of the breach created by the
opposition between the old and the ideal self, the
functioning of a wider and more competent per¬
sonality, relieve the tension and strain and evoke
a sense of deep peace. There is now an active sym¬
pathy with the outside world, a living from within
of the ideal that was once external, a glorification
of the natural world, and often the birth of new
intellectual and moral powers. J

Analogous cases from the general field of the
subconscious illustrating the effect of an atti¬
tude of receptivity opportunely assumed, are so
numerous that a selection is embarrassing. The
following may suffice: It occurred to Mr. F. H.
Wenham, an amateur optician, that the binocular
microscope devised by M. Nachet might be im¬
proved by means of a prism of a certain shape.
“He thought of this a great deal, without being
able to hit upon the form of prism which would do
what was required; and as he was going into busi¬
ness as an engineer, he put his microscopic studies
entirely aside for more than a fortnight, attending
only to his other affairs. One evening, after his
day’s work was done and ‘while he was reading a
stupid novel,’ thinking nothing whatever of his
microscope, the form of the prism that should
answer the purpose flashed into his mind. He
fetched his mathematical instruments, drew a
diagram of it, and worked out the angles which
would be required; the next morning he made his
prism, and found that it answered perfectly well;
and it has been on this plan that all the ‘binoculars’

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

hitherto in ordinary use in this country have been
t/ since constructed.” 4

Note the element of elation and satisfaction in
a mathematical discovery by Sir W. Rowan Ham¬
ilton: “To-morrow will be the fifteenth birthday
of the Quaternions. They started into life or light,
fullgrown, on the 16th of October, 1843, as I was
walking with Lady Hamilton to Dublin, and came
up to Brougham Bridge. ... I pulled out, on the
spot, a pocketbook, which still exists, and made
an entry, on which, at the very moment , I felt that
it might be worth my while to expend the labor
of at least ten (or it might be fifteen) years to come.
But then it is fair to say that this was because I
felt a problem to have been at that moment solved
—an intellectual want relieved —which had haunted
me for at least fifteen years before.’*

Is conversion instantaneous? —It may be alleged
that in many cases the interval between the making
of the prayer for conversion and the coming of
the answer is altogether too short to allow for
the slow growth of the new life. This argument
is advanced by some who still embrace the view
that in order to be of divine origin an occurrence
must not only be independent of law but also be
dramatic and sudden. The experience of Saint
Paul is frequently cited by them. Those who are
of this opinion fail to take into account that although
consenting to Stephen’s death, Paul was too broad¬
minded not to have been profoundly moved by the
eloquent apology and heroic spirit of the martyr.
Neither should one overlook the probability that

4 Carpenter, W. B.: Mental Physiology, p. 538. D. Appleton & Co.

‘Cited in Carpenter, W. B.; Mental Physiology, p. 537. D. Appleton & Co.

PERSONAL PETITIONAL PRAYER

the moral integrity of the Christians whom Paul
persecuted could not have been altogether lost
upon one of his passion for righteousness and fidel¬
ity to conviction. Furthermore, it is significant
that between his vision before the gates of Da¬
mascus and his baptism, three days of fasting and
prayer intervened. Doubts as to the ethical pro¬
priety of his open hostility to the new faith and a
growing conviction that he should embrace Chris¬
tianity, developed the crisis in which he turned
from the wrong way of serving God to the right way.

Itinerant evangelists and superintendents of rescue
missions are constantly referring to persons who
come to a revival meeting sinful and degraded and
without previous religious interest, but leave it
having experienced sudden conversion. In reply
two things should be affirmed. In the first place,
no observer can deny that when the stimulus of
an emotional revival has been withdrawn many
converts “backslide.’’ The religious instability of
some may be due to a lack of preparation and a
forced hot-house growth induced by the spell of
the revivalist. Then, too, there seem to be in
every community persons devoid of strong inner
supports, liquid minds in a perpetual state of
fluctuation, that yield to the social pressure of the
moment only to shift the center of interest when
something new is presented. The more permanent
rescue mission with its continuity of pastoral super¬
vision doubtless prevents many losses by training
its converts in religion and morals, and by enlist¬
ing them in social service, by means of which the
new life develops and finally becomes a subcon¬
scious possession. By this method the Christian

IOO

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

life that is peripheral becomes central, the ideals
that are centripetal become centrifugal.

In the second place, it is indisputable that many
cases of so-called sudden conversion are thorough¬
going. There is every reason to believe that these
permanent and stable cases are invariably influ¬
enced by previous religious impressions made, per¬
haps years before, by the home and church. Deep
down in the life of the one experiencing a sudden
answer to the prayer for conversion there have
doubtless been antecedent longings and a reaching
out after the better life, which have induced a
corresponding growth of the religious life. The
very presence in a religious meeting of such a one,
if sincere, is an evidence of yearnings for an enriched
life. An opportune word from the lips of a revival¬
ist may be the spark which explodes into conscious¬
ness what has been subconsciously maturing for a
long time. The Holy Spirit makes contact with
the subtle and intangible but none the less lasting
and influential contributions of the religious forces
which play upon the early years of life. Far be it
from us to maintain that conversion without ante¬
cedent stages of development is impossible with
God, but we are under obligation to reckon with
his habitual method.

Subconscious parallels. —It may confirm the
contention that the prayer for regeneration induces
a subconscious creation, to point out analogous
cases. The experiences of Buddha and of the
Sioux Indian of the Omaha tribe may be cited.
At twenty-nine Buddha, hungering after the higher
values, made his great renunciation, leaving his
beloved wife, infant son, and palatial home. After

PERSONAL PETITIONAL PRAYER ioi

seven years of what seemed to be fruitless search¬
ing, “one night, the old traditions narrate, the
decisive turning point came, the moment wherein
was vouchsafed to the seeker the certainty of dis-
covery. Sitting under the tree, since then named
the Tree of Knowledge, he went through success¬
ively purer and purer stages of abstraction of
consciousness, until the sense of omniscient illumina¬
tion came over him. . . . ‘When I apprehended this,’
he is reported to have said, ‘and when I beheld this,
my soul was released from the evil of desire, released
from the evil of earthly existence, released from the
evil of terror, released from the evil of ignorance.
In the released awoke the knowledge of the release:
extinct is rebirth, finished the sacred course, duty
done, no more shall I return to this world; this I
know.’ ” 6

Among the Sioux Indians the adolescent boy is
sent forth upon some hill to cry to Wakonda with¬
out asking for anything in particular. “By training
his mind and body for days, the Sioux boy expels
from his mind concepts discordant with this course
of action. He fills his mind with the pictures of
heroes; these heroes are the animals; and their
deeds are examples of life. . . . Moistened earth is
put upon his head and face, a small bow and arrows
are given him. He seeks a secluded spot on some
high hill; and under the pines he chants the prayer;
he lifts to heaven his hands wet with tears and
then lays them on the earth; he fasts, until at last
after some days he falls into a sleep or trance.
If in his dream or trance he hear or see anything,
that thing is to become the special mediator through

«Oldenberg, H.: Buddha, p. 107. P. Eckler.

102

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

which he receives aid. Then, the ordeal over, the
youth returns for food and rest. No one questions
him, but at the end of four days he confides his
vision to some old man, and starts to find the ani¬
mal he has seen in his trance. The totem is the
symbol of this animal. . . . By it his natural powers
are to be reenforced so as to give him success as a
hunter, victory as a warrior, and even ability to
see into the future.” 7

There are resemblances in all forms of conversion
and their parallels. A sense of incompleteness, a
narrowing of the field of consciousness, a straining
after deliverance, and a realization of the new self
are characteristic of all varieties of conversion. The
psychological aspects of the answer to the prayer
for conversion and their parallel cases betray essen¬
tial likenesses. They are instances of a group of
facts already known.

The points of contrast between Christian con¬
versions and others. —This does not imply that
there is no difference between the solution of a
mathematical problem and a conversion, or between
the conversion of a Christian and the analogous
experience of a Sioux Indian. The difference is of
tremendous significance. The contrast is religious
and moral. Ethical and religious ideas and ideals
determine the value of the experience. Conceptions
of God and duty condition the character of a re¬
ligious transformation. Regardless of their moral
nature, ideals tend to determine conduct. The ideal
of a Buddha was the extinction of desire, the ideal
of a Sioux boy is the strength and cunning of an

7 Woods, J. H.: The Practice and Science of Religion, p. 6sff. Longmans,
Green & Co.

PERSONAL PETITIONAL PRAYER 103

animal, the ideal of a Christian is Jesus. To each is
given according to the proportion of faith. “What¬
soever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Ideals are seeds that grow, and their quality and
kind determine the harvest of character.

The divine element. —The fact that the same V
general psychological principles underlie all types
of conversion does not exclude the operations of
God. In fact, the process as described may be
regarded as a method whereby God is pleased to
express himself. Surely, the self-activity of God'
may be as readily discerned in events reducible
to his laws as in phenomena at variance with the
natural order. Furthermore, the test of Christian
character is not an experience unrelated to God’s
universe of law, but a life that is guided by the
spirit of Christ, a life that brings the principles of
the Master to bear upon the daily concerns, a life
that is spent in the service of humanity. The
divine character of a Christian experience is attested
by the fact that a life is made divine. In conver¬
sion there is a divine impulse, an effort of the Eternal
to express himself in time, and to realize in human
life his moral character and purpose. Without
this inner divine prompting there would be no
straining of the self in the direction of righteous¬
ness, no faith in God, no creation of a new self.
The Comforter reproves the world of sin and of
righteousness and of judgment, and without this
divine activity there could be no process of regen-
eration. ■ The psychology of the prayer of con¬
version describes the mental accompaniments of
the invasion of a human life by the divine impulse.

Not that the same God is not struggling for recog-

104

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

nition and supremacy in a Sioux or a Buddha.
The acceptance of the doctrine of the universal
Fatherhood of God makes it imperative that we
regard any groping after moral light, any impulse
toward righteousness, any spiritual aspiration as a
response to the movement of one and the same
creative and sustaining and vitalizing agency.
Nevertheless, we sincerely believe God comes to
fullest self-revelation in those who are led to him
by Christ. And there are degrees of spiritual com¬
prehension and attainment among individuals as
well as among races.

Tolstoy’s conversion and world-wide influence
may be cited as a demonstration of the uniqueness
of the Christian experience. Born the heir to vast
estates and to the title of Count, moving in what
is called high society, a talented musician, acquit¬
ting himself with honor on the field of battle,
achieving literary fame as the author of short
stories and novels, Tolstoy, nevertheless, for years
had no satisfying portion. But one day while
walking in the woods that surrounded his estate
and while listening to the spring melody of the
world coming to life, there came to him this revela¬
tion: “I can live only when I believe in God; when
I do not believe I feel as if I must die. What seek
I further? Without him I cannot live. To know
God and to live are the same thing. God is life.”
The light never failed him. Since that hour of
spiritual illumination and uplift, the pilgrims to
his home have been legion, some seeking religious
inspiration and guidance, others piqued by curios¬
ity. A few adopted his literal interpretation of
Jesus’ teaching. Others departed, sorrowful because

PERSONAL PETITIONAL PRAYER 105

unwilling to pay for the pearl of great price. Many
accepted his message in part and returned to their
respective lands to share the spirit of Christ.

PRAYER FOR ETHICAL BETTERMENT

As an example of answer to prayer for moral
improvement, the breaking of a bad habit is typical.
As a rule, many evil traits are permanently elim¬
inated through conversion, but occasionally a post¬
conversion experience is necessary for the eradica¬
tion of bad habits that are deeply rooted. “He
that is bathed needeth not save to wash his feet.” 8
Regeneration may be regarded as the rebirth of
the entire personality, while the elimination of a
specific evil touches but a part of the self.

A case in point. —A farmer confessed that
although he had been soundly converted and had
united with the church, he was still subject to
violent outbursts of temper. For a long time he
prayed for self-control, but without any appreciable
result. One day a steer broke through a fence and,
going into a corn field, began to destroy the grain
standing in shocks. The rest of the cattle were
not long in following his example. By the dint of
much labor the farmer drove the herd from the
field, but the vexation cost him a paroxysm of
rage. Ashamed and deeply penitent that he had
given way to his besetting sin, he then and there
fell upon his knees and renewed his prayer for
deliverance from the evil. While in the act of
prayer a tender and comforting feeling flooded his
being, and he arose from his knees with the assur¬
ance that at last he had been set free. Although

8 John 13: 10.

io6

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

sorely tried and tempted, from that day he has
retained self-mastery.

His conversion was doubtless genuine, but as to
self-control it was potential rather than actual in
its immediate effects. This virtue did not have
time to become sufficiently drilled in before the
old tendency to fits of temper reasserted itself.
The old neural paths had either not been wholly
assimilated into the new and higher centers or had
not suffered a total atrophy of disuse, and therefore,
perhaps after the exhilaration of a dramatic con¬
version had subsided, the former ruling passion
began little by little to reorganize the remnants
of its functional paths. A conflict between the
old channels of discharge and the newly functioning
personality ensued. Then followed a persistent
effort in the form of prayer to unify consciousness.
Attention was directed to the vulnerable spot in
the self, faith in the power of prayer was exercised,
a corresponding growth of self-discipline obtained.
In reply to a question, the farmer stated that com¬
plete surrender characterized the petition that
/ brought relief. The casting of the self upon the
great world-life, when conditions were ripe, opened
wide the way through which the energy was shot
L"in the new direction. The instantaneous unifica¬
tion of consciousness eliminated all strain and
tension and gave rise to a state of exaltation.

Parallel instances. —Other means are employed
to break bad habits. Analogies outside the field
of prayer may be found in the use of hypnotic sug¬
gestion for the correction of moral disorders. Alco¬
holism, lying, cowardice, kleptomania, sexual vices,
and other defects of character have been success-

PERSONAL PETITIONAL PRAYER 107

fully treated by experimenters in hypnotism. 9 A
young man addicted to cigarette smoking was
hypnotized by Dr. W. E. Harlow. In the hypnotic
state the subject was told that if he ever smoked
again he would vomit. At the command of the
experimenter the subject repeated the suggestion:
“If I smoke it will make me very sick. I will vomit.”
The next day when he lighted a cigarette he had
an attack of nausea which induced vomiting. It
is needless to state that the pernicious habit was
permanently broken. 10

The value of hypnotism in the cure of dipsomania
is seen in the following case treated by Dr. G. B.
Cutten: The patient began to drink when ten
years old, acquiring the habit in his father’s tavern.
For forty-nine years he drank whisky. After the
first hypnotic treatment, all desire for drink was
gone. After the second, he could enter saloons
while about his business without the least craving
for intoxicants. When last heard of he was ab¬
stemious. * 11

The religious element. —Although any legitimate
method of purging the self of its crasser elements
reflects the divine operation, religion is plainly the
most efficacious. The teachings of religion create
the desire for reformation, without which ethical
betterment would be impossible. Religion warns
the sinner, emphasizes the consequences of his
folly, and urges him to make his own the principles
of righteousness. As the creator of high ideals no

9 See Thirty Authors, Hypnotism and Hypnotic Suggestion, p. 227ff. Edited
by E. Virgil Neal and Charles S. Clark. New York State Publishing Company.

10 Coombs, J. V.: Religious Delusions, p. 138. The Standard Publishing Com¬
pany.

11 The Psychology of Alcoholism, p. 345. Charles Scribner’s Sons.

108 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

other means of reformation can take its place.
Suggestion and hypnotism can do much, but they
are no substitute for religion as a creator of a desire
for an emancipation from ignorance, from the
lower instincts, and from the dominance of all which
tends downward. In the second place, religion in
its organized form protects the life that has been
delivered from its baser impulses. It throws about
such a life the safeguards of healthful and power¬
ful associations that make a moral relapse difficult.
The church at its best is a fellowship. It imparts
information and inspiration, promotes the devo¬
tional attitude, and has a social program. In a
word, religion does all that can be done to bring
about a moral change for the better and to conserve
its results.

PRAYER FOR THE CURE OF DISEASE

Man’s deep concern for physical efficiency is
often expressed in the prayer for the healing of
disease. Nothing could be more firmly established
than the efficacy of prayer for the cure of certain

A fixation of the attention, faith in the power ap¬
pealed to, and a subconscious response are common
to all varieties of divine and mental healing.

The principles of faith cure. —That cures are
wrought through the power of prayer no one who
has examined the evidence can doubt. Relief from
a depressed physical condition is obtained through
prayer by the friends of most of us. Typical cases
are common. Mr. Torrey offers his testimony.
He states that once when alone in his study he

PERSONAL PETITIONAL PRAYER 109

seemed to become suddenly and seriously ill. He
was in such severe pain that he was unable to arise
and summon help. Fearing that he would be left
alone and unaided for an entire night unless he
secured strength to care for himself, he resorted
to prayer, and was shortly greatly relieved. 12 It
would be easy to introduce many other similar
instances, but all cases are reducible to the same
fundamental principles.

On close inspection the psychologist is led to
believe that all such cures are traceable to the
effect of suggestion. The petition for healing holds
in mental focus the idea of recovery and restora¬
tion. The field of consciousness is restricted to the
thought of health to the exclusion of the contrary
ideas of disease. Christian Science not only ex¬
horts us to banish all thought of sickness but goes
so far as to declare the nonexistence of disease itself.

It is an undisputed fact in mental therapeutics
that the expectation of the cure is indispensable
to its realization. Dr. H. H. Goddard, who
made a special study of the influence of the mind
upon the body with special reference to faith cures,
discovered that in all forms of mental healing
there is the same and constant principle that the —
idea of health tends to produce health in propor¬
tion to the strength of the idea. 13 It is the patient’s
faith which effects the cure. The power of recovery
may be latent. In order to make actual the po¬
tential cure, the quickening touch of faith must
be supplied. The outcome of the suggestion does s/
not necessarily depend upon the nature of the

12 Torrey, R. A.: How to Pray, p. 18. Fleming H. Revell Company.

13 American Journal of Psychology, vol. x, p. 43iff.

IIO

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

healing power believed in, but upon organic activ¬
ities aroused by expectation. To the actual heal¬
ing of their diseases men have believed in the curative
virtue of charms, incantations, sacred relics, amulets,
the imposition of hands, the royal touch, the toe¬
nails of Saint Peter, fragments of the cross, the
tears of the Virgin, the bones of saints long dead,
nostrums, blue glass, magnetized objects, and
what not.

That there is a reciprocal relation between the
conditions of the body and the attitudes of the
mind has long been recognized as a demonstrable
fact. The body tends to adjust itself to mental
states. What is induced mentally, can be elim¬
inated mentally. It is safe to say that when a
bodily disorder is the direct result of such a state
of mind as worry and anxiety, only a complete
mental change can afford relief. A bodily condi¬
tion which is anticipated with confidence and
certainty is likely to ensue, if it be within the bounds
of possibility. This is a law which is equally applic¬
able to the cause or cure of disease by suggestion.
However the thought of the cure enters the mind,
if it be dominant, the subconscious which controls
the bodily functions will respond to the measure
of its power to restore to health. Confident expec¬
tation, occupying the whole mind and banishing
contrary and competitive ideas, tends to realize
itself subconsciously.

Illustrations of various effects of suggestion.—

The following parallel to the mental element in
the answer to the prayer for health is doubly inter¬
esting and instructive, for it shows that suggestion
has power not only to cure but also to make ill.

PERSONAL PETITIONAL PRAYER

“I was to deliver the annual address before a college
graduating class. When I arose in the morning
I was too hoarse to speak. What must I do? The
students depended upon me. I decided to resort
to quinine—went to a drug friend and asked him
for twenty-five cents’ worth of two-grain capsules.

I went to my room and began to take the capsules.

In two hours my cold was breaking; I could talk
some, and I was wet with perspiration. I became
alarmed and told my attendant to examine the
capsules to see if there were two grains in them.

On examination the capsules were found to be
empty. The druggist thought I wanted to fill the
capsules myself. I had taken no quinine, but my
cold was cured, and I delivered my address. . . .
When I related my experience with the empty cap¬
sules in a lecture at Lorain, Ohio, two sisters were
much amused. They came to me and told me this
story: The nurse prepared some capsules for the
two sisters who were sick; one was cured, and the
other was made sick with the nasty bitter quinine.

By mistake they had taken the empty capsules.” 14

The scope of faith cure. —It is well to remember ^
that no form of faith cure, functioning through the
subconscious, is omnipotent. There are limitations
which this form of prayer for healing cannot tran¬
scend, limitations marked by those of suggestion.
The subconscious is not an inexhaustible reservoir
of vitality. Only when there is an adequate supply
of force resident within the personality can the
suggested idea be realized. When disease has im¬
paired the human organism below a certain point,

14 Coombs, J. V.: Religious Delusions, p. 141. The Standard Publishing Com¬
pany.

112

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

and in the providence of God life has run its course,
the prayer for health is unanswered, be it ever so
persistently held in mind and relied upon by the
patient. It is appointed unto man once to die.
A medical practitioner recently remarked that if
prayer could always cure us, none of us would
ever die.

In order to appreciate the scope of prayer in the
cure of disease it is necessary to have in mind the
practical classification of ailments into organic and
functional disorders. Organic diseases are charac¬
terized by a destruction of bodily tissue. Con¬
sumption and cancer are typical organic diseases.
A functional ailment is occasioned by a perverted
action of the intact organs. This group embraces
the many nervous and gastric derangements. It
has been demonstrated over and over again that
functional diseases are directly curable through
suggestion. In surgical cases, as well as in all or¬
ganic disorders, suggestion may, to be sure, create
an atmosphere of good cheer which is auxiliary to
the cure. Diseases which heal of their own accord,
like typhoid and pneumonia, may find in prayer
a tonic. To attempt to remove through prayer
a bullet embedded in the flesh would be as pre¬
posterous as to throw a stone into the water with
the expectation of making it float through the
power of suggestion.

In their efforts to establish their claims that
organic diseases and cases usually referred to the
surgeon are curable by faith, the advocates of an
extreme form of divine healing have displayed more
heat than light. As far as the writer has been able
to determine, the alleged proofs for the validity

PERSONAL PETITIONAL PRAYER 113

of their so-called test-cases have been uniformly
exploded when critically investigated. Many cases
considered organic have not been diagnosed as such
by a competent physician. Other cases pronounced
organic by a fallible medical man are later dis¬
covered to be purely functional. Again, some
organic disorders heal spontaneously, and all that
mental treatment can do, which is really very
much, is to act as a tonic for the mind. Further¬
more, some patients under proper treatment for
organic diseases become restive because recovery
seems retarded, and resort to some form of faith
cure in the course of which health is restored. Of
course the mental practice receives the credit which
rightfully belongs to the regular medical method.

As an example of the lack of scientific precision
that generally obtains in the collecting of test-
cases revealing evidence of the power of prayer to
cure organic cases, the following is illuminating:
A surgeon bandaged the broken arm of a boy ten
years old. The following morning the boy aaid
to his father, “Please take off these bandages,
my arm is well.” “Oh no, my son, you will have
to wear the splints several weeks.” “Papa, do you
believe in prayer? Last night I asked Jesus to
cure my arm and he did it.” The bandages were
removed and the arm was found to be perfectly
well. The case was widely circulated as an evi¬
dence of the remarkable power of prayer, but inves¬
tigation proved it to be spurious. The patient is
now a physician, and in a signed statement says
that the broken arm was only a green-stick fracture,
and after having it bandaged for several days the
splints were removed to please a spoiled boy. The

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

114

bone would have united of its own accord in a few
days. The arm was carried in a sling for several
days after the removal of the bandage. This is
the miracle which had its inception in the mind of
a religious enthusiast. 15

Christian Science is particularly stubborn in its
insistence that it is the wonderful exception to the
rule of curative limitation. Dr. Richard C. Cabot
examined one hundred consecutive reports of the
cases cured as published in the Christian Science
Journal. 16 His findings disclose that the majority
of these cases, according to symptoms reported,
are functional. Nervousness, kidney and bladder
trouble, stomach and intestinal disorders, drug
and tobacco habits, headache and alcoholism are
some of the functional ailments reported cured.
Seven cases were apparently organic, but some of
these were inadequately diagnosed, while others
were such as heal of their own accord, like cuts and
bruises. Dr. Cabot calls attention to the fact
that by a process of natural selection the patients
who are attracted by Christian Science are as a
rule affected functionally. The functional dis¬
turbance renders the patient susceptible to the
methods of the mind curist.

Prayer and science. —What is called the Em¬
manuel Movement is a commendable organized at¬
tempt to unite intelligent religion and scientific med¬
ical treatment. 17 Dr. S. McComb, who was associ¬
ated with Dr. Worcester in this movement, calls at¬
tention to three essential features in which this un-

15 Coombs, J. V.: Religious Delusions, pp. 147-148. The Standard Publishing
Company.

18 McClure, August, 1908.

17 See Worcester, E.: Religion and Medicine, Moffat, Yard & Co., and The
Christian Religion as a Healing Power, Moffat, Yard & Co.

PERSONAL PETITIONAL PRAYER 115

dertaking differs from Christian Science. In the
first place, unlike Christian Science, this movement
could not maintain itself for a single day without
the cooperation of a staff of physicians. In the
second place, whereas Eddyism professes to be a
distinct revealed religion with a sacred book and
a curative method of its own, the Emmanuel Move¬
ment affects no special revelation, but accepts as
its theological basis the New Testament as inter¬
preted by constructive modern scholarship, and
adopts the procedures common to all scientific
mental treatment, such as suggestion, confession,
the rest cure, the work cure, and especially prayer
and instruction in religion and morals. In the
third place, it differs from Christian Science in
accepting for mental methods only functional
derangements, looking to medical, physiological,
and surgical treatment for the cure of organic
diseases. Far from assuming the function of the
medical profession, the clergymen at the head of
this undertaking tend to restrict their efforts to
such cases of functional disorders as require reli¬
gious and moral uplift for their cure. Dr. McComb
refers to a nervous sufferer who said, “Prove to me
that God loves me, and I will leave this place a well
man.”

In such intelligent and devout ways the church,
must minister to the sick as she alone can, or let
her people become the prey of the charlatans always
coming to the fore.

PRAYER EOR DIVINE GUIDANCE

A large group of prayers the burden of which
is a cry for deliverance out of a perplexity will now

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

receive attention. The answers to this type of
petition range all the way from a mental poise
enabling the person to solve his problem through
the ordinary process of reasoning or action, to an
inward illumination coming with all the force of
a divine revelation.

Prayer and poise. —Often the mental repose
attained in prayer is the chief condition necessary
to a proper readjustment of the person. A re¬
spondent writes, “Many times prayer calms the
heart and mind so that the person can think of a
way.” To believe in the prayer for divine help
inspires the personality with a confidence which
banishes all fear and worry and other mental states
which obscure a dispassionate view of a difficulty
and inhibit any effort to overcome it. The expecta¬
tion of the cooperation of a mighty helper often
constructs a personality competent to do what
one asks God to accomplish for one in a mysterious
and miraculous way. A Methodist bishop said in a
public address that he prayed for wisdom and
insight into the duties of episcopal administration,
and then relied upon his own best judgment in
making the annual appointments of preachers to the
churches.

The Rev. W. A. Sunday says that prayer helped
him in his first ball game after his conversion.
At a critical point in the game a fly came to him in
the field. He says: “It was up to me. I turned
and ran with all my might and said, ‘O God! if you
ever helped a mortal man in your life, help me get
that ball, and you haven’t much time to decide.’
I looked over my shoulder and saw the ball near—
I shot out my left hand, and the ball struck and

PERSONAL PETITIONAL PRAYER

ii 7

stuck.” Perhaps the answer to this prayer was a /
release from fear and the creation of confidence,
which induced effective muscular control. 18

Of a similar nature is the psychological element
of a prayer made by a young girl, Jennie Creek,
in a moment fraught with peril for many lives.
Discovering a burning railroad bridge, hearing the
whistle of* the eastbound Chicago express with its
load of passengers from the World’s Fair thunder¬
ing along to certain destruction, and realizing that
she must somehow stop the train, she cried out in
her agony: “Lord Jesus, help me. Tell me what
to do.” She knew that a red flag was the sign of
danger. Remembering her underskirt of red flannel,
she tore off the petticoat and ran toward the train,
waving the garment and shouting. In an instant
the signal flashed into the eye of the engineer, and
the train was brought to a standstill on the very
brink of ruin, but safe. 19

Prayer and unconscious memory.—Other prayers
for divine help induce an impulse, rather irrational
in nature but strong enough to incite activity, in
the direction of the answer. Recently a case in
point was reported. A young farmer while plowing
in an immense field lost a monkey wrench. When
the tool was needed to adjust the plow its loss was
discovered. He walked back half a mile in the
furrow, but failed to find it. To have returned to
the farm house three miles away would have en¬
tailed a great loss of time; hence the predicament
was made the subject of prayer. In response to

18 Cited in Pratt, J. B.: American Journal of Religious Psychology and Educa¬
tion, vol. iv, p. 58.

19 Cf. Pope, Howard W.: Why a Girl Should he a Christian, a tract.

ii8 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

an impulse he stepped across three furrows, kick¬
ing up the wrench. The psychological phase of
this experience is reducible to what is known as
subconscious perception and its stimulation, a more
detailed account of which must be reserved for the
following chapter. For the present it will suffice
to say that an impulse to act is often excited by
factors too delicate to be noted by clear conscious¬
ness. Doubtless the falling of the tool was not
clearly heard or seen, but was subconsciously
registered. Perhaps the prayer stimulated the sub¬
conscious impressions, which, in turn, gave rise to
the impulse to walk to where the wrench was.

Doubtless the prompting is frequently created
by a dormant memory that cannot quite express
itself in the form of definite recollection. Miss A.
L. Strong records an interesting illustration. A
college woman lost a notebook which she desired
to make use of in preparation for an examination.
In her concern she made the loss a matter of prayer
saying: “If it is your will that I try the examination
without this book, as a punishment for my care¬
lessness, very well.” Immediately she felt an
unaccountable impulse to visit a certain village
store. She yielded to the inner prompting. As
she entered the store the salesman approached her
with the book in his hand, saying, “You left this
here ten days ago, and I could not send it, not
knowing your address.” It was not until then that
a special visit to the store was recalled. The prayer
in this instance was an expression of resignation
to the permanent loss of the notebook as a punish¬
ment for carelessness, rather than a pronounced,
unwavering petition for its recovery. The case

PERSONAL PETITIONAL PRAYER 119

is analogous to the recollection of a name by aban¬
doning the effort to recall it. 20

Guidance by voices and visions. —Sometimes the
answer to this type of prayer comes in the form of
subconscious action exploded into consciousness
with the force of an external impression. A woman
who resided in the West reported that she received
a telegram stating that her mother in the East was
critically ill and that recovery was doubtful. Strange
to say, the daughter could not decide whether to
remain at home or to hasten to her mother’s side. On
the one hand, she was pressed by the entertaining of
guests, household duties, and lack of funds for an
extensive journey. On the other hand, the natural
impulse of a daughter to nurse her mother in what
might prove to be her last illness was almost irre¬
sistible. Torn asunder by conflicting thoughts, she
resorted to prayer, believing that her plea for light
would be answered. A few days later while washing u
some dishes and occupying her mind with matters far
removed from prayer, a vivid flash of insight made
it clear to her that it was her duty to remain at
home. The problem solved, she regained her mental
poise, resting content in the knowledge that rela¬
tives in the East would give her mother the best
of care. The case clearly discloses the essentials L
of suggestion; a narrowing of the field of conscious¬
ness, faith, a period of subconscious incubation, a
sudden report when an attitude of passivity was
assumed.

The following experience is analogous: “When at
school I was fond of trying my hand at geometrical
problems. One baffled me. I often returned to it,

20 Strong, A. L.; The Psychology of Prayer, p. 55- The University of Chicago Press.

120

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

in fact, I kept by me an elaborate figure. Some years
after, and when the problem had not been touched
by me for some time, I had been sitting up till the
small hours, deciphering a cryptograph for one of
my pupils. Exulting in the successful solution,
I turned into bed; and suddenly there flashed across
my mind the secret of the solution of the problem
with which I had so long vainly dealt, this secret
being a slight addition to my elaborate figure. The
effect on me was strange. I trembled, as if in the
presence of another being who had communicated
the secret to me.” 21

Another analogy is the experience of Socrates
and his daimon. It will be recalled that the great
philosopher, throughout his whole life, was con¬
scious, on certain occasions, of a divine sign, a voice,
that he called his daimon . It assumed for him the
influence of an external higher revelation. Its
power was negative and never positive. It did
not manifest itself when an apparently proper
course of action was about to be or was being pur¬
sued; only when he was about to disregard his
deepest moral insight did it exercise its restraining
influence. To hold in mental focus an idea of
ethical import was characteristic of him; he was
known to have been absorbed in contemplation
for a whole day at a time. “What distinguished
Socrates in his general conduct from his fellow-
citizens was his power of inward concentration.” 22
v/ His absolute confidence in the reliability of the
daimon was in reality the casting of himself upon
his own inward and spiritual powers, in response

21 Cited in Carpenter, W. B.: Mental Physiology, p. 536. D. Appleton & Co.

22 Zeller, E.: Socrates and the Socralic School, p. 97. Longmans, Green & Co.

PERSONAL PETITIONAL PRAYER 121

to which there rushed up from the subconscious
currents an ethical insight in the form of an audi¬
tory experience.

Temperament and prayer response. —In this con- ^
nection it is well to note that Professor Coe in an
inductive study of the influence of temperament
in religion, finds that those who have voices and
visions in their religious life are subject to them
in other respects. 23 Where there is a predisposition
to them in general, the prayer relation is likely to
be characterized by mental projections in various
forms. This is, however, not the place to attempt
an extended description of such mental states,
but merely to point out that the sanguine and
melancholic temperaments, accompanied as they are
by an abundance of emotion and a high degree of
suggestibility, are subject to voices and visions
of both religious and nonreligious significance.
Where favorable temperamental conditions, con¬
centration of the mind upon certain groups of ideas,
and expectation obtain, the visible or audible an¬
swer to prayer is usually forthcoming. 24

The form of the exteriorized idea is, perhaps,
largely determined by the type or types of mental
imagery predominating in the individual. Where
the imagination is principally in the form of mental
pictures seen by the mind’s eye, the experience
is likely to be visual; where the mental imagery is
in terms of sounds, the person hears voices. Socrates,
since the oracle was audible, must have been largely
ear-minded. Where both the visual and the audi¬
tory types are found together in the same person,

13 See Coe, G. A.: The Spiritual Life, p. 1045. The Methodist Book Concern.
24 See Parish, E.: Hallucinations and Illusions. Charles Scribner’s Sons.

122

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER -

as they almost invariably are, the temperamentally
predisposed person is likely to see visions which
speak.

SUMMARY

We are now prepared to appreciate the presence
and the importance of the psychological aspects
of the personal petitional prayer. We have .ob¬
served that attention in prayer is a basal condi¬
tion. The concentration of the mind is not only
selective, narrowing the field of consciousness to
the group of prayer ideas, but also, by excluding
contrary notions, productive of the faith state.
Other elements also arouse and increase faith. At
first, consciously or unconsciously, faith strives
toward the realization of the prayer, and then
becomes passive in order that the answer may come
to completion and be the conscious possession of
the self. The prayer held in mental focus and
believed in constitutes an appeal to the mental
and religious powers. The answer to prayer ranges
all the way from the calming of an excited and dis¬
tressed mind or the elevation of a depressed spirit
to an actual moral and religious rebirth of the self.

It should be clear that prayer is infinitely more
than the elements of suggestion it includes. Sug¬
gestion is, indeed, prominent in petitions, but
\ prayer is assuredly more than a mental impression
which discharges itself subconsciously. Prayer is
religiously motivated, sanctioned, and controlled.
The religious consciousness creates suggestion, suf¬
fuses it with religious emotion, imparts to it a
religions < significance, and interprets its results
religiously. The petition is addressed directly to

PERSONAL PETITIONAL PRAYER 123

God who is rightfully acknowledged _ to be the
grantor or withholder of the request.

The reaches of religious experience transcend the
discoverable and identifiable psychological elements.
Suggestion is the means which petitional prayer
constructs and employs to further its ends. Prayer
is human striving plus x , the value of x being the
illuminating and purifying action of the Holy Spirit
whom no psychological terminology can define or
limit. There is no cogent reason for assuming that ^
a psychological account of prayer includes the
experience in its totality. The heart of prayer
eludes the categories of Science. To the scientific
method of studying religion should be added the
outlook and the insight of a sound ' philosophy.
Science should not presume to exclude Christian
doctrine from the field of religious experience.
Christian prayer arises from an appreciation of a
personal relation to God ,as our Father. It is the
creative energy of God within man which induces
and supports the process of suggestion and trans¬
forms it into a spiritual force.

CHAPTER VI

THE ANSWER TO COOPERATIVE PRAYER

As observed elsewhere, the petitional prayers
may be divided into two large classes, the one
class consisting of those answered through the
religious forces of the self, and the other consisting
of those answered through the cooperation of
another self. We have studied the first class, but
now it is our task to examine the second. We shall
presently understand that the prayer designed to
influence another tends to create a religious-social
suggestion. Social suggestion is, then, the prom¬
inent psychological mechanism of all prayers in¬
volving the concurrent activities of two or more
selves.

The two classes of petitions are closely related.

‘ The prayer coming from the heart of one person
may enter the mind of another and there undergo
a series of modifications which entirely transmute it.
The petition answered through the self may have
had its origin only immediately in the mind of the
petitioner; more remotely it may have sprung
/warm from the life of another. It is evident that
any prayer which may be answered through a peti¬
tioning self may also be answered through a co¬
operating self, answers being frequently obtainable
to the prayers for the conversion of others, their
moral betterment, physical healing, and divine
guidance. Since they have already been described,

124

COOPERATIVE PRAYER

125

it will not be necessary to examine in detail the
responses to these forms of altruistic and inter¬
cessory petitions.

The answers to the cooperative petition may be
reduced to two groups, the first consisting of the
answers to prayers of which the responding self
has definite knowledge, and the second consisting
of the answers to petitions of which the contributing
self has no conscious knowledge.

THE ANSWER TO THE KNOWN COOPERATIVE PRAYER

One listens to a prayer for material aid or for an
active interest in a good cause and is moved to
answer the appeal, or hears a prayer imparting
wisdom and encouragement and is cheered and
inspired. A religious force plays upon the selfT"
inducing a practical reaction to an entreaty for
substance or personal devotion, or informing and
edifying one. In such cases prayer includes a
social suggestion created by the religious impulse
of the petitioning self and received by the respond¬
ing self. An impression is created in another which
tends to realize itself through the religious forces
of the self. The effect of such a prayer is deter¬
mined both by the willingness and by the ability
of the cooperating self.

KNOWN PRAYERS FOR SUBSTANCE AND ACTION

Petitions for things within the gift of others,
such as money and energy, may be answered by
letting others know of the need and of the
dependence upon the prayer for its supply. The
measure of the response is conditioned by the gener¬
osity and means, or the intelligence, willingness, and

126

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

capabilities, of those who hear the petition or know
of it.

Prayers for material aid. —Orphanages and other
charitable institutions have been successfully con¬
ducted by superintendents relying solely upon
prayer to supply the necessary funds. 1 It is reported
that the Open Door Mission in Chicago feeds and
lodges six hundred to seven hundred men, without
soliciting human aid. The China Inland Mission
receives applications from suitable persons, such as
ministers, physicians, nurses, and teachers, without
any restrictions of sex or number, who, having com¬
mended themselves to the Mission, are sent to
China as speedily as prayers for the necessary funds
are answered. This organization is maintained
entirely by the voluntary contributions of its friends,
no funds being directly solicited. The sole reliance
is upon prayer. The nature of such benevolent
causes and the fact that it is generally known that
they are dependent upon the liberality of the public
for their support, make their own irresistible appeal.
It would be difficult to imagine circumstances more
conducive to the arousing of the social sympathies.

Sometimes the social prayer is made for the
purpose of inducing immediate action, as when
a minister prays that the congregation contribute
liberally toward some benevolence for which sub¬
scriptions are about to be taken. A minister relates
that when about to dedicate a newly erected church
he requested the help of a pastor who was noted
for his ability to collect money and take subscrip¬
tions. On the eve of dedication the pastor called
the officiary of the church together for consultation

1 See Muller, George: The Life of Trust. T. Y. Crowell & Co.

COOPERATIVE PRAYER

127

and financial support. The officials turned a deaf
ear to the entreaties of both the pastor and
the quasi-professional money-getter for substantial
pledges. As a last resort the assisting pastor led
the group in prayer, beseeching God to enlighten
them as to the importance of the church and to
inspire them with the spirit of sacrifice. They were
moved to tears, and after the prayer so generously
responded that the church could be dedicated with¬
out debt the following day.

It is unpsychological to arouse benevolent im¬
pulses only to deny them outward expression.
Repeated stimulation without action leads to the
pernicious habit of allowing good intentions to
evaporate. It weakens the will. The wise clergy¬
man, for instance, offers prayer before the collec¬
tion is taken, thus not only quickening the generosity
of the people, but also affording them an immediate
opportunity to give it a concrete manifestation.
To pray save as an expression of thanksgiving,
after the offering has been taken, is to make a subtle
appeal without permitting a practical response.

Prayers for the control of action. —The prayer
for the active participation of others in the work
of the church or any other uplifting cause is the
most effective appeal which could be made. The
petition is an indirect solicitation, an appeal in the
name of religious and humanitarian concerns, which
arouses the noblest in man. That faith in this
form of religious control is times without number
rewarded by positive results should occasion no
surprise.

There is marvelous wisdom revealed in the
injunction of Jesus, “The harvest truly is plenteous,

128

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord
of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into
his harvest.” 2 This saying was taken seriously by
the superintendent of a Junior League who peti¬
tioned God to send her teachers to assist in the
religious instruction of the children under her
supervision. She arose from her knees under the
conviction that if she went into the street, her
prayer would be answered. She obeyed the impulse,
but failed to enlist anyone in the street. She then
felt moved to enter a home where a young woman
resided with whom she was acquainted. When
informed that her friend was not at home, the
religious worker requested the mother to interest
the absent daughter in the Junior League. The
mother reluctantly consented, maintaining that
her daughter was occupied by too many other
things to assume added responsibility. Entering
a second home, the superintendent met with another
disappointment. The young woman solicited re¬
fused her services on the grounds of pressing social
engagements. The petitioner returned home in
a confused state of mind, for she had confidently
expected a more hearty response to her appeal in
answer to her prayer. She was, however, agreeably
surprised when after a few weeks both young women
reported for duty as volunteer teachers.

When others were approached with the request
the petition assumed the form of a religious-social
suggestion. It is of interest to notice that in the
first home entered the request was lodged in the
mind of the young woman through the medium
of the mother, .thus bringing into cooperation two

* Matthew 9: 37-38.

COOPERATIVE PRAYER

129

other selves. In the other home the appeal was
directly made. The indirect and the direct appeal
developed within both minds a practical response.
Within a few weeks antagonistic inclinations gave
way to the call to high service.

A Methodist layman in a letter to his son pre¬
paring himself for the Christian ministry, says:
“You are our first-born, and in a tender moment
we dedicated you to the ministry in the church in
which your mother was reared and at whose altars
I was converted. . . . Your mother and I, before
you were an hour old, prayed that God would
choose you to be one of his ministers. You know
that we have not forced you to enter the ministry,
or even urged you.” 3 The prayer of dedication, fol¬
lowed, as it doubtless was, by numberless inter¬
cessions, wove itself into the texture of the son’s
character and was influential in turning him toward
the ministry as a calling.

KNOWN INSTRUCTIONAL AND HORTATORY PRAYER

Many social prayers seem to have a didactic
or inspirational purpose. They are formally ad¬
dressed to God, but they also instruct and admon¬
ish men. Springing from an altruistic motive, they
are not designed to secure the substance of others
but to widen the vision, comfort and encourage
those who hear them. In the name of religion they
move men for their own good.

Pulpit prayer. —Truly edifying and uplifting is
the pulpit prayer which wells up spontaneously
from the deeps of a sincere and intelligent heart,

3 Allen, Robert: Letters of an Old Methodist to His Son in the Ministry, p. 15.
Fleming H. Revell Company.

130

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

and voices the common supplications and aspira¬
tions of the worshiping congregation. It is
refreshing and life-giving. The gift of public prayer
is perhaps rarer than that of preaching. If it were
intended to influence God only, and not also man,
the minister might be content to pray for the
congregation in the privacy of his study. As it is
—and it is as it should be—the pulpit prayer as a
warm appreciation of religious values moves through
the pulses of the people, quickening every spir¬
itual perception and deepening every holy resolve.
Note the union of devotional and ethical elements
in the following felicitously expressed paragraph
from one of the many deeply spiritual pulpit prayers
of Alexander Maclaren:

“We pray thee to forgive all the shortcomings ^
and the failures to hold fast that which we have,
and to live by that which we know. We pray thee
to cleanse our hearts from all their waywardness,
and all their wanderings, and to fix them upon
thyself. We beseech thee that more and more it
may to us be Christ to live, that his name may
ever be dearest to us, and shrined in the very depths
of our heart’s love; that his commandments may
be our supreme law, and to please him our highest

• > yd

aim.

Great as Henry Ward Beecher was as a preacher,
he was even greater as a man of public prayer.

So profoundly did his pulpit prayers move the
hearts and minds of the congregation that the
sermon which followed, eloquent as it was, often
seemed superfluous. They were replete with the
simplicity of genuineness, a sympathy that em-

4 Maclaren, Alexander: Pulpit Prayers, p. 94. George H. Doran Company.

COOPERATIVE PRAYER

131

braced all the varied conditions of men, and a keen
sense of justice and equity. The following Sabbath
invocation is typical of his style and sentiment:

“We thank thee that we have come together
again this morning, after the labor of the week
and its weariness. Grant that we may have a
settled peace—that peace of God that passeth all
understanding. May we yield ourselves up to him
implicitly. May we rejoice that his will is better
than ours. And amidst thwartings and castings
down, and disappointments, let us not feel that
our life is lost, or that we are losing it. May we be
able to say, in all events, ‘The will of the Lord be
done.’ If we are weakened by excess of sorrow,
or if our eyes are dim that we cannot see, or if we
have lost the way and know not how to find it,
O Lord God of our salvation, be merciful to us and
look upon our weakness, and in thine infinite com¬
passion revive us again, and put us upon our feet,
and let us hear the voice, though it be in darkness,
saying, ‘This is the way, walk ye in it.’ ” 5

Other public prayers. —The sectarian element is
reduced to a minimum and the ethical aspect of
religion magnified in the prayers of the chaplains
of fraternal, military, governmental, and other non-
ecclesiastical organizations. The fundamental reli¬
gious conceptions common to the great body of
spiritually minded people are introduced as the
ground and motive of right social relationships.
By way of illustration one may quote a few para¬
graphs from a prayer offered by Chaplain Henry
N. Couden at the opening of the second session of

s Handford, Thomas W.: Henry Ward Beecher, p. 263. Belford, Clark & Co.

132

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

the House of Representatives of the sixty-second
Congress of the United States:

“Impress us, we beseech thee, with the vast
responsibility resting upon us as a people, that
we may prove ourselves worthy of the confidence
reposed in us, and distinguish clearly between
liberty and justice, freedom and license, purity and
impurity in the things which make for good citizen¬
ship, that we may work together with thee toward
the higher and better forms of life in the spirit of
the world’s great Exemplar.

“Imbue the minds and hearts of these thy serv¬
ants, now convened in Congress, with the highest
ideals, that they may walk worthy of the vocation
whereunto they are called. Impart unto those
who sit at the bar of justice clearness of vision,
that they may judge wisely and impartially the
intricate problems which confront them.” 6

Although many are composing and publishing
prayers expressive of the life peculiar to various
classes and conditions of society, no one has been
more inspirational or uplifting than Professor Walter
Rauschenbusch. His purest gem is, perhaps, a
prayer for all mothers. One cannot read it with¬
out a new appreciation of the sacredness and sacri¬
fice of motherhood. The following paragraph will
suggest its social value:

“O God, we offer thee praise and benediction
for the sweet ministries of motherhood in human
life. We bless thee for our own dear mothers who
built up our life by theirs; who bore us in travail
and loved us the more for the pain we gave; who

6 Conden, Henry N.: Prayers, p. 41. The Crowell Publishing Company.

COOPERATIVE PRAYER

133

nourished us at their breast and hushed us to sleep
in the warm security of their arms. We thank thee
for their tireless love, for their voiceless prayers,
for the agony with which they followed us through
our sins and won us back, for the Christly power
of sacrifice and redemption in mother-love. We
pray thee to forgive us if in thoughtless selfishness
we have taken their love as our due without giving
the tenderness which they craved as their sole
reward, and if the great treasure of a mother’s
life is still spared to us, may we do for her feeble¬
ness what she did for ours.” 7

Prayer in the home and inner circle. —Quite as
effective are prayers in behalf of restricted groups
or of individuals. A man of particular religious
insight offered prayer for a group of seekers kneel¬
ing at the altar in a revival meeting. The prayer
was instructional and inspirational in character,
giving an excellent interpretation of conversion
and accenting the social and ethical aspect of the
Christian life. Prayer at the family altar is like¬
wise hortatory and preceptive. The plastic soul
of the child receives lasting impressions from the
family prayer. The family priest dedicates the
child to God, implores divine help in his behalf,
prays that he may be kept from the stain of sin,
and that he may always choose the right. A young
man says that the memory of the family prayer
which his father made the morning he left the
paternal roof to enter college, has strengthened
him in many a critical hour, kept him from yielding
to seductive and subtle temptations, and inspired
him to live a life of usefulness and service.

1 The American Magaiine, December, 1910.

134

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

The preceptive element is prominent in the High
Priestly Prayer of Jesus, recorded in John 17.
It was offered in the presence of his disciples and
evidently for their special benefit. It is both his
valedictory and last will and testament. “I have
glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the
work which thou gavest me to do.” “And now I
come to thee; and these things I speak in the world,
that they might have my joy fulfilled in them¬
selves.” He expresses a burning desire that his
followers who are of divergent attitude may now
be fused together in the higher purpose of his mis¬
sion. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them
also which shall believe on me through their word;
that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in
me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us:
that the world may believe that thou hast sent
me.” How impressive these words, how they must
have searched the apostles, how they must have
lingered in memory!

It may be profitable to refer to a specific instance
which supports the statement that the devotional
relation creates a religious attitude in others, and
shows that the supplications of a few, under zealous
leadership, may, when the circumstances are au¬
spicious, induce a spiritual revival spreading over
a whole country. Following the collapse of Wall
Street and the consequent business disturbances
throughout our country in 1857, Jeremiah C.
Lanphier, a lay missionary employed by a Dutch
Reformed church in New York city, became im¬
pressed with the thought that an hour of prayer
at noon would benefit depressed business men.
Although he had advertised it somewhat, Lanphier

COOPERATIVE PRAYER

135

sat out the first half hour of the meeting alone.
Six were present at the close of the hour. Lanphier
kept a record of the increase in attendance. Twenty
were present at the second meeting, forty at the
third, one hundred at the fourth, after which the
press was so great that the people could not be
seated in one room. Overflow meetings were con¬
ducted in many churches, but lack of room made
it impossible to accommodate the great crowds.
Churches were thronged before the hour of prayer
began, and hundreds stood in the streets while
the meetings were being conducted. Soon the
revival of religious concern spread to Jersey City,
Hoboken, Paterson, Philadelphia, Boston, Albany,
Troy, Schenectady, Rochester, Buffalo, Baltimore,
Richmond, Charleston, Savannah, Mobile, New
Orleans, Vicksburg, Memphis, Saint Louis, Cin¬
cinnati, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and other cities. 8
The prayer life of a single man was in its social
consequences like a match kindled in a vast forest
when the grass is dry and the leaves are dead.

Even the tender social prayer for those who
mourn the death of friends or relatives is quite
dependent for its consolation upon its power to
touch men. The bereaved are reminded of the
existence of a benevolent God, the immortality of
the soul, the eternal bliss of the righteous dead,
the uncertainty of this life, and are urged to seek
divine comfort and so to live that they may be
reunited with the departed in the spirit world.
To the point are prayers in rituals for the burial
of the dead. The God of all comfort extends his

8 Davenport, F. M.: Primitive Traits in Religious Revivals, p. 6. The Macmillan
Company.

136 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

consolation to the bereaved through the sympathy
of his children for one another. Men are his mes¬
sengers of solace. The exceedingly delicate min¬
istry to the sorrowing is best accomplished in the
fellowship of suffering expressed in prayer.

Prayers for the dead.—Prayers for the dead are
regarded by many as a legitimate form of inter¬
cession. They are expressly commanded by Saint
Augustine in his treatise On the Care of the Dead.
Although he considered them without scriptural
foundation, Luther hesitated to forbid them. He
says, “Since the Scripture mentions nothing con¬
cerning them, I do not consider it a sin to pray
thus, or the like: ( 0 God, if thou hast such relation¬
ship with souls that thou canst help them, be gra¬
cious to them/ and if this occurs once or twice,
let that be enough.” One writer of devotional
literature makes the following plea for them: “And
the blessed dead! Those happy souls who have
departed thence in the Lord! They too come within
the limitless range of intercessory prayer. May
we pray for them? Three words will help us to
answer the question: law, love and liberty. Law
allows it; love commands it; liberty embraces it.” 9

The largest Protestant denominations in our
country do not teach the duty and efficacy of prayers
for the dead, being rather skeptical as to their
value. It would, however, be rash to declare
that they are without any effect. Their result, so
far as can be determined, is purely reflexive. Such
prayers tend to comfort those who mourn, to deepen
the altruistic sentiments and to quicken belief in

9 Holmes, E. E.: Prayer and Action, p. si. Longmans, Green & Co.

COOPERATIVE PRAYER

137

personal immortality. So far as we know the
product is largely subconscious and personal.

THE ANSWER TO THE UNKNOWN COOPERATIVE PRAYER

It may be urged, and rightly so, that whereas
in the above discussion of cooperative prayer the
persons whose cooperation was solicited received
information of the petition through the ordinary
channels of communication, countless prayers are
answered by persons wholly unaware of them.
What is the interpretation of the social petition
of which the answering self has no conscious knowl¬
edge? We may have recourse to telepathy, or
normal but unrecognized mental processes, or a
direct informational impression made by God.
Some are disposed to distribute the transference
of the unknown petitions among these three, assign¬
ing some to the immediate action of God, others to
telepathy, and still others to reactions of the sub¬
conscious too slight to be perceived.

MENTAL TELEPATHY

Some believe telepathy to be the determining
factor in the answering of the unknown intercession.
The supporters of the theory of telepathy main¬
tain that the mind may function apart from the
nervous system and by virtue of that fact it is pos¬
sible to read the thoughts of another at a distance
and control them, perceive physical phenomena
occurring no matter how far removed, and, say
some enthusiastic advocates, see into the future,
communicate with the dead, and do many other
wonderful things.

The evidence for telepathic marvels is scien-

138 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

tifically untenable. The most competent students
of borderland psychology reduce the so-called
telepathic occurrences to a hopeless jumble of
suggestion, unconscious perception, chance and
coincidence, hallucinations and illusions, defective
observation, exaggeration, imagination, muscle-read¬
ing, deliberate or unintentional fraud. They insist
that an unbroken chain of sensations intermediates
every perception. Thought is not a vibration of
the ether set up by sensitized brain-cells, but an im¬
material condition, a state of mind. This is not the
place to give an extended account of the alleged
marvels of telepathy. A psychological explanation of
some typical cases, however, may be suggested.

Hallucinations and telepathy. —Some telepathic
instances characterized by what is regarded as an
external influence in the form of voices, visions,
apparitions and kindred phenomena, are traceable
to hallucinations and illusions. Seeming to have
objective existence, the outward projection of
inward states is especially treacherous. Professor
Miinsterberg describes an illuminating case of this
kind. There came to him one night a stranger
resolved to commit suicide if Professor Miinster-
berg could not help him. He related that he was a
physician, but had ceased to practice because his
brother across the ocean hated him and had him
under telepathic influence, troubling him with
mocking voices and impulses to foolish actions.
For several days he had neither slept nor eaten;
the only chance for life that he could see was that
hypnotic power might overcome the mystical influ¬
ence. On examination Professor Miinsterberg dis¬
covered that the hallucination of voices was the

COOPERATIVE PRAYER

139

chief sympton of cocainism. In treating himself for
a wound, the physician had misused cocaine. The
vaporings of a diseased mentality became asso¬
ciated with his brother in Europe, until the telepathic
notion grew to be an obsession. The Harvard
professor hypnotized him, giving the posthypnotic
suggestion that the patient take food, sleep, and
a smaller dose of cocaine. For six weeks the unfor¬
tunate man was hypnotized daily. After ten days
the cocaine habit was broken, after three weeks the
voices were silent, and after that the remaining
symptoms gradually disappeared. It was not until
the end of the treatment that the theory of telepathy
was rejected. After six weeks when he was normal
again, the patient could hold his former telepathic
absurdities in derision, but assured his benefactor
that so vividly had he felt the distant influences
that should they ever be experienced again he would
be unable to resist the occult interpretation. 10

Suggestion and telepathy. —That the element of
suggestion accounts for many so-called cases of
telepathy is, perhaps, most clearly demonstrated
in the field of mental healing. Attention has already
been directed to the fact that it is the faith state
of the patient that is effective and not the effort
of the healer to exert his curative influence at a
distance. The actual giving of absent treatment
is of no value as a remedial agency, the cure is
wholly determined by the attitude of the patient.
The effect of faith as such is revealed in cases of
absent treatment which are successful even when
the healer makes no effort to send forth his virtue
to the sick who have confidence in his power.

10 Munsterberg, Hugo: Psychology and Life, p. 242ft. Houghton Mifflin Company.

140

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

Mr. J. V. Coombs reports the case of a woman
in South Chicago who requested her husband to
consult a Christian Science healer in her behalf,
as her physicians had pronounced her heart trouble
incurable . 11 The healer proposed absent treatment,
instructing the husband that at a time selected by
the patient herself and reported to him, he would
perform the miracle at a distance while she, dressed
loosely, calmly concentrated her mind on being
healed. JThe patient chose eight o’clock the follow¬
ing evening. The husband, a traveling man, left
his home the next morning, fully intending to in¬
form the healer of the hour selected by his wife,
but found it impossible to deliver the message and
take a certain train leaving the city. He did- not
instruct the healer. Believing that Christian Sci¬
ence absent treatment was being given, she medi¬
tated as directed at the time fixed by herself. A
few days later she wrote her husband, who had not
yet returned home, that she was well and had
become a convert to Christian Science. When he
returned he could contain himself no longer, and
injudiciously disabused her mind of the error that
the curist had given treatment at the time set by
herself. The revelation was more than she could
bear; she suffered a relapse and expired within ten
hours. The unfortunate ending of this case speaks
for itself.

Coincidence and chance. —The identity in time of
two or more events seems to be an element in
the answering of other unknown social prayers.
A study of the inwardness of coincidence discloses
conspiracies of circumstances which make the con-

11 Religious Delusions, p. 142. The Standard Publishing Company.

COOPERATIVE PRAYER

141

currence of certain events possible and even inevi¬
table. When two men invent the same mechanical
device at about the same time, the coincidence
may be traced to a need common enough to arouse
the activity of a number of minds to meet it. In¬
ventions do not outrun our wants. The dominant
interests of the age, the necessities of the hour,
the spirit of the times, all give birth to similar and
simultaneous efforts. Coincidences are, therefore,
inevitable.

Nor should the part of chance pure and simple
be slighted. The concurrence of events innocent
of causal relation is not only a possibility but an
actual fact. Many telepathic marvels are reducible
to the element of chance. In confirmation of this
statement one may refer to recent findings of an
experimenter in telepathy, Dr. J. E. Coover. His
experimental study demonstrates anew that a person
can have an absolutely groundless belief that another
is staring at his back. This belief may be accounted
for by a nervousness arising from natural anxiety
as to the appearance of one’s back, inhibition by
the dictates of good breeding of the impulse to
turn around to see if anyone is staring, the actual
detection of another in the act of staring whose
attention was attracted by signs of nervousness,
and the tendency to attribute objective validity to
subjective states in the form of sensations, imagery
and impulses.

Ten college students made one hundred guesses
each, as to whether they were being stared at during
a fifteen-second interval. Each student, with eyes
closed and shaded by the hand, sat with the back
toward the experimenter. Whenever the latter

1-42

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

stared, he did so with conscious intensity, “willing’’
that the reagent “feel” it. A box containing a die
was shaken, and when an odd number of spots
was cast the reagent was stared at; when an even
number was cast, the experimenter did not stare.
Of the one thousand guesses 50.2 per cent were
correct—an approximation to the probability figure
when events are controlled by chance that warrants
the conclusion that aside from hazard no cause
need be assigned the right cases. 12

The percentage of probability is, of course, a
variable quantity, and in the realm of prayer, as
elsewhere, it is not always high. But even when it
is low the chance occurrences should not be mis¬
interpreted. It is well to remember tha!t the external
world is so prodigal in the nature and variety of
events productive of prayer that chance corre¬
spondences are bound to occur.

SUBCONSCIOUS SENSITIVITY AND UNRECOGNIZED

PETITIONS

Although one may be unaware of receiving any
message through sense-perception, the subconscious
may take into account impressions imperceptible
to clear consciousness. The range of our mental
life is far more extensive than the psychic experiences
of which we are aware and which are communicable. ^
It has been repeatedly demonstrated that we are
influenced by a multitude of subconscious regis¬
trations of which we are ignorant. It may be well
to refer to a number of experiments which reveal
their presence and power.

n American Journal of Psychology. vol. xxiv, p. 570 ff.

COOPERATIVE PRAYER

Experimental evidence for subconscious registra¬
tion. —Experimentation in hypnotism frequently
discloses large tracts of the mental life of which
the subject is unaware. In the hypnotic condition
he may recall dreams and other experiences beyond
recollection in the normal state. Max Dessoir
writes that on one occasion when several friends
were in his room, a Mr. W. was reading to himself
while the others were conversing. Some one men¬
tioned the name of Mr. X. in whom Mr. W. was very
much interested. Mr. W. at once raised his head
to ask, “What was that about Mr. X.?” He had
heard a familiar name, without having any knowl¬
edge of the previous conversation, as often happens.
He consented to be hypnotized by Dessoir, and when
deeply entranced repeated the substance of the
entire conversation carried on while he was reading
to himself and of which he professed absolute ignor¬
ance in the normal state. 13

Experimental investigation in involuntary whis¬
pering has brought to light the fact that whenever
we think, there is an initial and incipient movement
of the vocal mechanism appropriate to the utterance
of the thought, which although inaudible to the
clear consciousness of another, may be subcon¬
sciously perceived. Two experimenters in telepathy,
F. C. Hansen and A. Lehmann, were seated back
to back. Tags marked with numbers from 19 to
99 were taken out of a bag haphazardly and held
in mind by one of the men. The part of the other
was to state which number was in the mind. It
was soon discovered that when a number was

11 See Sidis, Boris: The Psychology of Suggestion, p. 152. D. Appleton & Co.

144

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

thought of for some time there was a decided ten¬
dency on the part of the vocal muscles to inervate.
Caution was exercised to keep the mouth closed
and make no sound. A bystander could detect no
vocalization. An examination of the results proved
that mere chance did not account for the pro¬
portion of correct responses. Doubtless the trans¬
ference of the ideas of number occurred through
the sense of hearing, the involuntary whispering
being subconsciously noted by observer. 14 Sub¬
sequent experiments confirm this conclusion. Mr.
H. S. Curtis conducted experiments which recorded
the automatic movements of the larynx when the
Lord’s Prayer was mentally recited. 15 That thought
is accompanied by a jiggling of the larynx, indicating
incipient oral expression which may be subcon¬
sciously recorded by another, seems well established.

Other experiments reveal the fact that our judg¬
ments are influenced by unrecognizable stimuli.
Relying upon our unreasoned attitudes our con¬
clusions are often more tenable than others reached
by formal logic. The swift and dependable intu¬
itions of the female mind excite universal wonder
and admiration. Professor H. H. Donaldson records
an experimental example of the effect of imper¬
ceptible factors. Two surfaces differing by a slight
but measurable amount in the intensity of illumi¬
nation, were compared, the observers being required
to state which surface was the brighter. The dif¬
ference was too slight to be recognized; hence the
observers were compelled to guess. The unrecog-

14 See Wundt, W.: Philosophische Studien, vol. xi, part 4. The Macmillan
Company.

15 American Journal of Psychology, vol. xi, p. 2.

COOPERATIVE PRAYER

145

nizable difference was an effective element in
determining the choice, for the brighter was cor¬
rectly designated with much greater frequency. 16
The same principle operates in experiments in pitch
discrimination. Two tuning forks differing slightly
in the number of vibrations per second are struck
in rapid succession and held before a resonator in
the order determined by lot. The observer states
whether the second sound is higher or lower than
the first. A considerable number of trials are made.
If the observer insists that he is unable to dis¬
criminate, he is encouraged to judge in accordance
with any vague inner prompting he may feel. The
percentage of correct responses when no difference
is recognized and the observer relies upon his
unreasoned attitude is so great that it is clear that
imperceptible factors influence judgment.

Space does not permit the description of organic
reactions of which we are ignorant, such as the
afflux of blood to the brain during mental effort,
or of the automatic movements of the body, head
and hands in the direction of attention. 17 Enough
has been said to sustain the contention that our
feelings, thoughts, and actions are modified by our
responses to stimuli too weak to be consciously
noted. The fact that the range of the sensibility
of the mental life is far more extensive than that
of mere clear consciousness accounts for many
telepathic instances. There is a subtle temptation
to ascribe a response to unknown but subconsciously
noted hints to a direct impression from another at
a distance.

16 Donaldson, H. H.: The Growth of the Brain, p. 292. Charles Scribner’s Sons.

17 See Jastrow, J.: Fact and Fable in Psychology, p. 307. Houghton Mifflin
Company.

146 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

Subconscious registrations of prayer. —It is clear
that a social prayer may make impressions too
faint or indistinct to attract the attention of another,
and yet be subconsciously gleaned and elaborated.
Neither the self praying nor the one answering
may be aware of the delicate process of hyper¬
esthesia, as it is called, and therefore neither is
able to interpret the occurrence in terms of an
orderly sequence. The unintended signals of the
prayer are legion; spoken or written words are not
the only sources of information' at the disposal of
the mind. A clasp of the hand, a touch upon the
shoulder, a gesture, a facial expression, the tone
of the voice may indicate interest in the religious
life of another.

Doubtless some are more sensitive to weak
stimuli than are others, and some are constantly
giving more outward signs of inward states than
are others. When friends are good transmitters
and receivers of delicate impressions, silent conver¬
sations may occur; they may spend an entire evening
together without speaking a word and part with
the consciousness of having had a sociable visit.
A lad frequently roamed over hill and dale with
his boy chum, neither uttering a sentence for hours
and still each found the society of the other con¬
genial. When husband and wife are thus sym¬
pathetically related, few words are necessary for
mutual understanding and appreciation.

A teacher recalls a former student of his with
more than ordinary interest, for this mind was an
exceedingly sensitive receiver and interpreter of
the attitudes of his preceptors. His method of
reciting a lesson was akin to that of a professional

COOPERATIVE PRAYER

147

medium giving information to a sitter. In reply
to the question asked by the instructor it was
his custom to parry and temporize by asking a
counter and leading question: did the teacher refer
to this or that? If the instructor answered, matters
were materially expedited for the student. If an
answer was denied, he began to skirmish, moving
cautiously in the form of generalities equally applic¬
able to a multitude of things and having his eyes
riveted upon the face of the teacher to detect the
shadow of a trace of approval or disapproval. Thus
guiding and guarding himself, he retreated whenever
he felt himself upon treacherous ground, and ad¬
vanced boldly whenever he felt sure of his position,
uniformly succeeding in making a tolerable recita¬
tion, although the instructor was exercising
precaution to be noncommittal, and the student
himself had come with the vaguest conception of
the lesson material. This sensitive soul possessed
the almost uncanny power of compelling the pre¬
ceptor to recite for him.

It does not seem unreasonable to conclude that
transmitters of prayer, especially those who unin¬
tentionally radiate the signs and symbols of the
secret devotional life, are frequently rewarded by
others who have no conscious knowledge of having
absorbed the petition. In fact, a highly impression¬
able and socialized person may respond to a sub¬
consciously noted and assimilated petition more
generously and graciously than to the one of which
he is pointedly aware. The hint dropped unawares
and subconsciously taken is likely to be more effec¬
tive than the consciously recognized petition.
Persons of the combative disposition exhibit a

148 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

readiness to set their wills against the direct and
the known appeal, but a sensitiveness and a respon¬
siveness to what they assume to be original impulses.
The pathway which a petition made in the closet
may take may be labyrinthian, and it is seldom
if ever possible to predict or detect how or when
it will travel, what its destination will be, and
what it will accomplish.

When we add to subconscious activity the many
other means of imparting and receiving information,
the possibilities of disseminating the social prayer
seem beyond computation. Such things as the
locomotive and steamship, the telephone and tele¬
graph, the mail service and newspaper, the public
school and market place have all brought men into
close relations and multiplied the channels of
intercommunication. The secret whispered in the
chamber is proclaimed from the housetops.

DIRECT IMPRESSIONS BY GOD

It is affirmed that when an intercession touches
the heart of God he sometimes influences the person
whom the prayer is designed to move, without
any reference to the ordinary human means of
communication. Since God is the author and
sustainer of the universe, it does not become us to
deny him such method. It is not for us to impose
our limitations upon him. There should be no
disposition to question the power of God to impress
the mind of man immediately. In fact, the doctrine
of the immanence of God, which underlies this
entire study of prayer, implying as it does that he
is constantly prompting man from within, is

COOPERATIVE PRAYER

149

wholly compatible with the mystical account of the
transmission of the unknown petition from one self
to another. It is, of course, impossible to determine
to a finality whether a response is directly inspired
by God, or indirectly by other subconsciously
acquired intimations.

Not that such an immediate impression can be dis- w
sected and labeled by scientific processes. It lies out¬
side the domain for which psychology is responsible.

A transcendental impulse is not material for the
psychologist but for the theologian and the philos¬
opher. It belongs to the realm of relations not
reducible to other and more basic terms by the
technic of science. A mystical impression is an
interior illumination and urge, a matter of religious
consciousness and intuition, which is not subject
to the methods and classifications of psychology.
After science has abstracted all that it can from the
prayer experience an irreducible residuum remains,
a relation of God and man too deep and intimate
to be analyzed and defined.

The Christian religion is the organization of life
in its totality in accordance with the Fatherhood
of God. It teaches that a personal and direct rela¬
tion between God as Father and men as sons is not
only possible but imperative. This would be an
orphaned world indeed if God could not and did not
sensitize the conscience of man. If the human
personality were in every instance thrown upon
its own resources, how pitifully inadequate the
entire scheme of things would be! Man’s own
ideas and unaided efforts cannot carry him far.

To yield to the impression of God within is to
give the course of life a, point and a direction which

150 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

man, relying upon his own reason and volition, can¬
not achieve. The prayer relation draws upon
mystic sources of wisdom which, although defying
scientific investigation and description, attest their
validity in the moral and social progress of hu¬
manity.

SUMMARY

Springing from religious motives, the prayers of
solicitation for things and personal effort enlist
those whose strength and willingness can accom¬
plish what the petitioner himself is unable alone
and unaided to bring to pass. Such prayers tend
to form partnerships of personalities for the further¬
ance of enterprises of social significance. They
have a socializing influence. They discover and
impress the persons who can contribute to social
betterment. Prayer action and prayer reaction
fuse in fellowship and common achievement.

Other prayers studied in this chapter culminate
in an altered personality rather than in material
contributions or other forms of benevolence. They
are not made to win active support for a cause, but
to instruct and recreate others. They are com¬
forting and cheering, didactic and invigorating.
The process of conversion, the elimination of evil,
the cure of a disease, divine guidance, in short
whatever may be achieved by the individual him¬
self, may, in auspicious circumstances, be induced
in the lives of others. The petitioner has his reward
in the reconstruction of the personality of con¬
cern to him. It would be hard to imagine more
disinterested motives than those which prompt
this form of cooperative prayer. It is evident that

COOPERATIVE PRAYER

I5i

such petitions beget in another prayers for a more
victorious and morally competent self.

Prayers made within the hearing of others or
directly carried to others by the ordinary avenues
of intercommunication are their own appeal. That
such impacts are reenforced by the energy of God
in man is defensible and inevitable in the light
of the doctrine of the immanence of God. The P
unrecognized petition may be conveyed to its
destination in one of two ways: it may be subcon¬
sciously garnered and elaborated, or it may be
directly impressed upon the mind of man by God
himself. In either case clairvoyant traits of the
human personality are for the present excluded
as not yet scientifically demonstrated. Prayers of
cooperation, as motivated and employed by the
religious consciousness, assume the nature of
religious-social suggestions.

A petition transferred as a divine impulse or in
any other way, does not ride roughshod over the
will of another. Indeed, the contrary will of another
may defeat the purpose for which the prayer was
made. The creativeness of the social petition, no
matter how transmitted, is determined by the
cooperation and resources of the self it touches.
Prayer is not a means of canceling the moral respon¬
sibilities of others. The statement, “Behold I
stand at the door and knock,” expresses all that
God will and all that man can do. Prayer solicits
and invites, encourages and urges, enlightens and
admonishes, but so long as the self resists the im¬
pact and appeal of it, it remains answerless. Not
even when he impinges upon the spirit of man
without sensory mediation does God presume to

152

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

coerce the personality endowed with initiative and
self-direction to obey him. The obligation to respond
to the full measure of his ability to that which accords
with the mandates of conscience rests squarely upon
man himself.

CHAPTER VII

OBJECTIVE ANSWERS

Although the number of persons who expect
direct responses to prayers, which involve the sus¬
pension of natural law, is rapidly diminishing, yet,
for the sake of stressing the sphere within which
prayer actually moves, we turn at this point to
so-called objective answers. Is prayer efficacious
outside the range of personal and social influence?
Does prayer infringe upon and suspend the laws
of nature? Does the sweep of prayer include the
physical as well as the moral and religious world?
Some assure us that, impelled by the prayer of
faith, God halts, if he does not actually disturb,
the usual orderly processes of nature.

Human tendencies. —It must be confessed that
here, as in other matters in which man is vitally
concerned, lapse of memory, unintentional exagger¬
ation, the accommodation of a petition to an event
which partially resembles the answer desired, and
coincidence, are some of the human elements which
may be taken into consideration. The following
instance taken from a popular novel, warms the
heart without deceiving the head: “Alessandro’s
grandfather had journeyed with Father Crespi as
his servant, and many a miracle he had with his
own eyes seen Father Crespi perform. There was
a cup out of which the Father always took his
chocolate for breakfast, a beautiful cup, which was

i53

154

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

carried in a box, the only luxury the Father had;
and one morning it was broken, and everybody was
in terror and despair. ‘Never mind, never mind,’
said the Father; ‘I will make it whole;’ and taking
the two pieces in his hands, he held them tight
together, and prayed over them, and they became
one solid piece again, and it was used through the
journey, just as before.” 1

The interested and expectant person, in his
prayer life as in other affairs that engage his atten¬
tion, perceives and interprets the coincidental expe¬
rience that altogether escapes the notice of one
absorbed by other phases of life. “It is only neces¬
sary to become deeply interested in coincidences,
to look about with eyes open and eager to detect
them, in order to discover them on all sides; resolve
to record all that come to hand, and they seem to
multiply until you can regard yourself and your
friends as providentially favored in this direction.” 2

Mr. H. C. Trumbull relates that when he was
superintendent of a mission school he and his teachers
planned to take a sleigh-ride on Christmas morning
to the State prison where they proposed to conduct
a religious service and visit a former pupil incar¬
cerated for arson. When the necessary arrange¬
ments were being made a teacher suggested that
if there should be no snowfall on or before Christmas
night their plans would come to naught, as the
ground was bare. Their leader, Mr. Trumbull,
ventured to reply that since they were in God’s
special service and had renewedly prayed for
guidance in their plans, they might with the utmost

Jackson, Helen Hunt: Ramona, p. 187. Little, Brown & Co.

2 Jastrow, Joseph: Fact and Fable in Psychology, p. 90. Houghton Mifflin
Company.

OBJECTIVE ANSWERS

155

confidence trust God to do his part. Returning
home from the meeting, he realized the delicacy
of the position he had taken and fell upon his knees
to implore divine aid. On Christmas Eve he met
his teachers to complete all details and, although
the sky was starlit and there was no indication
that snow would cover the ground, they separated
for the night, agreeing to meet the following morn¬
ing. On Christmas morning four inches of snow
covered the earth, providing an excellent basis for
sleighing. The proposed sleigh-ride was now possi¬
ble, and all plans were carried out to the letter.
The teachers were convinced that God had sent
the snow in answer to prayer. 3

It may seem ungracious, but it is certainly legiti¬
mate, to raise questions like the following: Was
the snowfall contingent upon the trust in God,
or would it have come even if no one had peti¬
tioned for it? Was there in reality no sign of
the coming snow in the sky and air, or might a
meteorologist have detected atmospheric conditions
presaging it? Was the incident an objective answer
or a happy coincidence?

Once men prayed for rain in a season of pro¬
tracted drought. They were right in their assump¬
tion that God is interested in the daily bread for
which Jesus taught them to pray. Although God
is by no means indifferent to the physical wants
of men, and prayer for rain is often followed soon
by a downpour, we cannot be absolutely sure that
rain would not have fallen without special prayer
for it. There is no known test by which we can

* Illustrative Answers to Prayer, p. 1 iff. Fleming H. Revell Company.

156 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

determine. God lets the rain fall upon the unjust
as well as upon the just. For this reason the prayer
for rain is confusing.

Undiscovered connections. —On the other hand,
it is sheer scientific bigotry to assert that answer
to prayer outside the scope of personal influence
is impossible. There may be higher laws of which
we as yet know nothing which determine the answer
now regarded as objective. Many events of nature
once supposed to be direct departures from the
usual and orderly scheme of the world have dis¬
closed their normal connections and been linked
with other like uniform sequences. The possi¬
bility of an incandescent electric light was once
scoffed at, but it has long ago become an accom¬
plished fact. The range of the unknown is vaster
than that of the explored regions; hence modesty
becomes us. While defying our present methods of
analysis and classification certain objective answers
to prayer may some day be referred to laws of which
at present we are wholly ignorant. What now
appears to be a conflict with natural law may in
the end reveal itself to students of deeper insight
and more varied experience, as the outcome of a
higher order.

God and nature. —It is the Christian’s belief
that since God made the world as it is, he is able
to depart from any customary method of express¬
ing himself. What he can make he can break.
While there can hardly be a question as to God’s
power to suspend or interfere with his customary
activities, there has been decided objection to such
intervention. One writer feels so strongly that
he makes the statement that a God who creates

OBJECTIVE ANSWERS

157

a universe according to a plan which he must change
or temporarily abandon in order to accomplish his
purposes would be limited in wisdom and resources.
A deviation from the law-abiding order of nature
he regards as a makeshift, a way out of a difficulty,
a desperate measure, something which supplies a
want in the scheme of things. The world has not
been so fashioned that by it all the divine ends are
achieved. “God encounters an obstacle within his
own order of nature. It is as if there were two
Gods—one who is active during the ordinary course
of things, and another who, in particular cases,
corrects the work of the former.” 4

On the other hand, others, far from sensing any
limitation in an occurrence which conflicts with
what we know about natural law, are disposed to
glory in a God who refuses to be held in check by
his ordinary way of governing the universe. Far
from displaying a weakness in God, events not
reducible to what we call law reveal his sovereignty.
They believe that when a situation is serious enough
to warrant it, God does actually exercise his power
to halt or disturb the usual processes of nature.
They do not discriminate against petitions answers
to which might entail a break in the natural order.
Although conscious of their own lack of wisdom,
they pray that not their will but God’s, be done.

The higher ministry of prayer. —The atmosphere
is cleared when we raise the question, Are the ends
of life physical, or moral and religious? If it be
granted that the ends of the race are spiritual,
it becomes clear that prayer in furthering the

4 Hoffding, H.: The Philosophy of Religion, p. 29. The Macmillan Company.

158 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

fundamental purpose does not directly involve the
material world. Prayer as a means of spiritual
culture has no responsibility in the physical uni¬
verse. To say the least, it is not the highest function
of prayer to invade the material universe and to
work havoc and confusion simply to gratify an
unsophisticated and unspiritual petitioner.

To confine prayer to moral issues is to forestall
perplexity. Many a sensitive but misguided person
has been unable to unlearn what he has been taught
about the willingness of God to abrogate the laws
of the physical world, without an unfortunate and
a needless loss of confidence in religion itself. An
author of a devotional study records the case of
a woman whose spiritual life suffered permanent
injury because her petition for the recovery of her
daughter, incurably ill, was ungranted. She had
been taught that faith invariably moves God to
change or reverse the operations of nature. 5 One
of Dr. F. 0 . Beck’s correspondents reports a girl¬
hood experience which further illustrates the con¬
fusion arising from misleading teaching. “One
evening, just when leaving school, I tore a page in
a new geography of which I thought a great deal.
I placed it in the desk greatly worried, and leaving
the room sadly, I recalled that the teacher had
taught that God could do anything, so I just prayed
that he would mend my torn book. Many times
that evening and the next morning I asked him in
prayer to mend the page. I hastened to school
early and went at once to my desk to find to my
sorrow that the leaf was still torn.” 6

‘ McCormick, C. W.: The Heart of Prayer, p. i. The Methodist Book Concern.
• American Journal of Religious Psychology and Education, vol. ii, p. 118.

OBJECTIVE ANSWERS

159

Many men feel that it is more religious and in
harmony with the divine will to adjust themselves
to the laws of nature than it is to try to set them
aside by the power of prayer. Instead of praying
for rain they irrigate the arid regions, plant trees
to modify the atmospheric conditions, and discover
and apply the principles of dry farming. Instead
of trying to deliver themselves from a plague of
grass-hoppers by means of prayer, intelligent men
are plowing under the larva and preventing the
propagation of the noxious insects. Instead of
relying solely upon prayer to arrest the ravages
of an epidemic of typhoid fever, they submit their
drinking water and milk to a scientist that they
may combat the malignant scourge at its source.
They appropriate the skill of the surgeon to set a
broken bone or to extract a bullet embedded in the
flesh. They consider the employment of natural
means to attain material ends an obligation which
should not be shifted to where it does not properly
belong. It is God himself who is creatively active
in natural processes, and it is therefore positively
sinful to be unwilling to conform to his established
order.

The devout mind is disposed to draw lessons of
spiritual import from material disaster. In its
scale of values the eternal is highest and the tem¬
poral, lowest. Bishop William A. Quayle finds in
the economic pressure of a drought not so much
an occasion for a petition for rain as an opportunity
to bring home to men the barrenness and unfruit¬
fulness of their own lives. He expresses this senti¬
ment: “We pray for bounteous harvests on the
plowed lands of the soul, where we have had scant

160 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

crops so long, so long, so pitifully long. We have
been barren fields, or nigh that. Dew have we
had and rain and sunlight passing fair and sweet,
and God hath been with us, but we heeded not.
We have grown shrubs where we should have
grown trees, and scrawny harvests where we could,
aye, and should have been burdened with a yield
of an hundredfold. . . . Give to us great soul-crops
of love and peace and joy, and a sound mind and
an equanimity which never sours with discontent,
we pray in Christ, our Master.” 7

SUMMARY

Prayer helps man to help himself. It inspires
him to meet material obstacles with insight and
courage. It sifts the facts of life and arranges
them in their proper order. It is a factor in sub¬
duing and subordinating the forces of nature to
religious purposes. To be sure, prayer does not
relieve us of some burdens, but it does infinitely
more when it helps us to bear them. It con¬
structs a personality that rises above vicissitudes
of time and sense. Paul prays three times that a
physical handicap, a thorn in the flesh, which is
an impediment in his missionary labors, be re¬
moved. Although his actual petition is ungranted
he is given courage and patience to bear his trial,
and becomes the greater man for the discipline.
“My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is
made perfect in weakness.” 8

7 Quayle, William A.: The Climb to God, p. 162. The Methodist Book Concern.

8 2 Corinthians 12:9.

CHAPTER VIII

UNGRANTED PETITIONS

A popular writer of devotional studies makes
no secret of the futility of many prayers, saying:
“Probably it is accurate to say that thousands of
prayers go up and bring nothing down. This is
certainly true. Let us say it just as bluntly and
as plainly as it can be said.” 1 Not all are as ready
and frank to admit the failures of the prayer rela¬
tion. Some assert that God hears all prayers, but
answers only those which are in accord with his
will and for the spiritual welfare of the petitioner.
They affirm that “no” is as real an answer as “yes.”
Nevertheless, it must be confessed that myriads
of prayers are unanswered in the sense that the
object of the petition is never forthcoming.

Many and varied are the explanations made for
the ungranted petition. We have had occasion
elsewhere to refer to the fact that many attribute
unanswered prayers to want of faith, indefiniteness,
lack of perseverance, and improper objects of
prayer. It is also maintained that many prayers
are indirectly answered in that the insignificant
favor asked for is ungranted in order that a higher
good may be bestowed. Often the form of the
petition is denied, but the substance is granted.
A passage in Saint Augustine’s Confessions describes

1 Gordon, S. D.: Quiet Talks on Prayer, p. 67. Fleming H. Revell Company.

l6l

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

162

his mother, Monica, praying all one night in a
chapel in Africa that God would not let her son
sail for Italy. She wanted Augustine to become a
Christian. She did not want him to escape her
direct influence. If under her care he resisted the
appeal of Christianity, what would he be in Italy,
the land of licentiousness and alluring temptation?
But he sailed for Italy and there he was converted
under the labors of Ambrose. The intent of the
mother’s prayer was realized in the country from
which her petition would have kept him.

But since prayer is in part a human enterprise
it is not surprising that it often fails to accomplish
the immediate purpose of its maker. Prayer is a
human and a divine process, an act in which God
and man cooperate. Now, God is the constant
and dependable partner in the transaction, always
prompting man from within to achieve the whole¬
ness and the fullness of life, and ever expressing
himself in those uniformities which we call his
laws. It is man who is the variable factor, his
infirmities and self-will often interfering with the
1/ answering of his prayers. The unanswered prayer
is not the failure of God to keep faith with man,

, but it is the failure of man to adjust himself to the
r requirements of God.

UNGRANTED PERSONAL PETITIONS

Prayers for things outside the range of personal
and social influence have already been considered
in a chapter devoted to objective answers; 2 it will,
therefore, not be necessary to discuss them here.

' Chapter VII.

UNGRANTED PETITIONS

163

In accordance with the psychological classification
of prayer adopted in the preceding chapters atten¬
tion will first be called to typical reasons for un¬
granted personal petitions.

An uneasy conscience. —Now, since all true
prayer is essentially reverent and serious, and the
expression of the soul’s deepest religious desires,
it is normally impossible to maintain the devotional
attitude against the consciousness of moral defects.
With rare penetration into the heart of the matter,
Mr. Phelps writes: “It does not require what the
world pronounces a great sin to break up the seren¬
ity of the soul in its devotional hours. The expe¬
rience of prayer has delicate complications. A
little thing, secreted there, may dislocate its mechan¬
ism and arrest its movement.” 3 The sacred writer
senses the effect of iniquity and describes it in his
own unique way: “The Lord is far from the wicked:
but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.” 4 “When
ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands
are full of blood.” 5 To be sure, when the eradica¬
tion of evil is itself the burden of the petition, the
delicate mechanism of the devotional life is un¬
hampered.

In actual practice the moral standard is not
inflexible and fixed for all time. Moral require¬
ments necessarily reflect the current conceptions of
right and wrong. Social judgment to a large extent
determines the content of personal conscience.
What was regarded as right yesterday may be
found wrong to-day. There is in both the race and
in the individual a progressive moral revelation.

3 Phelps, A.: The Still Hour, p. 32. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company.

4 Proverbs 15: 29.

* Isaiah 1:15.

164 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

A case in point is the changed attitude of thousands
toward the use of spirituous liquors. Where once
the moderate use of alcoholic beverages was not
only tolerated, but ardently defended, there may
be to-day an unwavering stand for total abstinence.
It follows that what would be an unethical petition
for one would not necessarily be so for another,
and what would leave the prayer relation of one
undisturbed could create a breach in the devo¬
tional life of another.

The seriousness with which ethical and religious
hindrances to prayer are regarded varies with their
power over the individual. Whatever has become
a moral or religious obligation, be it ever so trivial
or important, must be sacredly respected, lest the
inner harmony of the prayer life be disturbed.
The prayer must be in accord with the religious
beliefs of the petitioner. Miss Strong cites the
experience of a young man converted under the
labors of Finney, the great evangelist. When
Finney’s preaching was reaching many it became
the custom for seekers to retire to the woods to
pray. As a rule, they returned rejoicing. Although
this young man spent a whole night on his knees
in prayer, and actually knelt in a mud-puddle, to
persuade himself that it was not false pride that
restrained him, the unwillingness to go into the
woods became such a point of tension as utterly
to distract him. After weeks of struggle, he yielded,
retired to the woods and quickly resolved the con¬
flict through prayer. Be it said to the credit of
Finney that he regarded the matter of praying in
the woods as of no consequence, and that in this
particular he differed radically from many other

UNGRANTED PETITIONS 165

revivalists who make compliance with certain forms
and methods a prerequisite to salvation. 6

Theological struggles. —In our Christian civiliza¬
tion the attitude toward the fundamental doctrines
as set forth by the various religious denominations
profoundly affects the prayer experience. To
reject a cardinal belief, while subconsciously con¬
vinced of its truth, is to bring about a spiritual
chaos which endures until the fullest assent is
accorded the disturbing article of faith. There are
many cases recorded which demonstrate that peti¬
tioners for the conversion experience have prayed
without success until the deity of Christ has been
acknowledged.

Bishop Robert McIntyre’s conversion is illumi¬
nating. He writes: “Lying prone at an altar in a
sanctuary of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South, in Saint Louis, I was convicted after days
of inward conflict, completely humbled in spirit.
I feared, struggled, agonized. My will was broken,
my heart riven, my flesh cold, my breath choked.
I could barely live on the border-line of conscious¬
ness. I had denied the deity of Christ, and still
blinded by mental and moral perversity, I shrank
from the one great final leap to the cross. As I
brokenly moaned the Deist’s invocation, ‘0 God,
save me,’ a silver-haired saint ceased singing in the
band near by, kneeled beside the chancel rail,
listened to my piteous cry, saw the knot that was
strangling my spiritual life, and swiftly loosed it
with the words, ‘Ask God to save you for Jesus’
sake.’ In desperation I flung all my infidelity from

« Strong, A. L.: The Psychology of Prayer, p. 106. University of Chicago Press.
For a description of growth in prayer discrimination, see page soflf.

166 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

me, hung all my hope on his holy name, called
him by faith my Lord forever, and said the sentence
which was my soul’s solemn and eternal committal
to the Most High in his appointed way. I took
the omnipotent words from her, dipped them
deep in my heart’s blood, and slowly as one who
faces doom and has no other plea, sobbed out, ‘O
God, for Jesus’ sake, save me.’ While yet the Name
was on my lips a light sweetened all my being,
the pressure of a mountain of guilt lifted, a stream
of mercy flowed around me, smiles broke through
my tears, and stammeringly, wonderingly with
holy awe upon me I tried to tell it, as I have done
ever since.”

Temperamental disqualifications. —Many persons
are temperamentally disqualified from receiving the
dramatic and striking answers to prayer which they
so earnestly covet and so firmly expect. Professor
Coe, as indicated elsewhere, has shown the vital
relation of temperament to religious experiences.
His statistics demonstrate that when religious expe¬
riences in terms of voices and visions occur, the
element of sensibility predominates and the per-
sons are either of the sanguine or melancholic
^ temperament. Those who are highly emotional
and imaginative in general are the ones most likely
to receive startling answers to prayer in the form
of outward projections of inward states. The
writer has studied with absorbing interest a young
man whose religious life is characterized by emo¬
tional excitement and dramatic occurrences. It is
noticeable that his whole life is significantly influ¬
enced by these temperamental characteristics. One
day, after an arduous but fruitless pursuit of game,

UNGRANTED PETITIONS

167

he finally succeeded in bringing down a small animal.
His joy knew no bounds, and was expressed by
wild leaps into the air and the firing of his gun,
to the imminent peril of his fellow hunters.

On the other hand, many who expect striking
and emotional religious transformations in response
to prayer are disappointed because their prominent
mental trait is the intellect, and the choleric tem¬
perament obtains. It is a matter of regret that
the experiences of the highly emotional and sug¬
gestible have been adopted as standards by some
of the religious denominations. The efforts of
many genuinely religious persons to conform their
religious experiences to the type in favor with
their respective churches, despite temperamental
disqualifications, are truly pathetic and often lead
to a tragic revolt against religion itself. Professor
Coe quotes a person who expected, but for temper¬
amental reasons failed to obtain, a striking conver¬
sion. The disappointed person says, “Often I arose
from my knees almost mad at myself for praying
after having prayed so often without results.” 7 It
is well to bear in mind that the peculiar constitution
of the mind determines the form of the effect of
the petition.

Lack of perseverance. —Doubtless, many unan¬
swered prayers are due to a lack of perseverance
until one feels prompted from within to cease con¬
scious striving and to surrender to the religious
forces. In the language of prayer, one should
“pray through.” The expression is suggestive.
Many writers of devotional literature emphasize
it. One author says: “Too many fail to pray

7 Coe, G. A.: The Spiritual Life, p. 149. The Methodist Book Concern.

168 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

through. If the request is not granted at the first
or second asking, they cease praying and say,
‘Perhaps it isn’t God’s will,’ and this they call sub¬
mission. Dr. Torrey calls it ‘spiritual laziness.’ ” 8
Another writes: “The strong man of prayer, when
he starts to pray for a thing, keeps on praying
until he prays it through, and obtains what he
seeks.” 9

The regular procedure is to continue the prayer
until one feels ripe for self-surrender. Sometimes
there is a temptation to yield the self in response
to pressure from without before one intuitively
feels prepared. Premature self-surrender under
such a social pressure as an exciting revival is doubt¬
less responsible for many subsequent relapses.
Before the new life has fully matured and is of its
own accord seeking control, self-surrender is worse
than useless. When the product of prayer is ready
to report itself it may be trusted to do so without
external pressure. The teaching of Jesus as set
forth in his parables of the importunate widow, 10
and the midnight visitor, 11 is a remarkable plea for
perseverance in prayer until the answer comes.
From the point of view of psychology, it is not
difficult to appreciate the necessity of a faith which
knows no respite until it has served its purpose.

Negative suggestion.—What we have called neg¬
ative suggestion is another prolific source of prayer
failure. In the discussion of suggestion it was
pointed out that, in order to be most effective, the
suggested idea should be positive in form. Since

8 Biederwolf, W. G.: How Can God Answer Prayer / p. 2x6. Fleming H. Revell
Company.

9 Torrey, R. A.: How to Pray, p. 66. Fleming H. Revell Company.

10 Luke 18: 1-8.

11 Luke 11 : s-13.

UNGRANTED PETITIONS

169

whatever is in the mind tends to express itself,
only what one desires to attain should engage the
attention. To hold in mind vices which it is the
purpose of prayer to expel is to imperil the success
of prayer.

Too much stress cannot be placed upon the
central fact of suggestion. An idea, attended to,
generates belief in itself and, unless inhibited,
expresses itself. The fundamental principle of sug¬
gestion rests back upon the doctrine that all con¬
sciousness is motor. Doubtless, too many prayers
are worse than useless because the mind is not
filled with the ideas and ideals of positive virtues.
Since the mental imagery of the undesirable has a
tendency to intrench it the more firmly, let the
liar pray for the spirit of truthfulness, the thief
for the inner principle of honesty, the sick for health.
Let the growth of positive virtues eliminate evil.

On the other hand, it must not be inferred that
no prayer clothed in negative terms is effectual.
It is conceivable that in some cases a negative
prayer may act as a means whereby the personality
is purged of unwholesome elements. A case in
point is the prayer of confession which will be
studied in the next chapter. We shall see that
mental states which are at variance with the moral
standards and which are not released through
prayer or some other form of confession create a
subconscious disturbance which may bring on
hysteria. The spiritual mind may be intrusted
with the delicate task of determining for itself when
prayer should be employed as a channel of dis¬
charge for morbid inner states. Such a mind will
likewise follow, even in its prayers, the advice of

170 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

Saint Paul to think on “whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things
are of good report.”

Vain repetitions.—Many prayers are ineffectual
because they are vain reiterations, repetitions that lack
the vital breath of desire. Hypocrisy, mental indo¬
lence, lack of initiative, habit, and the perfunctory
observance of the externals of religion, are some of
their sources. Mr. Phelps says, “Perhaps even so
slight a thing as the pain of resistance to the mo¬
mentum of a habit will be found to be the most
distinct reason we can honestly give for having
prayed yesterday or to-day.” 12 Although the Lord’s
Prayer was given to counteract the tendency to
use vain repetitions, it itself has frequently become
upon the lips of thousands a meaningless form.

When the act of prayer becomes purely auto¬
matic, it may generate vitality and drain off through
its open functional channels any distracting im¬
pressions which tend to interrupt its reiteration;
the vain repetitions as automatism set energy free
which may be expended in attending to something
wholly foreign to the spirit of devotion. Instead
of stimulating the subconscious in the direction of
the answer to the prayer framed by the lips, the
insincere or thoughtless petition may arouse activ¬
ities positively inimicable to the higher life. As
an example one may refer to the misuse of the
rosary. While praying under the guidance of this
mechanical device, the petitioner may automatically
reiterate the series of Pater Nosters, Ave Marias,
and Glorias, and be all the time meditating some¬
thing at the farthest remove from the “mysteries.”

11 Phelps, A.: The Still Hour, p. 13. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company.

UNGRANTED PETITIONS

171

It will be seen that the vain repetition turns on
itself and may become instrumental in subverting
the moral life.

Periods of spiritual dryness. —Many prayers
made during periods of spiritual dryness are unan¬
swered. The course of life may for some time
continue to be so even and uneventful that prayer,
if offered at all, has its rise in a sense of religious
obligation and not in an emergency. An unbroken
and uneventful course of living offers too little occa¬
sion for prayer; hence the praying which does occur
is either almost automatic or a painful effort to
hold in mental focus an idea inherently too tame
readily to attract and grip the attention. Times of
spiritual dryness occasion much dejection and
depression among earnest religious souls who ascribe
them to hardness and unbelief of heart. The very
anguish and torture of mind which such persons
suffer in consequence of their inability to maintain
a keen interest in the prayer life against periods
of religious drought is in itself proof that what they
lack is not belief but fresh experiences. It is only
natural that the crises rather than the uneventful
periods of life give rise to most of the effectual
prayers. Therefore devout souls should not despair
when times of spiritual dearth come. The tendency
of effective prayer is to vary directly with the
vicissitudes of life. From this point of view it is
perfectly intelligible why the rosary is considered
so essential to devotion by those who lead the
secluded and monotonous existence of the cloister.

Lack of rest periods. —If the prayer made in¬
volves a complex subconscious process and hence
a long series of repetitions, occasional periods of rest

172

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

should be observed. The answer comes more quickly
in some cases than in others. One is warranted in
anticipating that under normal conditions the
time consumed in answering the petition varies
v- directly with the complexity of the object. The
petition for the calming of the excited personality
may be answered instantaneously, but the prayer
of a sin-sick soul for regeneration requires frequent
reiteration and a much longer period of time. It
requires less time to induce a momentary state of
confidence than it does to construct a new self.
It is clear that rest periods are out of the question
in prayers which are answered almost immediately,
but they should occur during the growth of a com¬
plex answer.

While an active faith is straining in the general
direction of an intricate prayer response, innumer¬
able hindering tendencies are at the same time
being built up. If no rest is taken, the inhibiting
processes are likely to become so developed as to
undo the work in the right direction. During a
period of rest the less firmly intrenched misdirected
activities tend to atrophy, while the more deeply
ingrained correct impressions mature. The time
required for the subconscious growth of many
objects of prayer doubtless accounts for some cases
of so-called delayed answers. Many seekers for
peace through conversion respond to the appeals
of two or more revivals with intervening periods
of rest during the summer, before the self is actually
reborn. One such person states that she was uncon¬
verted in a certain revival because she was not
yet ripe for the experience.

Want of faith. —As has been repeatedly stated,

UNGRANTED PETITIONS

173

the most frequent reason given for unanswered
prayer is want of faith. The apostle says: “But
let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he
that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with
the wind and tossed. For let not that man think
that he shall receive anything of the Lord.” 14 Lack
of faith is unquestionably a primary cause of failure.
In order to be kept burning, the flame of faith must
be constantly fed. The judicious reading of prayer
literature, the testimony of others whose prayer
life is inspirational, the recollection of positive past
experiences all nourish the faith state. It will v
hardly be necessary to repeat that without faith,
both active and receptive, effective prayer is out
of the question.

UNGRANTED SOCIAL PETITIONS

Prayers the answering of which includes the
cooperation of one or more other selves, tend to
construct and employ a process of social suggestion.
Representative psychological features which under¬
mine the effect of such prayers should receive the
careful attention they merit by all to whom the
religious life is fundamental. Ignorance of the
bounds which a wise ruler of all has set for the
social petition is the occasion of much religious
confusion and skepticism.

Lack of information. —It will be recalled that
the success of prayers for the cooperation of an¬
other involves social suggestion. In all such prayers
two extremes invite failure—entire ignorance of
them on the part of the person to be influenced
and too direct intimation of them. Where there

14 James 1:6, 7.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

is no hint received there can be no social suggestion.
Although the avenues through which we receive in¬
formation are countless, it is safe to say that many
social prayers are unanswered because the proper
persons have no knowledge of them. There is much
to be said for the small boy who prayed for
Christmas presents in a voice perfectly audible to
his rather deaf grandmother who was hearing his
evening prayer. Although he was addressing the
heavenly throne, he was conscious that it was of
the utmost importance that his grandmother knew
just what he wanted for Christmas.

Of course the mere fact that an unbroken chain
of communication exists between the petitioner
and the self upon which the answer depends is not
a pledge of reciprocity. The suggestibility of the
receiver of the prayer determines his willingness
to answer it. Since women are more suggestible
than men, one would expect them to respond to
social prayers more readily than men do. 15 In men
the intellect is more prominent, the emotions are
focused on definite objects and at specific times,
their resistance to influences from without is greater.
In women sensibility is more pronounced, the emo¬
tions are more constant, docile, and diffused; they
yield more readily to external influences. In view
of these differences in mental structure, the opinion
is volunteered that women are more likely to respond
to the appeal of social prayers than men.

Direct suggestions. —On the other hand, too much
and too direct information is prone to result in
counter suggestion. This is especially true of the

16 See Ellis, Havelock: Man and Woman, Chap. XII. Charles Scribner’s
Sons.

UNGRANTED PETITIONS

175

male sex with its marked tendency to resist ordinary
external pressure. Indirect social suggestion in the
form of mere hints and intimations is likely to
induce the highest state of suggestibility. Dr.
Sidis formulates what he calls the law of normal
or waking suggestion as follows: “Normal suggesti¬
bility varies as indirect suggestion, and inversely
as direct suggestion.” 16 In other words, “In the
normal state a suggestion is more effective the
more indirect it is, and in proportion as it becomes
direct, it loses its efficacy.” 17 Among his examples
of indirect suggestion, the following may be quoted:
“My friend Mr. A. is absent-minded; he sits near
the table, thinking of some abstruse mathematical
problem that baffles all his efforts to solve it. Ab¬
sorbed in the solution of that intractable problem,
he is blind and deaf to what is going on around
him. His eyes are directed on the table, but he
appears not to see any of the objects there. I put
two glasses of water on the table, and at short
intervals make passes in the direction of the glasses
—passes which he seems not to perceive; then I
resolutely stretch out my hand, take one of the
glasses, and begin to drink. My friend follows
suit—dreamily he raises his hand, takes the glass
and begins to sip, awakening fully to consciousness
when a good part of the tumbler is emptied.” 18
To tell the person openly and plainly what is ex¬
pected of him is to invite the failure of the sug¬
gestion: hence, some object is produced or some
appropriate gesture or movement is made, and
these in their own subtle way tell him what to do.

15 Sidis, Boris: The Psychology of Suggestion, p. 55. D. Appleton & Co.

17 Ibid., p. 52.

is Ibid., p. 6.

176 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

Applying the law of normal suggestion to the
prayer relation, which has for its purpose the con¬
trol of others, it is evident that when a mere inkling
is sown into a receptive mind, the harvest is likely
to be much more abundant than when much infor¬
mation is directly given and received. Religious
interest may be expressed in a look or attitude of
concern, a warm handshake, or between the lines
of a letter. We have observed how the personality
responds to the immediate stimuli too delicate to be
consciously noted. To pray at a person is, then,
to subject the social petition to needless opposition.
The most auspicious circumstances for the influence
of the social prayer obtain when the petitioner
himself and the self to be reached associate under
normal conditions and no conscious and direct
effort is made. The sensibility of the subconscious
may be relied upon to interpret the hints of the
prayer and the delicate manifestations of the reli¬
gious interest of the petitioner.

The outcome of the social prayer is relatively
dependent upon the ability of the transmitter of
religious influence to give subtle indications of his
inward states, and upon the receiver’s capacity to
interpret the delicate impressions and his suggesti¬
bility to them. Some persons are notoriously
inefficient transmitters; a stolid exterior hides their
inner lives. Others are all the time exhibiting the
tell-tale signs of what is moving them; their out¬
ward manifestations of inward and invisible activ¬
ities are unmistakable. The difference in receivers
is fully as marked. Some are unusually receptive
and place great reliance upon their impressions and
intuitions. Others belong to the unfortunate class

UNGRANTED PETITIONS

*77

of persons who seemingly cannot take a hint. When
a social prayer proceeds from an expressive trans¬
mitter and reaches an impressionable and responsive
receiver the conditions for a positive result are
favorable.

CHAPTER IX

PRAYERS OF CONFESSION AND PRAISE

Prayer is infinitely more than a petition for
special favors. Much of it is devotional rather
than petitional. Prayer implies a reverential atti¬
tude, a mode of self-expression, meditation on
life’s deepest problems, a deepening of right pur¬
pose, and a communion with the Invisible. It
may be an end in itself rather than a means to an
end. This type of prayer relation we call devo¬
tional, as distinguished from the petitional. It
embraces the prayers of confession, adoration,
worship, thanksgiving, consecration, submission,
communion, and aspiration. The first four men¬
tioned are structurally related. Petitional prayer
contributes something of value to the self, while
confession, adoration, worship, and thanksgiving
relieve the self of urges and impulses. One type of
prayer constructs a more unified and morally com¬
petent personality by a process of addition; the
other, by a process of subtraction. The key to the
psychological description of the latter is psycho¬
analysis.

PSYCHOANALYSIS

It is exceedingly difficult to give a concise and
precise definition of the word “psychoanalysis.”
The term does not denote a specific manifestation
of the mind like memory or emotion, or a mental
structure like suggestion. As the word itself indi-

178

CONFESSION AND PRAISE

179

cates, psychoanalysis involves an analysis or a
dissection of the mental life. It is a method of
discovering and terminating morbid states of mind,
a treatment employed in the cure of certain nervous
disorders. In its wider application, however, psy¬
choanalysis is a mode of procedure for delving down
into the depths of human nature and bringing to
light the motives and the past experiences which
underlie them and which determine present atti¬
tudes and actions. Originally psychoanalysis was
restricted to the cure of certain diseases, but now
it is extended to such phenomena as wit, dreams,
the artistic temperament, fairy tales, folklore,
mythology. In its essential features it is mental
surgery laying bare unfulfilled wishes and desires,
which though unexpressed and for the most part
unknown by the subject, definitely influence and
modify conduct. , *

For countless ages man has sought and found
relief and satisfaction through self-expression. The
racial experience is expressed in the phrase, “ Con¬
fession is good for the soul.” The inelegant state¬
ment that it is a relief to get certain things “ou<t
of our system” voices the same truth. Religious
leaders recommend confession to one another, to
the pastor, or to God. Family quarrels which do
not originate in a controversy touching the funda¬
mentals of marital relations often tend to clear
the domestic atmosphere. Some persons discharge
their wrath and indignation against a trying corre¬
spondent in a violent letter which is consigned to
the wastebasket immediately after its composition.
Criminals at large, crushed by the weight of uncon¬
fessed crimes, frequently surrender themselves to

i8o

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

the police, preferring the sentence of the court to
the qualms of conscience. Pent-up emotions escape
through vocal expression and grief exhausts itself
in cries and tears. Shakespeare in Macbeth makes
Malcolm say to Macduff, who has been told that
his wife and babies have been murdered:

“Give sorrow words: the grief that does not speak
Whispers the o’er-fraught heart and bids it break.”

Wordsworth, in his poem “Intimations of Immor¬
tality,” says:

“To me alone there came a thought of grief,

A timely utterance gave that thought relief,

And I again am strong.”

Tennyson, in one of the most melodious of the
lyrics scattered throughout “The Princess,” intro¬
duces a like conception:

“Home they brought her warrior dead;

She nor swooned nor uttered cry;

All her maidens watching, said,

‘She must weep or she will die.’

“Rose a nurse of ninety years,

Set his child upon her knee—

Like summer tempest came her tears—

‘Sweet, my child, I live for thee.’ ”

THE RISE OF PSYCHOANALYSIS

The experience which men for ages found service¬
able was at last systematically studied. Its leading
principles received scientific definition at a compar¬
atively recent date. 1 As was to be expected,

1 For a popular statement of the history, theory and practice of various schools,
see Tridon, Andre: Psychoanalysis . B. W. Huebsch.

CONFESSION AND PRAISE

181

researches and findings in this difficult field resulted
in various interpretations and rival schools of
theory and practice. To trace these diverging
developments would carry us too far away from
present purposes and requirements. Nevertheless,
a statement of the origin and rise of psychoanalysis
will throw light upon the nature and value of this
method.

Aristotelian katharsis. —Among the precursors of
the modern psychoanalysis none is of more im¬
portance than Aristotle, the Greek philosopher.
He was acquainted with the fact that when certain
mental states are released the personality is purified
and refined. This process he calls katharsis , and
perceives it as the function of tragedy. He defines
tragedy as follows: “Tragedy is an imitation of an
action that is serious, complete, and of a certain
magnitude; in language embellished with each kind
of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found
in separate parts of the play; in form of action,
not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting
the proper katharsis , or purgation, of these emo¬
tions.” 2 We are here concerned with his theory
of katharsis. While the meaning of katharsis has
baffled many of Aristotle’s interpreters, the following
exposition is illuminative: “In the medical language
of the school of Hippocrates it [ katharsis ] strictly
denotes the removal of a painful or disturbing
element from the organism, and hence the purify¬
ing of what remains, by the elimination of alien
matter. Applying this to tragedy, we observe that
the feelings of pity and fear in real life contain a

2 Translated by Butcher, S. H.: Aristotle’s Theory of Poetry and Fine Art,
p. 240. The Macmillan Company.

182 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

morbid and disturbing element. In the process of
tragic excitation they find relief, and the morbid
element is thrown off. As the tragic action pro¬
gresses, when the tumult of the mind, first roused,
has afterward subsided, the lower forms of emotion
are found to have been transmuted into higher and
more refined forms. The painful element in the
pity and fear of reality is purged away; the emo¬
tions themselves are purged.” 3

Freud’s theory.—It has remained for Sigmund
Freud and his associates to elaborate, popularize
and apply a conception of katharsis called psycho¬
analysis. 4 The principles of psychoanalysis as laid
bare by him and others throw light upon the prayer
life in general and particularly upon such devo¬
tional forms as confession, thanksgiving, adora¬
tion, and worship. A knowledge of the funda¬
mentals of psychoanalysis is therefore essential to
an appreciation of the psychology of these prayer
varieties.

A careful study of hysteria convinced Freud
that its cause is invariably a partially suppressed
idea at variance with the social or aesthetic ideals
and pretensions of the patient. The irritating idea
or impression, together with the feelings and emo¬
tions which accompany it, has been called a complex
by Dr. Carl G. Jung, another psychoanalyst. The
idea lingers in the subconscious 5 6 and is repulsed
whenever it tends to emerge into clear consciousness.
Within the subconscious it creates a disturbance

3 Translated by Butcher, S. H.: Aristotle's Theory of Poetry and Fine Art,
p. 240. The Macmillan Company.

4 See American Journal of Psychology, vol. xxi, p. 18iff. Also his A General

Introduction to Psychoanalysis. Boni & Liveright.

6 Freud and psychoanalysis generally use the term “unconscious” instead of
subconscious.

CONFESSION AND PRAISE

183

which brings into sympathetic vibration the rest
of life. It affects the mind in the same way as a
foreign substance in the eye or a splinter in the
flesh irritates the body. When unreleased, the
unconfessed or unexpelled mental irritation induces
hysteria.

Professor Freud cites a case in point treated by
his precursor, teacher and coworker, Dr. Joseph
Breuer. The patient, who exhibited the charac¬
teristic symptoms of hysteria, was for a period of
six weeks tormented by thirst, being unable to drink
water. As soon as a glass of water touched her
lips she would push it away as though suffering
from hydrophobia. Finally, it developed that she
had once seen a little dog that she abhorred drink
water out of a glass in the room of her governess.
Restrained by the dictates of her code of etiquette,
she did not remonstrate with the governess, but
the scene and her feeling of repugnance disturbed
her. Consigned to repression whenever it sought
conscious recognition, the irritating element only
increased its hysterical influence.

In all such cases, the personality fails to assim¬
ilate the distracting experience, trying in vain to
banish it from the mind, to submerge it. It ex¬
presses itself in the symptoms of hysteria and similar
diseased states. These symptoms and manifesta¬
tions are but the symbols of the submerged, but
active element unacceptable to the controlling
ideals. It is often extremely difficult to recognize
and to trace to their source the distorted forms in
which the offending idea expresses itself. When
the case is of long standing, the unassimilated
experience may have manifested itself in such

i8 4 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

complicated and bizarre symptoms that it is ex¬
tremely difficult, if not impossible, to discover it.

MENTAL CONDITIONS AND MATERIALS INVOLVED

To what states and expressions of the mind may
the pathological disturbances be traced? What
does the process of psychoanalysis itself reveal as
the sources of hysteria and similar nervous con¬
ditions? Freud’s observations and experiments led
him to conclude that the morbid disorder is the
result of a conspiracy of three influences—haunting
memories, traits having their origin in childhood,
and the reproductive instinct. His contention is
that it is a combination of these elements which
manifests itself in characteristic hysterical symp¬
toms. The dynamic factors as brought to light by
the psychoanalyst must now be described and the
contribution of each to the total result estimated.

Distracting memories. —Freud contends that hys¬
terical persons suffer from reminiscences, that there
is in all cases of hysteria an abnormal clinging to
the past. In London, he reminds us, there are
memorials and monuments to past scenes and
occurrences. Charing Cross, a richly decorated
Gothic pillar, stands before one of the greatest
railway stations of the city. In the thirteenth
century one of the old Plantagenet kings erected a
Gothic cross wherever the casket of his beloved
queen, borne to Westminster, was set down. Char¬
ing Cross marks the last of these resting places.
In another part of the city there is a high pillar
called the Monument, erected in memory of a great
lire which broke out in the vicinity in 1666 and
destroyed a large part of London. The Londoner

CONFESSION AND PRAISE

185

who should to-day stand in tears before Charing
Cross or bemoan the burning of the city as he
pauses before the Monument, instead of rejoicing
over the queen of his own heart or over modern
London, more splendid now than ever before, would
be like the hysterical patient who is distracted by
memory symbols out of harmony with his own
standards. The person who spends his years weep¬
ing over unforgiven and unforgotten sins is spiritually
defective.

The patient may be certain that there are no
inconsistent elements in his personality, but within
the subconscious they may become distressingly
active. Dr. Freud illustrates the process of repres¬
sion by comparing the offending idea with an ill-
bred individual who is creating a disturbance in an
audience listening to a lecture. The lecturer,
plainly vexed, explains that it is impossible for
him to proceed under these unfavorable conditions,
whereupon several strong men in the audience lay
hands upon the ruffian and eject him from the hall.
He is now “repressed” and the lecture continues.
In order that the ill-behaved person may not force
his way back into the room several auditors estab¬
lish themselves before the door to offer any necessary
resistance. The auditorium represents clear con¬
sciousness, the outside the subconscious. The
incompatible impulse is always trying to break
down the resistance offered by the ideals, but with¬
out success, and with the result that life is distracted.

Childhood trends. —Freud traces the disrupting
factor to infantile experiences, regarding child life
as the permanent basis for all subsequent develop¬
ment. Interests and impulses, likes and dislikes,

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

186

of later acquirement are found on close inspection
to be but the outgrowth of childhood tendencies.
In a very vital sense the child is the father of the
adult. The relation of child life to adult expe¬
rience is, then, one of absolute unity and consistent
continuity. We react as we do to external circum¬
stances because of subconscious trends which have
their genesis in early childhood. Before the end
of that period of life, the chief personal charac¬
teristics—mental, moral, social, esthetic, religious—
are determined. Nothing is evolved by the adult
which was not previously involved in the child.
Our inability to trace the connection between child¬
hood experience and adult reaction is no valid
argument to the contrary.

This appears to be in harmony with what we
have already seen to be true of the intimate relation
of early religious impulses to conversion. The
religious impressions which the child assimilates
may later be developed by choice. When no reli¬
gious forces impinge upon the child, there can be
but small hope for anything but an irreligious
adult life. About fifty years before the facts of
the religious consciousness were interpreted in
psychological terms, Horace Bushnell wrote that
multitudes of Christian conversions are the restored
activity and more developed results of some pre-
dispositional states, or sanctified properties, in the
subtle tempers and affinities of childhood. 6 What
man has lost consciousness of still retains influence
over him, and imperceptibly gives guidance and
direction to his adult activities.

Sex influence. —Again, Freud asserts that the

6 Bushnell, Horace: Christian Nurture, p. 247. Charles Scribner’s Sons.

CONFESSION AND PRAISE

187

neurotic symptoms are traceable to the sex life.
The importance he attaches to the sex life of the
child has aroused strong opposition. Much of the
unpopularity of this position has its root in a mis¬
understanding of Freud’s terminology. Evidently,
the sex life is to him much more comprehensive
than it is to most of us. We use the term “sexual”
in a far more restricted sense. In justice to him,
it should be remarked that he interprets this con¬
ception very liberally and generously. To him it
is synonymous with love and all its eradiations,
such as parental regard, and shame and disgust,
with the life-force or vital impulse mentioned by
some writers. Furthermore, he finds, as do others,
that the sex life of the child is far more complex
and comprehensive than is generally supposed.
The thumb-sucking, nail-picking, the gentle feeling
of regard for a child of the opposite sex, and curi¬
osity with reference to the reproduction of human
life, the preference of the little son for the mother
and of the daughter for the father are all by him
called sexual. According to Freud the cause of
hysteria, as disclosed by psychoanalysis, is always
of a “sexual” nature and at variance with the moral
requirements of the patient. 7

As an example Freud cites the following case:

7 Jung, who heads the Zurich school in opposition to the Vienna school under
the leadership of Freud, in his theory of psychoanalysis includes the sex basis of
Freud but transcends it, postulating a primal urge in man comparable to the
energy of physics. Jung regards the various manifestations of sex as important
but not as the exclusive channels through which the energy of life is discharged.
He sees in childhood expressions the forerunners of later developed sexuality,
and not perversions of sexuality, as does Freud. In such an instance as the little
son’s preference for his mother Jung sees nothing sexual but a distorted and sym¬
bolical and subjective image created by the imagination. Unlike Freud, Jung does
not discover the root of a pathological disturbance in the infantile past, in the
sexuality of the child, but in a conflict in the present, in an immediate and mo¬
mentarily existing obstacle in the path of duty to be overcome. Consult Jung’s
Psychology of the Unconscious, translated by Beatrice M. Hinkle. Moffat, Yard
& Co.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

i&8

“It is that of a young girl,^who was deeply attached
to her father, who died a short time before, and in
whose care she had shared. . . . When her older
sister married, the girl grew to feel a peculiar sym¬
pathy for her new brother-in-law, which easily
passed with her for family tenderness. The sister
soon fell ill and died, while the patient and her
mother were away. The absent ones were hastily
recalled, without being told fully of the painful
situation. As the girl stood by the bedside of her
dead sister, for one short moment there surged up
in her mind an idea, which might be framed in
these words: ‘Now he is free to marry me.’ We
may be sure that this idea, which betrayed to her
consciousness her intense love for her brother-in-
law, of which she had not been conscious, was the
next moment consigned to repression by her revolted
feelings. The girl fell ill with severe hysterical
symptoms, and, when I came to treat the case, it
appeared that she had entirely forgotten that scene
at her sister’s bedside and the unnatural egoistic
desire which had arisen in her. She remembered
it during the treatment, reproduced the pathogenic
moment with every sign of intense emotional excite¬
ment, and was cured by this treatment.” 8

THE METHOD OF PSYCHOANALYSIS

Discovering the complex. —How can the complex
which is the root of the malady be detected? When
it is brought to light what shall be done to relieve
the sufferer? It is not sufficient to know that the
nervous and painful memory is associated with child¬
hood and sexuality. The specific situation which

8 American Journal of Psychology, vol. xxi, pp. 193, 194.

CONFESSION AND PRAISE

189

is disrupting the self must be ferreted out and
given proper treatment. A technic for the dis¬
covery and disposition of the complex has been
devised and gradually refined.

To converse freely about the root of the dis¬
turbance, to give expression to the original emo¬
tional excitement, to reinstate and to live over,
as it were, the details of a distressing scene, brings
relief from hysteria. The physician who applies
the principles of psychoanalysis encourages the
patient to divulge whatever is lurking in the mind,
be it ever so trivial or embarrassing. A seemingly
irrelevant statement or phrase may betray the
wish or idea which the patient has only partially
repressed. A sensitivity to certain topics of con¬
versation, little tricks of behavior, slips of the
tongue, may reveal the repressed complex. The
aim of this treatment is to discover to the patient
the mental process underlying the hysterical symp¬
toms that he may squarely face the issue and dis¬
pose of it according to the dictates of conscience.

Dr. Freud’s theory has led to dream analysis as
a method of diagnosing certain mental derange¬
ments. Since they are frequently the motifs of dreams,
the offending ideas are often discoverable by the
physician who gains a knowledge of the dreams of
the patient. A young business man came to Dr.
A. A. Brill, of New York, to be cured of an obses¬
sion in the form of an abnormal interest in social¬
ism. “There isn’t half an hour in the day when I
am not thinking about the accursed thing,” he
said. “I wake up mornings asking myself the
question, ‘Isn’t socialism a correct theory?’ Then I
am compelled to get hold of all the books and

190

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

pamphlets I can find, and read what is said for
and against it.” The fixed idea persisted despite
the fact that the patient was, if anything, opposed
to socialism. The physician adopted the method
of dream analysis to lay bare the cause of the dis¬
order. One day Dr. Brill and the patient were
discussing a dream of the latter, which involved
an affair at which Bernard Shaw and a man with
a peculiar wig were guests. The dreamer recalled
that on the previous day he had read a book to
which the famous author of his dreams had written
an introduction. The patient told the physician
that the wig of the other guest reminded him of
the hair of his wife. Urged to continue the unbur¬
dening of his mind, the patient confessed that he
had been jealous of his wife. Sensing a clue, Dr.
Brill asked him to define socialism. “Socialism
means collective ownership,” was the reply. The
truth had suddenly been brought to light. The
malady was due to subconscious jealousy. Although
the patient had tried to banish all doubt and jeal¬
ousy, the half-controlled fear that there might be
a “collective ownership” of his wife’s affections
haunted him subconsciously and expressed itself in
the abnormal interest in socialism and wove itself
into the fabric of his dreams. In possession of this
knowledge the physician soon freed the patient
of his obsession . 9

If the desired information is not given in the
normal state, the physician may resort to hyp¬
notism. It is well known that the power of recol¬
lection may be intensified through hypnotism so
that what one is unable to recall in the normal

8 Brill, A. A.: Psychoanalysis, p. i04ff. W. B. Saunders.

CONFESSION AND PRAISE

191

state may be recovered in the trance. Sometimes
the physician employs what is known as the “word-
association” method. An instrument is used by
means of which he measures in hundredths of a
second the time of the response of the patient to
certain words. In addition to the time element
the nature of the response itself is significant. By
this method, words related to the source of hysteria
are discovered. The patient is then pressed to
confess all ideas and experiences associated with
the significant words.

Disposing of the complex. —It is the contention of
Freud that an impulse freed from repression can
in no wise prove subversive to the moral life. In
fact, when a disturbing impulse or memory is sub¬
conscious, and therefore not amenable to control,
it exerts a far more pernicious influence than when
it is conscious. When the subconscious disturbance
is released with an intense emotional accompani¬
ment, its power may be consumed at once in the
fires of an outraged conscience. In other cases it
may be neither wholly condemned nor entirely
sanctioned, but refined and regulated and expressed
in a higher form of discharge. In still other cases
the freed impulse may not clash with the moral
sentiments, and its legitimacy may therefore be
frankly conceded. The confession of the young
girl cured by Dr. Freud purged the self of the mor¬
bid complex at once. It is conceivable that she
might have been led to express her love for her
brother-in-law in the kindly deeds of social service.
Doubtless, there are many cases which reveal to
the self perfectly proper objects of affection or
courses of action.

192

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

PRAYER IN THE LIGHT OF PSYCHOANALYSIS

While all prayer is in a sense a religious urge
which it would be unwise to suppress, psychoanalysis
as a means of relief is much more pronounced in
some forms of prayer than in others. Haunted by
a sense of guilt and regret, the person may seek
and find relief in the prayer of confession. Con¬
vinced that God will lend a sympathetic ear, he
freely pours forth what he would withhold from
his most intimate human friend. The confession is
followed by a sense of exaltation and unity with
his Maker. Likewise, the one who obeys the im¬
pulse to thank, adore, or worship God experiences
a -sense o f relief and harmony with his deepest con¬
ception of Reality. Evidently, these prayers -con¬
stitute a form of self-expression with gratifying
results.

The prayer of confession. —It may be well to

quote one or two prayers of confession and to point
out the estimation in which they are held by the
religious consciousness before we proceed to a
psychological description. The benefits of this
type of prayer are set forth with characteristic
vividness by Brother Lawrence in the following
passage: “I consider myself as the most wretched
of men, full of sores and corruption, and who has
committed all sorts of crimes against the King.
Touched with a sensible regret, I confess to him
all my wickedness. I ask his forgiveness, I abandon
myself in his hands that he may do what he pleases
with me. The King, full of mercy and goodness,
very far from chastising me, embraces me with
love, makes me eat at his table, serves me with his

CONFESSION AND PRAISE

193

own hands, gives me the key of his treasures; he
converses and delights himself with me incessantly,
in a thousand and a thousand ways, and treats me
in all respects as his favorite .” 10

Pulpit prayer, as a rule, gives some utterance to
the shortcomings of humanity, and the desire for
pardon and deliverance from all evil. Typical is
the following extract from a prayer of confession
made by Henry Ward Beecher in his pulpit: “O
look with compassion upon our poor and despoiled
estate. We admit our sin. We admit that in many
things we offend entirely; that we transgress against
our experience even; against all knowledge; yea,
against all purpose. We admit our transgression,
and our sin is ever before us; but, Lord, beside that
what infirmities come upon us often as the very
sea comes! How are we thrown into despondency!
The things that we would we do not; and the things
that we would not we do. Lord, have compassion
upon us. Thou art a High Priest, and thou art
ordained as a High Priest, because thou canst have
compassion upon the ignorant, and upon those
that are out of the way. Have compassion upon
us, not to permit us to go on in things known to
be wrong with impunity .” * 11

The divided self .—An unconfessed and unforgiven
moral lapse, secret temptation, haunting question¬
able desires, create a breach in the religious life
which only confession can heal. The mental an¬
guish which is endured has its source in a disruptive
mental state, in reminiscences which infect the mind.

10 Brother Lawrence: The Practice of the Presence of God, p. 25. American
Baptist Publishing Society.

11 Cited in Handford, T. W.: Henry Ward Beecher, p. 260. Belford, Clark
& Co.

194

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

It has its roots in a mental unrest; partially repressed
material is seeking the conscious recognition which
is denied it. The haunting element is contrary
to the moral,standard of the sufferer; hence, the
personality is threatened with a split, a rupture.
To persist in repulsing the disturbing factor is
only to increase its power to distract and divide
the self. Doubtless, the symptoms of many cases
of hysteria and kindred mental disorders have their
genesis in experiences connected with the religious
life. The unconfessed element may manifest itself
in distorted forms which to the superficial observer
seem to be at the farthest remove from the person’s
religious sentiments.

The reinstatement of the distraction. —Convinced
that God is all compassion, the person may finally
unburden himself in the prayer of confession, with¬
holding nothing that oppresses him. One confes¬
sion opens the way for another until the distraction
has been divulged. The confession experience
may be accompanied by violent, but appropriate,
emotional states. The person may rehearse vividly
and with intense excitement the details of the
experience that has become the point of tension
within him. With all their original intensity and
reality the disquieting scenes may be reenacted.

Disposition of the religious complex. —When the
prayer of confession makes the discordant note
conscious, conscience sits in judgment upon the
offender, condemning, exonerating, or recommend¬
ing a process of refinement and discipline. The
impulse which is allowed to represent itself above
the threshold of consciousness may stand con¬
victed before the tribunal of conscience and be

CONFESSION AND PRAISE

195

sentenced to die, or be declared altogether innocent
and be permitted to run at large, or be neither
wholly acquitted nor condemned, but restrained
and modified for higher purposes. If the fault con¬
fessed is not deeply embedded, has not become
habitual, and the moral constitution is vigorous
enough, it may perish at once in the intense feeling
of moral repugnance which it arouses. In many
instances the petitional prayer is relied upon to
eradicate the tendencies which the confession has
revealed. By the same means lower trends are
disciplined and transmuted into higher forms of
self-expression. Thus devotional prayer may be
the springs of petition. When the confessed expe¬
rience is a mere memory and is no longer actually
indulged in, the mental reinstatement coupled with
intense emotional excitement is of itself sufficient
to purge the self and restore its equilibrium.

Confession is good for the soul, because it grants
conscious recognition to elements that distress
the religious self. The impulse released is disposed
of according to the sense of fitness which charac¬
terizes the religious sentiment. Conscience censors
conduct, and unless it is drugged into insensibility
clamors when its demands are not satisfied. The
person may have no conscious knowledge of any
irregular proceedings in his life, but conscience
may have given them subconscious registration and
they may obtrude themselves as distractions. As
already stated, in some cases the confession itself
rids the personality of the baneful influence; in
others, petitional forms of the prayer relation must
be brought to bear upon the clashing impulse to
complete the work of elimination or transformation.

196 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

Religious confession safeguards life; it is a pre¬
ventive as well as a remedial measure. If made as
soon as impulses contrary to the ideals are seriously
entertained, or unhappy experiences occur, it keeps
life from becoming morbid and diseased and pre¬
vents hysterical complications. By draining off
elements incompatible with the moral standards,
confession keeps the self unified and wholesome.

The consciousness of divine forgiveness .—The proc¬
ess of psychoanalysis in confession has been most
wonderfully described by the ancient psalmist
who wrote: “When I kept silence, my bones waxed
old through my roaring all the day long. For day
and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture
is turned into the drought of summer. I acknowl¬
edged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have
I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions
unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of
my sin .” 12 Confession of sin is normally followed
by the consciousness of forgiveness by and union
with God. Unless the wrong is admitted and con¬
fessed there can be no forgiveness and no moral
cleansing. As long as the person clings to evil and
refuses to repudiate his dark ways, he is both self-
condemned and alienated from God. Only admis¬
sion of personal guilt and amendment can restore
the severed relation between the self and its God.

The prayer of praise. —The psychology of the
prayer of praise is closely akin to that of confession.
Let a writer of devotional literature describe this
type of prayer: “We may think of praise in three

parts—Adoration, Thanksgiving, Worship. Thus,

12 Psalm 32: 3 - 5 .

CONFESSION AND PRAISE

197

we adore God for what he is; we thank him for
what he does; we worship him as our Overlord .” 13
As a rule the three parts of praise are closely con¬
nected in prayer; like three-colored threads in a
pattern they weave themselves into the texture of
the devotional life. Petition, confession, thanks¬
giving, adoration, and worship intermingle.

Worship and adoration .—In the following quota¬
tion from a public prayer from the lips of the gifted
Henry Ward Beecher, adoration and worship are
fused: “With those that rejoice round about thee,
O dearly beloved of men and angels, our Father,
we this morning rejoice likewise, according to the
measure of our light, and according to the measure
in which thou hast wrought in us to will and to do
of thy good pleasure. In thy joyfulness, which is
as the light going over all the heaven and through¬
out creation, everything has light and joy. What
thou art, that thou canst bring joy out of sorrow, we
cannot conceive. Thou that dost sanctify suffering
in thyself, and bear the burden of the universe, and
yet art most blest and joyful of all—how shall we
rise to the conception of such an One? Thy virtues
take thee away out of the reach of our thought;
for we are selfish; we are low-minded and earthly;
we grope among things, and can scarcely rise to the
higher range even of our own souls; but thou art
a spirit, unconfined, universal, rejoicing in what
men detest; we seeking to rid ourselves of burdens,
and thou multiplying them perpetually; we occu¬
pied with the things that concern ourselves, and
thou with the things that concern all other creatures

11 Holmes, E. E.: Prayer and Action, p. 84. Longmans, Green & Co.

I 9 S THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

but thyself; we perpetually asking to be served,
and thou eternally serving .” 14

The contemplation of the attributes of God, his
power and majesty, induces in us a desire to adore
and worship him. Awe and reverence arouse the
attitude of worship and are themselves intensified
>/ by the devotional mood. Worship is the response
of the self to the consciousness of the presence of
v God. Prayer is the natural outlet for the con¬
sciousness of the sovereignty and glory of God.
The public worship of God should create an atmos¬
phere in which it is easy to pray. The architectural
appeal, the subtle influence of music, the suggestive
ritual all tend to reduce the minds of the congre¬
gation to the mood of worship and its expression in
\/ devotional prayer. Denied its normal mode of
discharge, the urge to worship and adore God ejects
at least a temporary internal dislocation.

Thanksgiving .—The prayer of thanksgiving is the
expression of a grateful heart. It is a favorite
form of devotion. Saint Paul says, “With thanks¬
giving let your requests be made known unto God .” 15
In Minna von Barnhelm , Lessing says, “A single
grateful thought toward heaven is the most per¬
fect prayer.” “The mighty men of prayer in the
Bible, and the mighty men of prayer throughout
the ages of the church’s history have been men
who were much given to thanksgiving and praise.
David was a mighty man of prayer, and how his
Psalms abound with thanksgiving and praise. The
apostles were mighty men of prayer; of them we
read that They were continually in the temple,

14 Handford, T. W.: Henry Ward Beecher, p. 264. Belford, Clark & Co.

15 Philippians 4: 6.

CONFESSION AND PRAISE

199

praising and blessing God.’ Paul was a mighty
man of prayer, and how often in his epistles he
bursts out in definite thanksgiving to God for
definite blessings and definite answers to prayers.
Jesus is our model in prayer as in everything else.
We find in the study of his life that his manner of
returning thanks at the simplest meal was so notice¬
able that two of his disciples recognized him by
this after his resurrection .” 16

The following is a spontaneous outburst of grat¬
itude in prayer form: “Gracious Lord, I thank thee
for all softening influences in our land. I thank
thee for the presence of little children. I thank
thee for winsome old age. I thank thee for all
gracious men. I thank thee for strong men who
impress by their gentleness.” 1 ' When thanks are
returned for blessings enjoyed, the faith state is
intensified and a holy boldness and full assurance
support the prayer life. When the person meditates
upon and acknowledges the benevolence of God,
he feels encouraged to make petitions and inter¬
cessions. Prayer springs spontaneously from the
heart overflowing with gratitude toward the universe.

It is a matter of inestimable value to say grace
and give thanks at the table for the provided food.
The constantly recurring acknowledgment of the
bounty of God tempers the sensuous process of
eating and makes it a sacrament. The omission of
the expression of homage and gratitude is insuffer¬
able to those with whom the table prayer has be¬
come an habitual religious propriety. Doubtless,
the custom develops the rare grace of equanimity

18 Torrey, R. A.: How to Pray, p. 76. Fleming H. Revell Company.

17 Jowett, J. H.: Yet Another Day, Twentieth Day of July. Fleming H. Revell
Company.

200

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

and thankfulness. The crust of poverty is the
sweeter for the religious flavor imparted by grat¬
itude. The following specimen is taken from a
volume of table prayers: “0 Saviour, as we come
again to thy table and the food thou hast so lov¬
ingly provided, we pray for those less fortunate,
those whom ailment and misfortune have visited,
and those in sin. Provide, O merciful Saviour, for
them as thou hast provided for us. Teach us that
we should show unto our fellow men mercy and
justice and never let pass by an opportunity when
we may do good to them and thus serve thee.” 18

Praise and psychoanalysis .—What occurs in a
more advanced and complicated form in the prayer
of confession doubtless takes place in the prayer
of praise. The desire to adore, worship and thank
God may be a disquieting influence when partially
repressed. When the impulse is discharged, the
equilibrium of the mind is restored. The mere
freeing of the impulse through prayer alone may,
it should be added, not satisfy those whose religion
is socialized. Such persons have no peace until
the prayer of praise has expressed itself manward.
This type of prayer should not be regarded as a
mere liberator of devotional promptings. Its effects
upon a socialized self from which it springs are
significant for the religious life. It intensifies the
conviction that the character of God is morally
perfect, that his works are wonderful, and that
his purpose for the race is benevolent. It gives life
a religious purpose and meaning. The devotional
mind tends to reflect in conduct the sentiments
released in the form of adoration and worship.

18 Nyce, A. W., and Bunyea, H.: Grace Before Meals . John C. Winston Company.

CONFESSION AND PRAISE

201

How confession and praise differ. —While the
process of psychoanalysis is discernible in both the
prayer of confession and of praise, there is a differ¬
ence between these forms of devotion which should
not escape attention. Confession concerns itself ^
with impulses and acts which are reprehensible.
The prayer of confession liberates from repression
a questionable desire or deed for final disposition by
conscience. The material and purpose of the prayers
of praise are different. Praise liberates an impulse
fully sanctioned and approved by conscience. The
inner movement released is not an unholy thing
and as such to be purged out of the self, but an
ennobling urge which can, accomplish its mission
only when set free. Afforded expression, praise
turns upon itself and enriches the fountain from
which it flows.

Psychoanalysis is a means to an end. The reli¬
gious consciousness employs it for the purpose of
achieving a union of joy and power with God.
When man is conscious of his shortcomings and
confesses them, God is merciful and forgives. Broken
relations between man and God are restored, and
the peace that passeth understanding floods the
soul. When the occasion for praise arouses an
appropriate response, not only is alienation from
God averted but the consciousness of his sanction
and worth is intensified. Far from dethroning God,
the prayer involving the psychoanalytic procedure
enthrones him afresh in the hearts of men and makes
him the central creative enthusiasm. This method
mediates God to the praying soul. It is one of
God’s ways of making dynamic contact with man.

CHAPTER X

OTHER DEVOTIONAL PRAYERS

We have seen that the prayers of confession and
praise give expression to unassimilated unethical
experiences as well as to wholesome promptings of
the soul life. Questionable impulses are afforded
an outlet and devotional cravings are released in
the form of the devotional prayer already considered.
We turn now to a group of devotional prayers, the
psychological trait of which seems to be a reorgan¬
ization of the self in terms of its deepest moral and
religious insight. This unifying process has been
pointed out and experimentally used by Dr. George
D. Bivin and by him called psychosynthesis.

PSYCHOSYNTHESIS

Psychosynthesis and psychoanalysis are contrast¬
ing processes. Psychoanalysis is a thoroughgoing
dissection of a distressing and repulsed situation,
a separation of a disquieting whole into its com¬
ponent parts, the liberation of a disturbance. The
emotional escape of the haunting memory or dis¬
tasteful desire averts a split in the personality.
Peace and poise are recovered by ridding the self
of an unwelcome intrusion. Psychosynthesis, on
the other hand, entails the adoption of an idea
more or less opposed but consistent with the reli¬
gious idealism of the person. It brings into life a
fresh element which creates a higher unity. By

202

OTHER DEVOTIONAL PRAYERS

203

it a new union of spiritual powers is attained. It
is assimilative, a program is brought from the
circumference of the self into its very center. It
strikes harmony between the personality and duty,
misfortune, nr God. By the process of psychosyn¬
thesis the new insight becomes the central and
regnant factor of the self, grouping all else about
itself in subordinate relations. Psychoanalysis is
expulsive, psychosynthesis receptive.

Illustrations of the synthetic process. —The human
understanding combines related data into a unified
system. The process of putting together parts or
elements so as to compose a complex whole is clearly
recognizable in various departments of thought and
science. The act of learning as described by edu¬
cators exhibits the synthetic tendency of the mind.
When new lesson material is presented to the pupil,
it is comprehended and assimilated in terms of
previous knowledge and experience. The present
is synthetized with the past and thus acquires
meaning and value; the union of the new and old
constitutes a fresh whole. At first the new is under¬
stood by the young child as something which he
already knows about, but later he assigns it an
existence and a meaning of its own. One small
boy called snow, sugar; an electric meter, a clock;
a circus rider in uniform, a king; the core of a pear,
a crust; dust particles seen in a ray of light, flies;
but in the course of time and with the expansion
of life he began properly to classify and rate these
novelties. The mind appears to resist the intrusion
of fresh ideas, for the reception of the new makes
a rearrangement of the old furnishings imperative.

In the natural sciences synthesis denotes the

204

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

formation of a compound by a combination of its
elements. Physics makes liberal use of the term
and variously applies its principle. White is pro¬
duced by the physicist by synthetizing its con¬
stituent colors. Physics teaches that a complex
musical sound is a compound of component simple
tones. The violin string, for example, has a fine
proportion of partial tones, the lowest audible of
which is called the fundamental tone, and the
others overtones. The whole may be analyzed into
the partial tones which the mind may be able to
abstract. It is, however, the habitual readiness of
the mind to grasp and appreciate the sound as a
whole. The mind synthetizes the partial tones.
The full compound tone, heard as a unit, affords
us more aesthetic gratification than does a separa¬
tion of it into its constituents.

The synthetic activity in religion. —In an anal¬
ogous manner the religious consciousness makes a
continuous effort to keep life harmonious through
the adoption and practice of recognized obligations.
The spiritual sensibilities demand that the self
be dominated by a progressive comprehension of
things which matter most. When the self falls
short of what it feels it should be, conscience creates
a disturbance which endures until the level of con¬
duct has been raised. The spiritual nature of man
manifests a pronounced synthetic activity by which
a new combination of moral forces is achieved.
At first the imposing religious obligation is resisted
and repulsed but finally it is accepted and placed
in control of the self. Once in the seat of power
the fresh insight brings into harmony with itself
all other interests. The tension between a duty

OTHER DEVOTIONAL PRAYERS 205

and the self, for instance, is not eliminated by
renouncing the duty but by accepting its challenge
and by adjusting all other things to the discharge
of it. Although once an external pressure, duty,
when owned, becomes an internal compulsion. A
situation, once contested but at last made central
and supreme, reorganizes the self, synthetizes the
elements of life. The psychosynthetic prayer grips v
and divides the self, purges and sifts its elements,
and in accordance with a new sense of obligation
recombines them.

PSYCHOSYNTHETIC PRAYERS

Miss Strong in her book, The Psychology of
Prayer , would interpret all prayer forms, petitional
as well as devotional, as a social relation between
a consciously inferior self and an ideal, superior
self, having for their purpose the construction of
a more victorious, a more competent, a more endur¬
ing personality. This conception appears to be akin
to that of psychosynthesis. Interpreted broadly and
liberally, this unifying activity underlies every type
of prayer relation. In all prayer, petitional as well
as devotional, there is a subtle analytic and syn¬
thetic process by means of which the person hopes
to ease inner tension, release spiritual unrest, and
construct a more victorious self.

This generous interpretation seems to touch the
ends rather than the processes of petitional and of
some devotional prayers. It seems best to describe
prayer in terms of the process itself which furthers
an adjustment to the spiritual universe. Since
petitional prayer tends to realize an ideal self through
religious suggestion, it seems well to regard the

206 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

process of suggestion as the chief psychological
aspect. Since the prayers of confession and praise
save the self from a rupture by discharging impulses
to praise or by reinstating distressing experiences,
it would appear best to interpret them psycho¬
logically as forms of a religious katharsis. The type
of devotional prayer to the psychological exposition
of which this chapter is devoted, doubtless reveals
to a greater extent than any other a fusion of life
in terms of a higher purpose through the prayerful
attitude itself. The specialized forms of this type
are the prayers of aspiration, consecration, sub¬
mission, and communion.

The prayer of aspiration. —Many persons live in
an atmosphere of sacred desire and holy ambition.
In devotional mood they constantly ejaculate their
aspirations to be righteous, benevolent, and in har¬
mony with the purpose of God. This prayer atti¬
tude tends to fix the program of purpose and action,
to steady the vagrant impulses, to summon the
spiritual powers. It gives life a constant impetus
and momentum toward unity and self-consistency.
Through constant and meaningful repetition of
sacred ambition one keeps before the self the vision
of the ideal.

J Unitary effort .—Many confess that to them
prayer consists in a summoning of scattering moral
forces into a synthesis of personal powers for greater
efficiency. When there is a more effective forma¬
tion of the moral attributes a realization of the
ideals occurs with a consequent growth of still
higher ideals. The coalition of higher activities
and qualities of mind and character presents a solid
front to the elements which attack the moral integ-

OTHER DEVOTIONAL PRAYERS

207

rity of the self. One who is predisposed to mel¬
ancholy may heroically and prayerfully cultivate
the cheerful outlook, the contagious smile, and the
creative act; or one who is quick-tempered and
hypersensitive may practice long-suffering and meek-
ness. A successful high-school teacher says that
to her prayer is an urgent appeal to her own power
of self-control when there is occasion for impatience
and annoyance. The aroused will joins together
in a unitary impression ideal and conduct.

Illustrations .—Biographical literature is replete
with an extensive variety of aspirational prayers.
Socrates at the conclusion of his dialogue with
Phaedrus under the palm tree prays, “Beloved
Pan and all ye other gods who haunt this place,
give me beauty in the inward soul; and may the
outward and the inward man be at one. ,,1

Interesting aspirational prayers have been dis¬
covered among the Assyrian and Babylonian in¬
scriptions. Neriglissar, king of Babylon from 559
to 556 B. C., left behind an oft-repeated and un¬
granted prayer for a long reign: “O Marduk, great
lord, lord of the gods, glorious light of the gods,
I pray thee; may I, according to thy exalted, un¬
changeable command, enjoy the glory of the house
which I have built, may I attain unto old age in
it.” 1 2 Nabonidus, a later king of Babylon, was a
man of unusuaj piety. His energies were absorbed
by the building and restoration of temples, by
supervising the work of scholars engaged in re¬
searches concerning the remote past, and by prayers
and devotion to the gods. In the following prayer

1 Phcedrus, Jowett’s translation, p. 279. Clarendon Press.

* Cambridge Cylinder, col. 11, lines 31-34.

208

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

of his, special blessings are invoked upon his son:
“From sin against thy exalted godhead guard me,
and grant me, as a gift, life for many days, and
in the heart of Belshazzar, my first-born son, the
offspring of my body, establish reverence for thy
great godhead. May he not incline to sin, but
enjoy the fullness of life.” 3

Beautiful for sentiment and expression are the
prayers of the Rev. J. H. Jowett, as published in
a little volume entitled Yet Another Day. It will
suffice to quote two or three.

“Father, enlarge my sympathies; give me a
roomier heart. May my life be like a great hos¬
pitable tree, and may many weary wanderers find
in me a rest!”

“My Father, I would have the mind of Christ.
Take away all my petty and self-centered thoughts,
and give me the large and sympathetic thoughts
of Christ. Give me a roomy heart in which my
brethren may find hospitality.”

“Holy Spirit, quicken the secret springs of my
life. May I abound in spiritual willingness! May
I rise daily into newness of life! Take all reluctance
out of my discipleship. May thy law be my de¬
light!”

The prayer of consecration. —The sensitive per¬
sonality cannot rest until it has abandoned itself
to what it conceives to be its life purpose. Many
a conflict between the self and its richer outlook,
its paramount duty, its acknowledged mission, is
resolved in prayer. A natural desire to cling to
the past, a tendency to drift with the current,

3 Cited in Rogers, R. W.: History of Babylonia and Assyria, vol. ii, p. 362.
The Methodist Book Concern.

OTHER' DEVOTIONAL PRAYERS 209

ethical and religious inertia, all yield to the prayer
of consecration, fusing the elements of the person¬
ality in a higher combination. It closes, as it were,
the old channels of discharge by opening new ones.
A vision of what one should be or do arouses
internal dissatisfaction; often a struggle follows in
which idealism triumphs. In the making of a deci¬
sion for the right, poise is recovered.

The psychosynthetic process in the baptism of Jesus .—
The life of Christ discloses instances of this type
of devotion. We may be sure that as a youth he
reacted against the current conceptions of religion,
against a dead orthodoxy and hollow formalism.
He became conscious that religion is spiritual and
moral, and not the perfunctory performance of
ceremony and obedience to a code of laws devoid
of moral content. There came to him as he medi¬
tated in the night watches the overpowering con¬
viction that it was his real mission to become a
public teacher, servant, and Saviour of men. He
doubtless heard of the message of John and felt
himself in accord with the substance of it. We can
understand why he approached the great evangelist
and requested to be baptized by him in token of
his own submission to the principles of righteousness
so fearlessly proclaimed.

We read that a sacred and dramatic experience
was his when he was being baptized, that the heavens
were opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon
him in bodily form as a dove, and that a voice pro¬
claimed him the beloved Son, in whom the Father
was well pleased. Luke, who has flashes of pene¬
tration into some of the most intense experiences of
Christ, records the significant fact that these unique

210

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

manifestations came to him while he was praying. 4
In baptism Christ unquestionably committed him¬
self definitely and unreservedly to the glorious task
of preaching and teaching the cardinal principles of
the kingdom of God. In the act of prayer he con¬
solidated his convictions. The attitude was accom¬
panied by a vivid sense of the divine sanction and
a release of religious energy for his mission. In
the act of consecration the consciousness of Sonship
was crystallized.

The subordination of the physical to the spiritual by
Jesus .—The consecration in the Jordan was not his
last and only self-dedication. The record of his
experiences the first Sabbath spent in Capernaum
after his dedication to the public ministry is
evidence to the contrary. In the morning, in the
synagogue he healed a demoniac, probably a
moral degenerate. The healing marked a crisis
in the life of Christ, for it was doubtless the
first case of disease cured by him. Through this
his powers as a healer of men’s physical defects
were revealed. In the afternoon of the same day
he touched the hand of Peter’s mother-in-law, and
the fever left her and she arose and served her
Benefactor and his friends. Not many hours
elapsed before the news had spread throughout
the city that a wonder-worker was within its gates,
and at sundown a vast company of the sick ap¬
pealed to him. Although he was exhausted by the
labors of the day, no sleep visited him that night.
A long time before daybreak he threaded his way
through the crooked streets and “departed into a
desert place and there prayed.”

4 Luke 3: 21.

OTHER DEVOTIONAL PRAYERS

211

He was experiencing the embarrassment of a
success that threatened his real mission. The
occurrences of the day made it clear to him that
his work as a healer might overshadow his mission
as a teacher. It was a matter of relativity, of
deciding which to subordinate, that led him into
the solitary place to meditate and pray. Should
he figure as a physician to the body rather than as
a physician to the soul? That he consecrated him¬
self anew to his kingdom mission and decided to
make the healing of the body subsidiary is clearly
demonstrated by the fact that he left the city at
once, and returned only after his fame as a healer
had had time to abate. He said to his disciples,
“Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach
there also; for therefore came I forth.” 5

Jesus and self-consistency through prayer .—Yet
another crisis came into the life of Christ which was
successfully met in the prayer of consecration. The
time came when the opposition against him sought
his life. While in Galilee he was convinced that his
life was in danger if he remained there or journeyed
to Jerusalem. The Herodians of Galilee, as politi¬
cal plotters, considered his influence over the masses
inimical to their own dark purposes. To remain
longer in that territory was to court death at the
hands of unscrupulous politicians. The gravity of
the situation was augmented by the fact that Jeru¬
salem offered no safe refuge. To leave Galilee and
go to Jerusalem was to escape the animosity of the
Herodians only to fall into the eager clutches of the
Pharisees and priests. One other course lay open—

8 Mark i: 38.

212

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

to leave Palestine altogether, to teach and spend the
rest of his life in a foreign land.

Christ left Galilee, retiring to the region of Tyre
and Sidon, not because he feared the hate-filled
religious leaders or the agents of Herod but for the
purpose of coming to a decision as to the course
he should pursue. In a condition of disturbed
mental equilibrium he wandered to and fro. Finally,
he ascended a hill in the company of three intimate
disciples. Luke, with characteristic psychological
insight, furnishes a hint which precipitates a rea¬
sonable interpretation of the ensuing occurrence,
called the Transfiguration. He says, “And as he
prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered,
and his raiment was white and glistering.” 6

Doubtless in the act of prayer Christ caught up
into their accustomed higher unity the elements
of his personality. He consecrated himself anew
to the only course consistent with his life purpose.
Only by yielding to his sense of religious obligation
and privilege could a fracture of the self be avoided.
The decision made, all tension was released and his
face glowed with inner light and peace. He came
out of the experience to proceed by deliberate, yet
unwavering, stages to Jerusalem, and there, during
the Passover, he made his last appeal and laid
down his life for his cause.

The prayer of submission. —It is no small matter
to become reconciled to the inevitable. Tribulations
and disasters will come, and we cannot escape some
attitude toward them. By nature we shrink from
the abyss that threatens to engulf us; we do our ut¬
most to avoid impending doom. The cosmic processes

B Luke 9: 29.

OTHER DEVOTIONAL PRAYERS 213

of pain and death are relentless and impartial. Nov/,
religion, in its best form, teaches a wise submission
to the unavoidable, a firm trust in the ultimate
triumph of justice, and an unwavering faith in the
persistence of the moral element of the world. It
sees in the calamities and misfortunes of men an
overruling Providence, with a disciplinary and edu¬
cational and, in some cases, a redemptive purpose
in view. It traces the rainbow in the rain.

The prayers of resignation as limitless .—The great
prayer of Christ, wrung from his lips when he faced
arrest and ignominious and immediate death, “Thy
will be done,” has taught thousands to be reconciled
to fate or the painful consequence of iron duty.
It has probably done more to bring submission
to the distressed than any other utterance from
Christ. When the petitional prayer, in the nature
of things, cannot be answered, the prayer of sub¬
mission may still be made with telling effect.

Petitional prayer is limited, the prayer of sub¬
mission is limitless. There is no disaster over
which it cannot triumph. Submission calms an
excited mind, effects reconciliation to, and even
cheerful acceptance of, the catastrophe, and pre¬
serves the integrity of the personality. It keeps
life free from the paralysis of pessimism. The dis¬
position wrought by submission averts the peril
and blight of a disrupted, despairing and fractured
mind. A young clergyman recently remarked that
if his child were sick unto death, he would still
pray, not to save the infant’s life, but to find comfort
and resignation in the hour of trial. The submissive
soul assimilates, to the conservation of its faith
and peace, a naturally grim event. The calamity

214

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

is incorporated into life’s program, spiritualized
and interpreted as a form of discipline.

The martyr spirit .—The spirit of resignation is
often glorified in martyrdom. A study in the
psychology of the martyr-mind would doubtless
bring to light a disposition that glories in making
a sacrifice for the sake of principle. While the
suffering of martyrs who have been tortured to
death in times past excite our commiseration, we
may rest assured that many a genuine martyr'
would have been secretly and deeply disappointed
if he had not been condemned to seal his convic¬
tions with his life. Far more than life itself, accord¬
ing to the martyr-constitution, is the privilege of
suffering for one’s ideals.

Christian submission is not the bending of the
back of a slave to the lash of a taskmaster, but
the breaking of the chains of misfortune. It is not
a ladder lying upon the ground, but a ladder set
up by which to climb. Beaten with rods, stoned,
destitute, hungry, cold, betrayed by his own coun¬
trymen, and forsaken by his friends, Paul regards
his manifold trials and tribulations endured for
the sake of the gospel as signal honors and marks
of distinction. Submission to misfortune was not
mere pious resignation, it was the glorification of
tribulation and the construction of a victorious self.
The spirit of submission was active rather than
passive.

Dramatic responses .—Occasionally the prayer of
submission, like other types of devotional prayer,
is accompanied by voices and visions which bring
comfort and consolation. It has been repeatedly
stated in these pages that mental structure and

OTHER DEVOTIONAL PRAYERS 215

character determine the forms of religious expe¬
rience. Where favorable temperamental conditions
obtain, this type of prayer relation may induce
the outward projection of the ideas associated with
submission. A friend relates that his young child
was so ill that he was pronounced incurable by
the attending physicians. In deep distress, the
father prayed for grace to yield to the inevitable.
One can imagine the depression and anguish of the
parent. One morning while shoveling coal into
the furnace in the basement of the house, he heard
a voice saying, “Fear not,” which comforted him
immeasurably. The attitude of resignation had
become audible.

The prayer of communion. —Many souls cannot
rest until they have .unified life through man’s
highest and most sacred privilege—communion
with God. They are torn asunder whenever con¬
vinced that something has disturbed their fellow¬
ship with the Most High. Psychology is not called
upon to answer the question as to the ultimate
nature of the experience known as the presence of
God. This task belongs to philosophy. Never¬
theless, psychology may describe the experience as
a process . 7

The social nature of man and fellowship with God .—
The deeply rooted social nature of man may
account for the burning desire which we have
to hold communion with God. The impulse is

7 For a well-poised discussion of mysticism in both its milder and more extreme
forms see Pratt, J. B.: The Religious Consciousness, Chapters XVI-XX. The
Macmillan Company.

For an illuminating historical survey of mysticism see Jones, Rufus M.: Studies
in Mystical Religion. The Macmillan Company.

For a popular treatise of present-day types of mystical experiences see Buck-
ham, J. W.: Mysticism and Modern Life. The Abingdon Press.

2l6

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

akin to man’s instinct to fellowship with man. If
man may have fellowship with man, why not with
God as friend with friend? Christianity preaches
that God is a Father vitally interested in the welfare
of each individual, and that all men are brothers.
The logical inference is that a son may commune
with his father as well as with his brothers. The
Christian religion, furthermore, teaches that when
all others forsake us, God remains our constant
Friend; that when we stand friendless here below,
we have a Friend eternal in the heavens. This
form of religion is social, and as such leans toward
conscious relationship with God.

Ethical communion with God .—Among many men
of the predominantly active and intellectual type
contact with God is believed to be made when the
best of which they are capable is expressed in moral
living. They affirm that they touch the Highest
when thought and purpose are in harmony with
the moral and social requirements of the religious
spirit of the times. They regard moral sensitivity
and the consciousness of duty as the presence and
will of God. They tell us that God is not to be
comprehended in a complex of emotions but to be
apprehended in moral action.

While the mystical temperament regards the
justice and mercy required by the Lord as the
normal outcome of union and communion with
God, others insist that the practice of these funda¬
mental virtues constitutes the humble walk with
Jehovah. They maintain that it is not emotional
rapture or prophetic ecstasy but moral uprightness
that effects union with God. The closeness of our
walk with him varies directly with our moral atti-

OTHER DEVOTIONAL PRAYERS 217

tudes. Father and son may live under the same
roof, eat at the same table and work side by side,
and incompatibility may keep them leagues apart.

He who holds ethical communion with God calls
attention to the fact that, according to the Beati¬
tudes, it is necessary to be pure in heart before
we can see God and to be peacemakers before we
can be called the children of God. Not in dazzling
vision or rare moment of exaltation but in the
application of his principles to ourselves and social
conditions do we see Christ. In the words of the
recently discovered saying of Jesus, “Raise the
stone, and thou shalt find me; cleave the wood,
and there am I.”

Metaphysical communion with God .—But the warmer
type craves a mystical fellowship with God, not
only as a source of moral inspiration, but for the
sake of communion itself. The man of mystical v
disposition achieves the consciousness of God
within him through the prayer of communion,
through meditation and a responsive attitude to
divine promptings. When he is still, he knows that
God is a reality. Consciousness is unified by the y/'
central controlling idea of God, the prevailing
emotional tone being that of adoration, wonder,
admiration, awe, reverence. Statements like the
following, selected from the replies to questions
concerning communion with God, reveal the in¬
timacy and warmth of the experience: “I have
attained a distinct feeling of the presence of God
verging on the mystical sense.’’ “Sometimes he
has seemed inexpressively near—all-enveloping, etc.”
“Yes, some brooding spirit out of which my soul has
sprung, and in the heart of which it must be held

2l8

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

if my soul is satisfied.” Brother Lawrence writes:
“I cannot imagine how religious persons can live
satisfied without the practice of the presence of
God. For my part, I keep myself retired with him
in the fund or center of my soul as much as I can;
and while I am so with him I fear nothing, but the
least turning from him is insupportable. . . . Let us
live and die with God. Suffering will be sweet
and pleasant to us while we are with him; and the
greatest pleasures will be, without him, a cruel
punishment to us .” 8

Attention in prayers of fellowship .—The prayer of
communion exhibits not only the process of psy¬
chosynthesis, but also the trait of attention so
prominent in petitional prayer. The following
accounts given by trustworthy persons are charac¬
teristic: “I make the effort to feel the presence
of God.” “If I allow the cares of life to enter in
and distract my thoughts, then this is not so.”
“The presence of God is felt in varying degrees
according to the concentration of attention.”

The function of communion .—In a passage of rare
beauty Dionysius, the Areopagite, shows how
“pure prayer” unites the soul with God. Prayer
draws the soul toward the divine union, “as if a
luminous chain were suspended from the celestial
heights, and we, by ever clutching this, first with
one hand and then with the other, seem to draw it
down, but in reality we are ourselves carried up¬
ward to the high splendors of the luminous rays.
Or as if, after we have embarked on a ship and
are holding on to the cable reaching to some rock,

8 Brother Lawrence: The Practice of the Presence of Cod, pp. 32-34. American
Baptist Publishing Society.

OTHER DEVOTIONAL PRAYERS 219

we do not draw the rock to us, but draw, in fact,
ourselves and the ship to the rock .” 9

It is not one function of the prayer of communion
to change the mind of God, but to bring the pur¬
poses of man into harmony with the will of God.
Communion does not pull God down to our level
of insight and action but lifts us up to God’s level.
Prayer is not a pious attempt to persuade God
to do what is contrary to his wisdom and goodness.
The account of Jacob struggling with Jehovah for
a blessing should not be misconstrued as an effort
to overpower God and to wrest from him by sheer
force a reluctant favor. Jacob contended with his
lower inclinations and in an intensely dramatic
prayer experience achieved the victory over himself.
Prayer did not bring Jehovah down to the moral
level of Jacob, but it did lift Jacob up to a higher
plane . 10

Saint Augustine writes: “I have gone astray like
a Sheep that was lost, seeking thee with great
anxiety without, when yet thou art within, and
dwellest in my Soul, if it desire thy presence. I
wandered about the Villages and Streets of the
City of this world, inquiring for thee everywhere
and found thee not; because I expected to meet
that abroad, which all the while I had at home. . . .
For thou hast not the form of a Body, nor the
whiteness of Light, nor the sparkling of Precious
Stones, nor the Harmony of Music, nor the fra-
grancy of Flowers, or Ointments, or Spices, nor the
delicious taste of Honey, nor the charms of those
things that are pleasant to the Touch, nor any

• Divine Names, III, i. Also cited in Jones, Rufus M.: Studies in Mystical
Religion, p. no. The Macmillan Company.

10 Genesis 32: 22-32.

220

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

other qualities by which our Senses are entertained.
. . . Thanks to that light, which discovered itself to
Me, and Me to myself. For in finding and in know¬
ing myself, I find and know Thee .” 11

Grant the existence of God, and it is prayer,
and especially the prayer of communion, that
makes him real and intensifies the consciousness
of him. But many men to-day are too perplexed
to pray to God with sufficient initial confidence.
They are confused and wistful rather than doubt¬
ful and skeptical about the reality of approaching
God. They would like to pray with the assurance
of reaching the mind of God, but they have become
distracted and disturbed by modern science. Be¬
fore such persons can call upon God with the belief
that they will be heard they must adopt a spiritual
interpretation of the natural world, and appreciate
the intelligence of God and the worth of man.

They must see the whole world of nature in
God. With the grasping of the fact that the world
we inhabit is law-abiding, man has been compelled
to abandon his crude notion of prayer as a process
which takes no account of the stability and uni¬
formity of natural events. But no man can pray
into a machine in which he feels himself but a
cog in a wheel within wheels and expect it to respond
to a personal appeal. Until one thoroughly appre¬
ciates that the laws of nature are the laws of God,
that the natural world is but the outward expres¬
sion of the creative energy of God, that without
the constant and consistent activity of God the
world could not exist for a single moment, he can¬
not pray to God with a sense of reality and a con-

11 Mediations of St. Augustine, made English by Stanhope, George, pp. 224-227.

OTHER DEVOTIONAL PRAYERS 221

viction that he will be heard. The mind should,
as it were, hold a saturated solution of the doctrine
of the immanence of God.

The dignity of man and prayer .—In view of the
enormity and complexity of the universe, one may
feel too insignificant to come within the range of
the personal attention of God. One may feel lost
in the vastness of the worlds, and find it hard to
believe that one’s cry will pierce the heart of the
Eternal. Feeling like a mote in the summer air
one may cry in the words of the psalmist: “What
is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son
of man that thou visitest him?” Only when man
grasps something of the value of himself as pointed
out in the answer of the same psalmist, “For thou
hast made him a little lower than God, and
crownest him with glory and honor ,” 12 can he come
unto Him who responds to prayer. When we
realize that we are immortal and morally respon¬
sible beings, created in the image and likeness of
God, we take courage.

The intelligence of God and fellowship .—To a
richer conception of man must be added a deeper
valuation of God. One may freely concede that
man is an exalted being and still ask how it is possi¬
ble for God to individualize humanity, to pay
attention to each one of the many millions of men.
How can God number the hairs of the heads of so
many, how can he note the fall of so many spar¬
rows? A conception of God’s individual care is
essential to earnest prayer. Communion with God
is out of the question so long as one is perplexed
by the conception that God’s knowledge of a

u Psalm 8: 5.

222

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

system of worlds is diffuse and his interest in it
general.

Now, the more we know about anything the
more detailed our information. Knowledge breaks
up masses into their constituent elements. It sepa¬
rates a combination into its several parts. Ignorance
sees a thing as a vague whole, but knowledge
reduces a whole to its units and understands each
one of them. The more a shepherd knows about
his flock, the less he sees it as a whole and the more
he knows about each sheep. The more intelligent
the carpenter, the more he knows about the par¬
ticulars of the house he constructs. If the world
is the product of a continuous creative activity of
God, we may be sure that he understands it to the
last and minutest detail. If God conducts a com¬
plex system of worlds, it follows that his intelligence
is equal to his responsibilities. His knowledge and
care must be intensive as well as extensive, indi¬
vidual as well as comprehensive.

“Consider, then, the meaning of God’s knowledge
of men. When a stranger thinks of China, he
imagines a vague multitude, with faces that look
all alike. When a missionary thinks of China, the
vague multitude is shaken loose in one spot, and
individuals there stand out, separately known and
loved. When God thinks of China, he knows every
one of the Chinese by name. He does for humanity
what a librarian does for his books, or an engineer
for his turbines. We stand, everyone, separate in
his thought. He lifts us up from the obscurity
of our littleness; he picks us out from the multitude
of our fellows; he gives to our lives the dignity of
his individual care. The Eternal God calls us

OTHER DEVOTIONAL PRAYERS

223

everyone by name. He is not the God of man¬
kind in the mass; he is the God of Abraham, of
Isaac, and of Jacob !” 13
*

SUMMARY

The devotional prayers, exhibiting as they do
the technic and mechanism of psychosynthesis,
assimilate an ideal or a crisis and recombine the
elements of life. A higher fusion is created in
terms of the fresh spiritual insight. The prayer of
aspiration is a moral dynamic, the prayer of con¬
secration socializes the personality, the prayer of
submission incorporates the inevitable pain and
sorrow in life’s program, the prayer of communion
links the soul in living relation to Reality. Devo¬
tional attitudes clarify the ideals, deepen the moral
convictions, give life direction and purpose, pre¬
serve the peace and poise of the mind, and satisfy
the craving of the soul for fellowship with the
Highest. Situations that were once external pres¬
sures become internal possessions. Ideals which
were peripheral become inward and central. The
greatest achievement of prayer is God-conscious¬
ness. It rests the soul and gives the whole world a
divine significance. The consciousness of God as an
inner presence and influence is the soul of prayer.

is Fosdick, H. E.: The Meaning >f Prayer, pp. so, 51. Association Press.

CHAPTER XI

PRAYER AS INSTINCTIVE

Professor James in a passage which cannot
be quoted too often remarks that although many
reasons are given why we should or should not
pray but little is said of the reason why we do
actually pray. Concerning the neglected item he
writes, “The reason why we do pray is simply
that we cannot help praying.” This is one way of
saying that prayer is instinctive. The act of prayer
is an elemental function of human nature; it is as
natural as breathing, as normal as love.

Religion and prayer are inseparable. In prayer
the lines of religion converge. Prayer is at once
the outgrowth and the soul of religion. Prayer
is religion functioning. The religious nature of
man is sustained by prayer and kept alive by wor¬
ship. When prayer ceases religion dies. The his¬
tory of the one is the history of the other. To
understand the one is to understand the other.

If the one is instinctive, the other is instinctive also.

RELIGION AND PRAYER AS INSTINCTIVE

— -

Religion is man’s response to the supernatural.

In lower forms of religion, the response is crude
and often morally undeveloped; in the higher types
it is essentially ethical and social. The Christian
religion is the guidance of life as a whole by the

consciousness of God as he is revealed by Christ.

224

PRAYER AS INSTINCTIVE

225

The basis of all forms of religion, however much
they may vary one from the other, is instinctive.
Comprehensively defined, an instinct is an inherited
and unpremeditated tendency to act. It is an
inborn readiness to act without being taught, an
innate preparedness to meet particular situations
for the first time. The purpose of the instinctive
response is unforeseen by animals, but in the case
of all normal human beings, with the exception of
infants, ideas and reason throw light upon it. The
ends which love, for instance, subserves are not
wholly unknown to intelligent lovers. Now, reli¬
gion and the human instincts bear the same essential
traits. There is a universal inborn readiness to
respond religiously to our total environment.

Impulses are common to the species. All normal
human beings possess the capacity for fear, fighting,
anger, sex, sociability, shyness, sympathy, affec¬
tion, altruism, modesty, secretiveness, rivalry, jeal¬
ousy, envy, play, curiosity, destruction, construction,
acquisitiveness, love of approbation, appreciation of
the beautiful. That religion is universal should be
stated but need not be enlarged upon in this con¬
nection. The individual or tribe without the im¬
pulse and capacity to worship is as abnormal as the
one devoid of the instinct of fear or curiosity.

Prayer is practically universal. A few systems of
religion, like Shinto and Buddhism, originally tried
to dispense with prayer, but failed fully to repress
the unconquerable disposition. According to the
strict letter of the tenets of Shinto, the prayers of
the Mikado of Japan suffice for all its devotees,
but thousands visit the shrines of this cult, deposit
a gift of money and offer prayers. Buddhism also

226 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

has made concessions to prayer. Buddhism, in its
original purity, seeks to rid the self of all desire,
which logically precludes prayers that are rooted
in a sense of need. But Buddha has been deified
and is being worshiped by millions. Where Bud¬
dhism has been extensively embraced, the prayer-
wheel and the rosary flourish. Confucius, the
Chinese moralist, advised his disciples to have but
little to do with the gods, but to-day he himself
is worshiped as a god by millions. On the contrary,
Christianity has always consistently preached that
the prayer life is fundamental, that it should be
assiduously cultivated, that its atrophy is a calam¬
ity. The fact that prayer is so prevalent, even
among the adherents of faiths logically opposed to
it, is one indication of its instinctive nature.

The variableness of the form of instinct and of
religion. —The innate impulses are indefinite and
modifiable. They are active attitudes and primitive
capacities which derive their form and final character
from environment and experience. The instinct to
play is inborn, but just what particular games the
child shall play is largely determined by the sur¬
roundings into which the child is thrust. Imitation
of adult activities, as a rule, gives the play impulse
its mode of expression. In the make-believe world
of the child of to-day a chair becomes an airplane, in
the play of a former generation the chair may have
been a spinning-wheel.

The religious impulse is likewise modifiable and
indefinite. It impels us to worship a higher power
and to regulate life by what we conceive to be the
will of God, but just what in particular our con¬
ception of God shall be and what obligations we

PRAYER AS INSTINCTIVE

227

shall feel toward him is largely conditioned by
experience. We are not ushered into the world
with a complete and definite set of beliefs and
practices, but with a capacity and tendency to
acquire them as we live. Religious attitudes and
possibilities are inborn traits and instinctive but
their form and content is largely determined by
instruction and training. The most accurate reason
most of us can give for belonging to this or that
religious denomination is that we were brought up
in it. The prayer attitude which is inbred is wide
and general, and in the course of experience receives
its specific and particular point and direction.

The primacy of instinct and religion. —Further¬
more, instinct is more fundamental and controlling
than reason. Ideas are personally acquired, instincts
are a racial inheritance. When the two clash,
instinct is in the end victorious. The religious
impulse is more elemental and influential than
antagonistic opinion. The one is innate, the other
acquired. The skepticism which for a season ridi¬
cules prayer and casts it aside goes down before the
rush and surge of the religious impulse loosed by
overwhelming needs or crushing burdens. No matter
how cogently a person may have reasoned himself
out of conscious dependence upon a personal and
creative God, peril, grief, responsibility, anything
that shakes the soul to its foundations, consumes
his disbelief and induces him to pray. Prayer as
a primal tendency is underground and latent in
even the most skeptical. Unless human nature
changes in unpredictable ways, men, being instinc¬
tively impelled, will always pray.

Prayer elemental. —Religion as instinctive, far

228

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

from being a disconnected and detachable interest,
is an elemental constituent of human nature. It
is not the product of mere reason, an after-thought,
an intellectual amendment to life, but a normal
and constitutional factor of the self. Without the
religious impulse man would be as fractional and
fractured as a self without fear, as maimed and
truncated as a body without a head. It is as essen¬
tial to the wholesomeness and fullness of life as
memory or sociability. Its purpose is to adjust
life to the plan and will of God. Through prayer
the religious nature of man coordinates and cor¬
relates, regulates and dominates his social and
moral relations. The prayer tendency is not
something superimposed, or thrust upon us from
without, but an inner racial urge, a primal drive.
A life absolutely devoid of the prayer impulse would
be as abnormal as a self without affection. The
impulse to worship is not an acquired taste, but an
inheritance, an inward compulsion.

Is there a special religious instinct? —Among
those who contend that religion is instinctive there
is divergence of opinion as to whether there is a
distinct and distinguishable religious instinct. Some,
opposed to the theory that there is a special religious
instinct, believe that the religious response con¬
sists in the organization and direction of the various
instinctive capacities for social living. The religious
impulse is involved in all primitive urges, and when
all instincts are functioning normally, harmoniously
and especially socially the person is truly religious. 1

Others maintain that there is a religious impulse

1 For further discussion of this theory see Coe, G. A.: The Psychology of Re¬
ligion, Chapters IV and XIX. The University of Chicago Press.

PRAYER AS INSTINCTIVE

229

as definite and describable as anger or curiosity.
Religion is a regulative impulse. Its purpose is
to make harmony among the propulsions within the
self, and between the individual and the world of
nature and persons. The religious instinct regu¬
lates life, just as nesting among birds ministers to
brooding and hatching, or modesty furthers the
love relation. If a part of the cerebellum of the
brain be removed, a lack of coordination in move¬
ment results, and one staggers like a drunken man.
What the cerebellum is to the bodily organism
religion is to the moral and social life. The religious
impulse, properly cultivated, adjusts and controls
all the instinctive capacities, refining some, com¬
pounding and fusing others, arresting the growth
of still others, and sometimes substituting the one
for the other. As such its characteristics are as
marked as those of any other impulse. 2

SCIENCE AND PRAYER

Manifestly, science can be no substitute for such
a constitutional and instinctive activity as prayer.
For things elemental there are no alternatives.
Science and religion differ so radically in nature,
method, and function that neither can take the
place of the other.

Difference in purpose. —Their spheres of responsi^
bility are far from identical and interchangeable.
It is the function of science to examine, to describe,
and to classify the facts of the natural world. It
attempts to reduce the events of nature to the
constant and consistent modes of behavior we
call laws. Applied science bends the laws of nature

2 This vidw is most convincingly set forth by Starbuck.

230 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

to the practical purposes of man; hence we have,
for example, the psychology of education, of public
speaking, of salesmanship, of advertising. Religion,
on the other hand, concerns itself with the origin
of the world which science investigates, with its
meaning, its destiny. It occupies itself with God
as the supreme energizing Being, with the moral
self-determination of man, with life after death,
with what man should strive for and pursue as the
highest good.

Difference in approach. —The uniqueness of each
is further revealed by their difference in method.
The method of science is induction, the observation
of a sufficient number of particular instances and
the extension of the truth common to them, to all
cases of the same class. The method of religion
is deduction. It relies upon faith, intuition, life.
It tests its propositions by the heart and by their
social influence. Religious truth cannot be dis¬
covered in a laboratory exercise. It cannot be
proved by the rules of formal logic. It is quite
as impossible to prove the existence of God to one
who disbelieves in him as it is to disprove his existence
to one who believes in him. The recent emphasis
upon intuition, faith, and moral action as sources
of truth is a wholesome corrective for an almost
exclusive dependence upon the method of science
for the discovery of values.

Nevertheless, the proposal has been made that
we let applied science displace religion. Why not
disengage the discernible psychological mechan¬
ism in prayer from religion and use it to further
the moral life? Why not make use of suggestion
alone and as such? When a memory has turned

PRAYER AS INSTINCTIVE

231

inward and is lacerating the soul, why not find
relief in psychoanalysis apart from prayer? Why
not keep life unified and whole through a process
of mere psychosynthesis? An inadequate under¬
standing of the meaning and value of both religion
and science is the father of such notions.

Religion as creative. —All progress in moral and
social relations is contingent upon an inner craving
for the richer, fuller, freer life. Without ante¬
cedent desires and aspiration there is no moral
advancement. There must be an ideal and a sense
of obligation. But whence comes the consciousness
of incompleteness and the yearning for more life?
The mental structures such as suggestion, psycho¬
analysis, and psychosynthesis which we have dis¬
covered in prayer are not of themselves creative;
they do not build ideals and arouse a sense of duty.
Before these processes are constructed and em¬
ployed by the prayer impulse there is a hungering
and thirsting after righteousness.

Religion supplies the incentive for moral improve¬
ment. The religious nature of man instinctively
creates a standard of conduct interpreted as the
will of God. Whatever is accepted as a divine
obligation is binding upon both the conscience and
the will of man. To keep life unified and whole
man resorts to the appeal of God. Prayer which
is a religious impulse, becomes active, grips and
divides the self in order that it may recombine the
purged and transformed elements. It is at once
conscience-stirring and soul-satisfying. Religion,
especially Christianity, is at once a moral revela¬
tion and a moral dynamic. Religiously motivated,
man achieves spiritual ends by creating mental

232

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

means which themselves are morally and religiously
neutral.

The emotional value of the religious impulse is
significant. Emotion is the conscious accompani¬
ment of instinct, being either pleasant or unpleasant
in quality. So rich in emotion are some instincts,
like fear and love, that they are called emotions
rather than instincts by those who are not con¬
versant with the psychological classification. Man
is swayed by primal emotions as by almost irre¬
sistible forces. Emotions are impulsive; they tend
toward action. The religious nature of man pos¬
sesses a high potentiality of emotion which, except
in unbalanced persons, discharges itself in worship
and moral action. Out of the heart there surge
forth moral and religious longings and desires which
the prayer attitude and act strive to gratify. Emo¬
tions having religious value profoundly affect the
will. Conduct has an emotional incentive which
mere science as ail intellectual pursuit cannot supply.

Religion as conservation. —Religion not only holds
before us the vision of the ideal and urges us to be
guided by it, but it also conserves and fortifies our
responses to it. It does not rescue a man from the
sea only to throw him back into the hungry waves.
It is essentially social. In its organized and institu¬
tionalized forms, religion exerts a definite and con¬
tinuous social pressure. The church as a form of
organized religion is an unfailing source of strength
to all who are pledged to the spiritual life it seeks
to foster. It creates an environment of religious
literature, music, art, worship, service. It brings
kindred souls together for teaching, inspiration, and
worship. Science has nothing to offer which can

PRAYER AS INSTINCTIVE'

233

take the place of the church despite its admitted
imperfections. Material things do not satisfy man;
they never have and never will. Their insufficiency
is abundantly demonstrated. True satisfaction is
religious. The church is the only great organiza¬
tion which has the opportunity and the facilities
to construct the motives of love, sympathy, and
cooperation, in which satisfaction is rooted.

THE PRAYER INSTINCT AND THE NEW WORLD

The conviction is sweeping through the peoples
of the earth that the present competitive world
order is doomed. They are looking for a new
earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. The world
has broken down under the pressure of the present
collective life of man, and has fallen under the
condemnation of the teeming and groaning mil¬
lions. Everywhere there is a lively consciousness
of the futility of the system upon which the world
is now rocking. Things once reckoned the very
foundations of civilization have collapsed.

Misplaced faith. —Commerce has not kept the
peace of the world. Our reliance upon barter and
trade, the bank and the market, to weld the na¬
tions together, has proved to be a delusion. Inter¬
national commercial relations, far from promoting
world-peace or tranquillity as was fondly imagined,
have become the prolific breeding ground of war.
The struggle for foreign markets and the sources
of raw materials has divided and embittered men
and nations. Business on a large as well as on a
small scale, as hitherto conducted, has made men
rivals and not brothers.

Neither can industrial and economic adventures,

234

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

apart from spiritual influences, redeem their pledges.
Granted that the social and industrial sores of the
nation should be healed, an economic program,
however promising, divorced from morals and
religion, cannot be applied and realized. The most
commendable scheme is of no avail when the leader¬
ship to which it is committed is unscrupulous and
the people themselves are without ethical motives.

Nor has science held the world together. When
the scientific brain of a nation is obsessed by an
unholy ambition the whole earth is imperiled. To
be sure, applied science, despite the peculiar indus¬
trial conditions it has produced, has made the world
more comfortable, at least in peace times. It has
not made us any better. All practical scientific
accomplishments are but blind and impersonal
instruments which may be used as effectively for
evil as for good. The submarine is a scientific
attainment, but when it is in the hands of men
animated by bad philosophy, the lives of the inno¬
cent and defenseless are menaced. The wireless is
a startling gift of science, but it transmits the
message of deceit and hate as swiftly and accurately
as the word of hope and love. Inventions are
tools, and in themselves possess no redemptive
power.

Prayer as a builder of a new world order. —Only

when the men who are behind the commercial,
economic, and scientific interests and movements
are impelled by justice and mercy can there be
social progress. The equality of men at the polls,
in the courts of law, the councils of the state, and
the places of industry can be made actual and
effective only by a democratic religion like Chris-

PRAYER AS INSTINCTIVE

235

tianity. More religion is needed everywhere; in
the mines, in the fields, the forests, the schools,
the factories, the halls of legislation. Religion is
the only force the world has ever known that can
draw all the fine capacities of men into the service
of a better social order.

In the spiritual culture of humanity prayer will
ever be paramount. As both self-assertion and self¬
surrender, prayer can build the men who can build
a new world. Not as a substitute for science or
economics or government, but as a purifier of the
springs of conduct and as a normal source of poise
and power, prayer can hasten the coming of the
kingdom of God which is the desire of all nations.

APPENDIX

A QUESTIONNAIRE ON PRAYER

The following questions mean to throw light on
the subject of prayer, its nature and scope. This
is not an attempt to establish any doctrine, but
to find the principles which underlie prayer.

1. Are you conscious of the presence of God when
you pray?

2. In your prayers do you make constant use
of the promises of the Bible?

3. Do you really believe that God will answer
your prayers?

4. Has your prayer life been hindered by any of
the following things: haste, irregularity, want of
faith, lack of definiteness, etc.?

5. Are your prayers sometimes answered in unex¬
pected ways? Give instances.

6. (0) What things do you make objects of prayer?
( b ) What things, if any, do you regard as im¬
proper objects of prayer?

7. State what success you have had through
prayer in the following cases: cure of disease, change
of heart, temporal blessing, purity of life, elimina¬
tion of evil, etc.

8. How do you account for unanswered prayers,
if there be such?

9. Which do you find the more effective: public
prayer by either the minister or the congregation, or
private prayer?

237

238 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

10. Give an account of any extraordinary answers
to prayer you may have had.

11. Were you accustomed to pray as a child?

12. Were there any family prayers in your home?

13. Please give

(a) Name, ( b ) Age, ( c ) Sex, ( d ) Church
affiliation, if any.

A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

/" Ames, E. S.: The Psychology of Religious Expe¬
rience, Houghton Mifflin Company, New York,
1910.

^Beck, F. O.: Prayer: A Study in its History and
Psychology , American Journal of Religious
Psychology and Education, ii, 1906.

Biederwolf, W. G.: How Can God Answer Prayer?
Fleming H. Revell Company, Chicago, 1906.

Bowne, B. P.: The Essence of Religion , Houghton
Mifflin Company, New York, 1910.

Brill, A. A.: Psychoanalysis , W. B. Saunders, Phila¬
delphia, 1922.

Buckham, J. W.: Mysticism and Modern Life ,
The Abingdon Press, 1915.

Coe, G. A.: The Spiritual Life , The Methodist
Book Concern, New York, 1900.

The Religion of a Mature Mind , The Methodist
Book Concern, New York, 1902.

/ The Psychology of Religion , University of Chi¬
cago Press, Chicago, 1917.

/^Cutten, G. B.: The Psychological Phenomena of
Christianity , Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York,
1908.

Davenport, F. M.: Primitive Traits in Religious
Revivals. The Macmillan Company, New York,
1905.

Dominican Father: The Rosary , Benziger Bros.,
Chicago, 1900.

Fosdick, H. E.: The Meaning of Prayer , Associa¬
tion Press, New York, 1916.

239

240

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

Freud, Sigmund: A General Introduction to Psy¬
choanalysis, Boni & Liveright, New York,

1920.

The Origin and Development of Psychoanalysis,
American Journal of Psychology, xxi, 1910.
Gordon, S. D.: Quiet Talks on Prayer, Fleming H.

Revell Company, Chicago, 1904.

Herman, E.: Creative Prayer, The Pilgrim Press,

1921.

, Hocking, W. E.: The Meaning of God in Human
Experience, Yale University Press, New Haven,
1912.

Hoff ding, H.: The Philosophy of Religion, The
Macmillan Company, New York, 1906.

Holmes, E. E.: Prayer and Action , Longmans,
Green & Co., New York, 1911.

Holt, E. B.: The Freudian Wish, Henry Holt &
Co., New York, 1915.

James, Wm.: The Varieties of Religious Experience,
Longmans, Green & Co., New York, 1902.
Jastrow, Joseph: Fact and Fable in Psychology,
Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, 1900.
The Subconscious, Houghton Mifflin Company,
New York, 1900.

Jones, R. M.: Studies in Mystical Religion , The
Macmillan Company, New York, 1909.
Spiritual Energies in Daily Life, The Macmillan
Company, New York, 1922.

Jowett, J. H.: Yet Another Day, Fleming H. Revell
Company, Chicago, 1906.

Jung, C. G. : The Psychology of the Unconscious ,
Moffat, Yard & Co., New York, 1916.

King, Irving: The Development of Religion , The
Macmillan Company, New York, 1910.

A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

241

Lawrence, Brother: The Practice of the Presence of
God , American Baptist Publication Society,
Philadelphia, 1908.

/-"Leuba, J. H.: A Psychological Study of Religion ,
The Macmillan Company, New York, 1912.

Maclaren, Alexander: Pulpit Prayers , W. J. Doran,
Philadelphia, 1911.

Mott, J. R.: The Secret Prayer Life , Y. M. C. A.,
New York.

ps Murray, A.: With Christ in the School of Prayer ,
Fleming H. Revell Company, Chicago, 1885.

Nyce, A. W. and Bunyea, H.: Grace Before Meals ,
John C. Winston, Philadelphia, 1911.

Paterson, W. P.: The Power of Prayer, The Mac¬
millan Company, New York, 1920.

Phelps, A.: Still Hour , Lothrop, Lee & Shepard
Company, Boston, 1859.

Pratt, J. B.: The Psychology of Religious Belief,
The Macmillan Company, New York, 1907.

The Religious Consciousness , The Macmillan Com¬
pany, New York, 1920.

An Empirical Study of Prayer , American Journal
of Religious Psychology and Education, iv,
1910.

Ransom, W. S.: Studies in the Psychology of Prayer,
American Journal of Religious Psychology and
Education, i, 1904.

Segond, J.: La Priere , Alcan, Paris, 1911.

Sidis, Boris: The Psychology of Suggestion, D.
Appleton & Co., New York, 1889.

Starbuck, E. D.: The Psychology of Religion, Charles
Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1901.

Stratton, G. M.: The Psychology of the Religious
Life , The Macmillan Company, New York, 1912.

242

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

Streeter, B. H.: Concerning Prayer, The Macmillan
Company, London, 1916.

Strong, A. L.: The Psychology of Prayer , Univer¬
sity of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1909.

Torrey, R. A.: How To Pray , Fleming H. Revell
Company, Chicago, 1900.

Trumbull, H.: Prayer: Its Nature and Scope, Flem¬
ing H. Revell Company, Chicago, 1896.

Illustrative Answers to Prayer, Fleming H. Revell
Company, Chicago, 1900.

Woods, J. H.: The Practice and Science of Religion,
Longmans, Green & Co., New York, 1906. »

Worcester, E.: Religion and Medicine, Moffat, Yard
& Co., New York, 1908.

W r undt, W. M.: Vdlkerpsychologie, The Macmillan
Company, New York, 1916.

INDEX OF TOPICS

Attention
Accessories to, 52
Function of, 70
Importance of in prayers of
fellowship, 218
Place of in prayer, 52
Place of in suggestion, 31

Automatism
Nature of, 57
Religious effect of, 59

Buddhism, 225

Christian Psychology, 26

Christian Science

Absent treatment of, 140
Compared with Emmanuel
Movement, 115
Theory of, 114

Coincidence

In answers to prayer, 154
Observation of, 154
Relation of to faith, 81
Relation of to telepathy, 140

Commerce, 233

Complex

Discovery of, 188
Disposition of, 191
Nature of, 182

Conscience

Troubled state of, 163
Effect of in psychoanalysis,
191

Conversion

Contrasted types of, 102
Delayed, 172

Determined by childhood
trends, 185

Divine element in, 103
Parallel cases of, 100
Prayer for, 93
Saint Paul’s, 98
Subconscious element in, 95
Time factor in, 98
Tolstoy’s, 104

Cooperative Prayer
Classification of, 124
Identified forms of, 125
Unrecognized forms of, 137

Description, 22

Devotional Prayer
Nature of, 19
Psychology of, 177, 201

Divine Forgiveness, 196

Education in Prayer, 76

Emmanuel Movement
Methods of, 115
Purpose of, 114

Emotions

Aroused in conversion, 94

Influence of, 59

Relation of to temperament,

121

Stimulus of in revivals, 99
Value of in religion, 232

Explanation, 22
Faith

As surrender, 40, 84
As will, 83

Contrasted with memory, 31
Factors inducing it, 76
Included in suggestion, 30
Independence of, 33, 86
Lack of, 77
Misplaced, 233
Nature of, 31

Stimulative effect of, 32, 83,
95

Want of, 173
Fear, 60

God

Direct impressions of, 148
Ethical fellowship with, 216
Forgiveness of, 196
Immanence of, 23-26, 220
In subconscious response, 91

243

244

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PRAYER

God

Intelligence of, 221
Mystical communion with,2i7
Relation of conception of to
prayer, 90

Relation of to nature, 156
Hypnotism

Power of to stimulate memory,
J 43

Relation of posture to, 55
Use of in cure of cocainism,
138

Use of in cure of moral de¬
fects, 106

Use of in psychoanalysis, 190
Hysteria, 182

Imitation

Definition of, 44
Kinds of, 44

Instincts
Content of, 226
Definition of, 225
Indefiniteness of, 226
Partial list of, 225
Primacy of, 227

Kneeling
Effect of, 56
Practice of, 19, 55

Martyr Spirit, 214

Memory
Definition of, 31
Effect of on faith, 78, 79
Intensified by suggestion, 47
Intimacy of, 79
Results of suppression of, 184
Unconscious form of, 117

Mental Imagery, 12 i

Mental Pathology of Daily
Life, 34

Method of Analogy, 92

Natural Law
Adjustment to, 159
Place of prayer in, 24
Prayers for suspension of, 153
Relation of God to, 24, 156
Religious conflict with, 156

Oral Praying, 61

Petitional Prayer
Answer to, 92
Classification of, 93
Function of, 157
Nature of, 19

Philosophy, 22
Prayer

Classification of, 19
Definition of, 18
Psychological phases of, 20

Prayer Chain, 87

r RAYER FOR THE CURE OF DIS¬
EASE

Illustrations of, no
Psychology of, 108
Range of, in

Prayer for Divine Guidance
Memory aroused by, 117*
Poise achieved by, 116
Voices and visions induced b]
119

Prayer for Ethical Better¬
ment

Example of, 105
Religious factor in, 107
Prayer of Aspiration
Illustrations of, 207 L
Psychology of, 206

Prayer of Communion
Difficulties of, 220
Effects of, 218
Nature of, 215

Prayer of Confession
Psychology of, 193
Value of, 43, 169, 195

Prayer of Consecration
Illustrations of, 209
Prayer of, 208

Prayer of Praise, 196

Prayer of Submission
Prayer of, 212
Range of, 213

Prayer of Thanksgiving, 198
Prayers for the Dead, i, 36

Prayer for Substance and
Action, 125

INDEX OF TOPICS

245

Private Prayer
Value of, 53

Psychoanalysis
Effect of, 43, 169
Freud’s theory and practice
of, 182

Jung’s conception of, 187
Method of, 188
Pathological elements of, 184,
188

Presence of in prayer, 21
Process of, 179

Psychosynthesis

Activity of in religion, 204
Contrasted with psychoanaly¬
sis, 202

Illustrations of, 203
Prayers of, 205

Public Prayer
Examples of, 129
Value of, 54 4**

Questionnaire
Form of, 237
Value of, 17

Relaxation

Lack of in prayer, 117, 171
Place of in suggestion, 38, 40

Religion

Definition of, 149, 224
Instinctive nature of, 224, 228
Primacy of, 227
Source of content of, 226
Universal character of, 225

Rosary

Catholic use of, 65
Natural history of, 65
Roman Catholic history of, 64
Value of, 67, 170

Science

As proposed substitute for
prayer, 229
Limitations of, 234
Method of, 230
Purpose of, 229
Scope of, 22, 26

Sex, 186

Suggestion
Definition of, 28
Elements of, 28
Examples of, 29, 31, 45, 46,
47, 48

Forms of, 41
Law of, 175
Limitations of, 48, in
Negative form of, 168
Present in prayer, 21
Use of in cure of disease, no

Subconscious
Content of, 35
Definition of, 34
Evidences of, 34
Relation of to consciousness,

Results of, 95, 97, 98, 119
Sensitivity of, 142, 143, 146

Telepathy
Definition of, 137
Relation of chance to, 141
Relation of hallucination to,
138

Relation of subconscious regis¬
tration to, 143

Relation of suggestion to, 139
Temperament

Relation of to religious expe¬
rience, 121, 214
Relation of to unanswered
prayer, 166

Unanswered Prayer
Effect of on faith, 79
Sources of, 161

Will

Act of in prayer, 68
As revealed in attention, 70
Effort of, 39, 53
Presence of in prayer, 68
Surrender of, 96

Worship

Definition of, 198
Prayer of, 197

Yoga Cult, 55

INDEX OF NAMES

Allen, Robert, 129
Aristotle, 181
Arnold, Matthew, 94

Bacon, Francis, 82
Baldwin, J. N., 28, 45
Beck, F. O., 55, 158
Beecher, Henry Ward, 130, 131,
193, 197

Biederwolf, W. G., 168
Biven, George D., 202
Book, W. F., 39
Bowne, B. T., 71, 80
Breuer, Joseph, 182
Brill, A. A., 189
Brother Lawrence, 69, 193, 218
Buckham, J. W., 215
Buddha, 86, 100, 101, 102, 103,
226

Bunyea, H., 200
Bushnell, Horace, 186
Butcher, S. H., 181

Cabot, Richard C., 114
Carpenter, W. B., 97, 98, 119
Christ, 24, 26, 53, 77, 83, 89, 95,
103, 127, 134, 168, 209-212,
217

Clark, Charles S., 107

Coe, G. A., 48, 121, 166, 167, 228

Confucius, 86

Coombs, J. V., 107, hi, 114, 140

Coover, J. E., 141

Couden, Henry N., 131, 132

Creek, Jennie, 117

Curtis, H. S., 144

Curtis, O. A., 96

Cutten, G. B., 107

Davenport, F. M., 135
Dessoir, Max, 143
Dionysius, 218
Dominican Father, 67
Donaldson, H. H., 144

Ellis, Havelock, 174

Finney, C. G., 164
Fosdick, H. E., 222
Freud, Sigmund, 182, 183, 185,
188

Goddard, H. H., 109
Gordon, S. D., 161

Hamilton, Sir W. Rowan, 97
Handford, Thomas W., 131, 193,
198

Harlow, W. E., 107
Hensen, F. C., 143
Hoff ding, H., 157
Holmes, E. E., 136, 196

Jackson, Helen Hunt, 153
James, Wm., 29, 62, 71, 84, 224
Jastrow, Joseph, 37, 44, 145, 154
Jesus. See Christ
Jones, Rufus M., 215
Jowett, J. H., 199, 208
Jung, Carl G., 182, 187

King, H. C., 71

Lanphier, J. C., 134
Lehmann, A., 143
Lessing, 198
Lindley, E. H., 58
Luther, Martin, 52, 94, 136

Maclaren, Alexander, 130
McComb, S., 114, 115
McCormick, C. W., 158
McDougall, W., 29
McIntyre, Robert, 165
Mohammed, 48
Morris, J. G., 52
Mott, John R., 53
Muller, F. Max, 55
Muller, George, 126
Mtinsterberg, Hugo, 28, 75, 138
Murray, A., 77, 83, 85
Myers, F. W. H., 88

INDEX OF NAMES

247

Nabonidus, 207
Nachet, M., 97
Neal, E. Virgil, 107
Neriglissar, 207
Noble, E., 46
Nyce, A. W., 200

Oldenberg, H., 101

Parish, E., 121
Phelps, A., 60, 77, 163, 170
Pillsbury, W. B., 57
Pope, Howard W., 117
Pratt, J. B., 17, 117, 215

Quayle, W. A., 159

Rauschenbusch, Walter, 132
Ribot, T., 61, 62
Robertson, P. W., 88
Rogers, R. W., 208

Saint Augustine, 94, 136, 161,
219

Saint Dominic, 64, 65
Saint Paul, 94, 98, 99, 160, 170,
198

Saint Peter, no

Saint Teresa, 61
Shakespeare, Wm., 180
Sidis, Boris, 29, 33, 175
Small, M. H., 47
Socrates, 120, 121, 207
Starbuck, E. D., 37, 84, 93, 94,
229

Stephen, 98

Strong, A. L., 108, 164, 205
Sunday, W. A., 116

Tennyson, Alfred, 180
Tolstoy, 104

Torrey, R. A., 77, 108, 168, 198
Tridon, Andre, 180
Trumbull, H. C., 77, 154
Tylor, E. B., 65

Unbekannt, 88

Wenham, F. H., 97
Woods, J. H., 101, 102
Worcester, E., 82, 114
Wordsworth, W., 180
Wundt, W., 144

Zangwill, I., 66
Zeller, E., 120

k ■

Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library

1 1012 01

025 2767

DATE DUE