I recall the evolution of prayer in my own life. First I prayed for things; then, there began to come within me a deep longing for a greater Something; at first I did not know for what. One Sunday morning when I was ten or eleven years old, all of the family were at church; I went out into the garden, and walked up and down between two old-fashioned flower beds, gay with flowers that my mother loved. I can see again the glow of sunshine that flooded the garden; it was there that I had my first deep religious experience. I prayed, "Oh, Father, make me good; I want to know You -- to come close to You, Father." The aspiration [130] which awoke in my heart that morning is the fundamental aspiration of my life today; this great desire underneath every act of my life, this aspiration to get closer to God, has been a constant experience. God answered my prayer; although I could not see then in what way the answer would come. This desire within me to know God has been steadily realized; it is supreme above everything in my life.

Our prayers are answered; the fundamental things come to us in answer to our deeper prayers; while those things which are not essential, and do not further our development in deeper realization are withheld. Prayer prepares us for bigger things. That which is best for our development comes to us by the eternal working of the Law of Life. At one time I prayed for light; and light came. I felt that I was touching God; I was alive in God. I am living my answered prayer now. I do not ask