it may not be impossible for us, by the light of New Church truth, to form some idea of the law of Divine order which is here called into operation, and of the mode in which the act of praying for others produces effect.
We are already aware, that the effect of prayer on ourselves is to open our minds to Divine and heavenly influences, and thus to produce a fuller reception of truth and good from the Lord. But now, in praying for others, what is our state of mind? let us consider: as, for instance, in the act of praying for those that "despitefully use and persecute" us, as the Lord commanded. The first effect, plainly, will be to benefit our own hearts; a spirit of forgiveness will be induced, and our state of love and kindness strengthened and enlarged; and with this spirit of forgiveness and charity will come heavenly peace, and a feeling of full trust in the Lord's protection. This will be the first beneficial result. But will the effect stop here? Will there not an influence pass from us to the spirits of those for whom we pray? In the spiritual world, the world of mind—it is to be remembered there is no distance. It matters not where upon the earth, whether in the same house or in a distant city, may be the person for whom we are lifting up our hearts in prayer: in the act of thinking of him thus earnestly he is brought spiritually near to us; for thought—as we are instructed by the New Church Doctrine—is spiritual presence. He is in spirit, as it were, standing before us. Will not, then, from the gentle, kind, and forgiving state in which we are while in this act of
