Did Mary Baker Eddy write it? “Prayer for oneself”

We receive many questions about a statement titled “Prayer for Oneself.” It begins: “I thank thee Father-Mother God that neither ignorant, fraudulent, nor malicious mortal mind can reach me.”

We have been unable to locate any evidence showing that Mary Baker Eddy is the author of this statement. Neither do we know who the author is.

The prayer was first published in 1958, in Richard Oakes’s book Course in Divinity and General Collectanea (sometimes known as the “blue book”). This book is primarily made up of materials assembled by Gilbert Carpenter and his son Gilbert C. Carpenter, Jr. However, Oakes himself appears to have added “Prayer for Oneself.”

Another Ask a Researcher blog post gives more information about the “blue book” and the “red book.”

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