Affirmation · “The Subconscious Says Yes”
The Prayer Experiment
To pray a definite, specific prayer, believe it, then honestly observe the result — building faith experimentally, as in a laboratory.
The Prayer Experiment in 5 lines: Pick one small, checkable thing. Clear out ambition, fear, and anger first. Pray it clearly, believe, then “let go and know that God reigns.” Watch honestly what happens — record the misses, not just the hits. Let confirmed wins build faith for the next, slightly larger experiment — and never test prayer against a condition that needs a doctor.
What it is
Glenn Clark approached prayer the way a scientist approaches a law of nature: as something you can test. He believed, in his words’ spirit, that one’s prayers “could be just as scientifically infallible as the laws of physics and chemistry” — and he built the Camps Farthest Out as places he described as “laboratories for experimentation in the art of praying.” The practice is less a ritual than a stance: pick a definite, checkable thing, pray it with real belief, release it, then honestly observe what happens.
Successes build faith; faith steadies the next prayer. It pairs naturally with his governing rule, “To learn how to pray is to learn how to live.”
The Method
A faithful organization of Clark’s experimental stance into steps:
- Choose a definite, observable subject. Not “make everything better,” but one concrete, checkable thing. Begin where belief comes easily so doubt doesn’t fight the prayer.
- Clear the channel first. Clark’s prerequisite: “the clearing of the channel, making ready for the inflow of God’s love” — set down ambition, fear, and anger before you pray.
- Pray it specifically, and believe. State the desire clearly, with genuine faith — then shift from asking to thanking, treating the good as received.
- Release and observe honestly. “Let go, and know that God reigns and we are in His hands”; then note what actually happened, including when nothing did.
- Learn and scale up. Adjust like an experimenter who is studying the laws he prays by; let each verified result let you attempt a slightly larger one. Faith compounds through experience, not by being demanded up front. (Sourcing note: quoted phrases are short excerpts from Clark’s writing and the well-attested Camps Farthest Out description, reproduced from public-domain and CFO sources; the numbered shape organizes his stance.)
Source & Lineage
Glenn Clark (1882–1956), professor, coach, and founder of the Camps Farthest Out, repeatedly framed prayer in the language of athletics and science — “athletes of the spirit,” a “belt of prayer,” camps as praying-laboratories.
The “prayer is a law you can test” idea runs through New Thought (Troward’s “mental science,” Holmes’ “Science of Mind,” Wattles’ “Certain Way”) and the era’s habit of casting metaphysics as exact law; Clark’s contribution was to make it experiential and pastoral — start small, observe, build.
The Traditions' versions
Sanford’s experiment of prayer — the closest cousin: a small, specific prayer, then honest observation, treated as a scientist’s test. → (contrast: Sanford frames it as healing-prayer; Clark as a general law of praying).
- Wattles’ “Certain Way” — a definite, repeatable method held to produce results.
- Fox’s scientific prayer / treatment — applying spiritual “law” deliberately.
- Murphy’s scientific prayer — using the subconscious by a definite, lawful method.
- Hypothesis-testing mindset (WOOP / review) — the secular cousin: set a concrete aim, act, review.
Common refinements
Remembering only the hits. Keep an honest record of misses too, or the “experiment” just confirms what you hoped.
- Starting too big. Begin with low-stakes, believable subjects so doubt doesn’t sabotage it.
- Testing against serious illness. Never withhold or delay treatment to “see if prayer works.”
- Skipping the clearing step. Clark treats clearing ambition, fear, and anger as prerequisite, not optional.
- Faith-blame on failure. A misfire is data, not a verdict on the person’s worth or faith.