When we think of issues facing mankind as this century closes and another begins, there is probably none that seems more chronic or discouraging than the needs of the developing nations. Hunger, lack of clean water, the unrelenting burden of debt, the displacement of millions of refugees, and the ravages of disease and war have been incapacitating not only for the victims but often too for those who would try to help. For all the efforts being made in behalf of the developing world, there is the unsettling sense that little is breaking through the enormous problems.
How can Christianly scientific prayer effectively and consistently rebel against the things that are placing whole populations in bondage? And more fundamentally, how do we know that prayer does any good?
Some who have worked most effectively in developing countries indicate that, in some ways, rebuilding a country is no less and no more a task than rebuilding individual lives. While the collective problems seem greater because of the numbers of people involved, the basis of the solution is the same. So much of real progress depends on enabling individuals to discover their innate dignity and integrity, as well as the freedom and courage to act on that.
