LOOKING AT OUR WORLD TODAY, what do we see? Are we overwhelmed by the vast problems of war, hunger, social and economic turmoil, and a constantly deteriorating environment because that's what the media constantly project? Are we tempted to believe that while Christian or any other sincere prayer may be effective in our personal lives, humanity's problems are simply too big for any one individual to cope with, however dedicated he or she may be?
Some years ago, I had an experience that showed me how prayer not only helps to leaven world thinking but can bring protection to individuals. I was a member of a team of journalists on The Christian Science Monitor. We had held meetings promoting the Monitor before enthusiastic audiences composed mostly of Christian Scientists in London and other cities in England. On the third day of this tour, Egypt and Syria suddenly attacked Israel. I was assigned to cover the Israeli side of the conflict, while my colleague Geoffrey Godsell was sent to Cairo to cover the Egyptian side.
Although I had reported from war zones, including several assignments in Vietnam, I'd never been in the Middle East. On the plane from London to Tel Aviv, I focused on Mary Baker Eddy's wonderful statement, "One infinite God, good,unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, 'Love thy neighbor as thyself;' annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry,—whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed" (Science and Health, p. 340). One of Mrs. Eddy's great contributions to thinkers is her definition of God as Mind. As I applied this definition to the passage quoted above, I mentally insisted that one Mind did unify men and nations, that one Mind did constitute the brotherhood of man, that He/She did end wars and annul the curse on man. Throughout my month-long stay in Israel, I never failed to gather fresh inspiration from this passage, which I repeated to myself many times a day. I also derived immense comfort from the knowledge that I was not venturing forth alone, that all the people who had attended the Monitor meetings in England were prayerfully supporting the work I was doing in Israel.
