WHEN THE NASA ROVERS Spirit and Opportunity returned their first photos from the surface of Mars in January 2004, I rejoiced in gratitude. Eighteen months before, as an engineering manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, I led daily meetings to oversee efforts to complete and test the high-tech cameras each rover carries. I also supported my staff's work with prayer, knowing that God, Mind, governed all of the project's activities, down to the smallest details.
Because of the technical challenges of the landing phase of the mission, this prayerful work continued long after the rovers were launched. Whenever a "mission failure" scenario was discussed, I prayed to establish the dominion of divine intelligence, knowing that accuracy is a universal, divine quality—not dependent upon physical location. Now, more than six years after landing on Mars—and well beyond their design life—these cameras, and the rovers that carry them, are still returning significant science data about Mars.
One thing is clear: I wasn't praying for specific solutions to engineering problems. I was praying in much the same way as I would if I were looking for a resolution to a health, relationship, financial, or world issue, affirming that God's intelligence and resourcefulness are reflected by everyone.
