Every summer in arid places and increasingly in other places all over the world, fire season is a dreaded time of concern and heightened fear for residents and firefighters alike. My family lives in an area often afflicted by fires. The anguish and devastation sometimes experienced by my neighbors have prompted me to turn to God in urgent and fervent prayer. In seeking to heal and remedy the suffering of so many owing to wildfires, I’ve sought to understand the laws of God and how they are available to quench inflammation and prevent catastrophic wildfires.
I’m convinced that the truth of God’s omnipotent law, the law of Love, can be effectively applied to alleviate suffering from wildfires and other environmental issues—even reverse climate change—as surely as it can alleviate pain and inflammation in the body. These may seem to be grand claims. But the fact that we are not helpless in the face of seemingly overwhelming problems has been proven many times. It is illustrated throughout the Bible, in the history of Christianity, and in the practice of Christian Science during the last 150 years, including in my own experience.
For example, Jesus calmed a violent storm that threatened the lives of his disciples during a boat journey across the Galilean Sea. His understanding of God’s presence and power gave him the authority to rebuke the wind and command the sea, “Peace, be still.” And the Bible tells us “the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39). St. Paul also proved the power of prayer to protect not only himself but others on board ship—in his case, 276 people in all—during a violent and prolonged storm at sea (see Acts, chap. 27). He received assurance from “the angel of God” that there would be no loss of life from this seemingly hopeless situation. And so it proved.
