How do we answer this question? If “Yes,” then we are doing our part, and all will benefit from our prayers. But if we answer “No,” then we could benefit from taking up this challenge to pray for the world.
Often a reason for not doing something comes from the suggestion “I have too much on my plate now to take on anything else.” But if we’re thinking about the world at all, we can think rightly—spiritually—about it, and it doesn’t necessarily take a lot of time to do that. The world does need from us periods of time dedicated to quiet prayer and nothing else. But during our day sometimes a moment or two is all it takes to reverse a false belief that comes to thought, and affirm the truth.
One way to start is by knowing that there is only one Mind, because there is only one God. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, makes this statement in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: “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”
(p. 340).
Doesn’t that cover everything and everyone? In praying, it is important to perceive spiritually, to know, that God expresses Himself through all of His creation and that there is no conflict among His ideas. It’s our right and duty to see all individuals as God sees them. The first chapter of Genesis tells us God created man in His image and likeness (see verses 26, 27). Then it goes on to say, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (verse 31).
By affirming these truths, we include everyone in our prayers. Seeing man as God made him, wholly good and expressing the qualities of divine Love, can be challenging if others are acting in an aggressive manner. But that is when our prayers are most needed.
Prayer that acknowledges God as in control of all of His creation embraces everyone in the presence and power of God’s goodness and defuses destructive thoughts and motives. Man is God’s reflection, and a reflection has no choice but to be like the original. We have the supreme privilege of seeing ourselves and all mankind as man truly is—God’s reflection, subject only to His laws of goodness and love.
