The television sent forth volley after volley of bad news. My husband and I both burst out laughing when a reporter said, "More bad news after this word from our sponsors."
While bad news is nothing to laugh at, if an approach to news is too heavily slanted on the bad side, we may be getting a distorted picture of what is going on. Balancing the bad news with the positive side—the good news—would be more helpful. But we can go much further through scientific prayer. This prayer actually brings healing.
We have the Christian requirement to witness actively to the reality of being; that is, whenever we are presented with discord we should pray to discern the allness and goodness of God right where the troubling situation appears to be. This requirement is hinted at in the command given by Christ Jesus: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
Mark 16:15. The word "gospel" is the translation of a Greek word meaning "good news."
In attempting to fulfill this duty I have sometimes run up against suggestions that I needed to refute before I could get on with spreading the good news. Here are some of them and the truths that helped me counteract them.
- I would love to pray for the world, but I am too busy taking care of my family, keeping up my house, working, or . . . .
What we call "the world," as if it were something outside ourselves, is really "our world," a mental construct responsive to our thinking. Our world needs constant attention just as our home, our family, and our church do. Any disorder or diseased condition that we see as being out in the world is really presenting itself to us for healing. As Mrs. Eddy writes in the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health: "Disease is an image of thought externalized. The mental state is called a material state."
Science and Health, p. 41 1.
It is imperative that we meet any suggestion of discord—no matter where it seems to be coming from—.swiftly, surely, and intelligently.
- I don't need to pray about that situation. All those people have to do is (a) elect a new leader; (b) stop fighting with each other; (c) get to work; (d) stop letting others walk all over them; . . . and their problems will be over.
Of course one or more of these possibilities may be valid. But human theories (economic, theological, philosophical, or scientific) would offer us counterfeit causes and tempt us to outline a simplistic solution as the only answer. This outlook could prevent us from wholeheartedly turning to the real solution to human woes—the healing light of the Christ.
Christ Jesus rebuked this tendency when he healed a blind man. His disciples felt a material cause for the man's blindness would be found in sins either he or his parents had committed. Their "solution" was to pin blame and thus explain the situation according to the theological beliefs of their day. Needless to say, they did nothing to heal the man.
Jesus looked beyond the material, counterfeit explanation, saw the real nature of the individual. "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him,"
John 9:3. the Master declared. His understanding of man's true nature brought about the healing.
If these counterfeit causes and solutions were suggested to us about a dear family member or friend, we would quickly reject any false solution as an impostor, acknowledge the facts of man's spiritual nature and his inseparability from God, and thereby assist the healing.
On the other hand we need to watch that we do not go to the opposite extreme when a world situation needs healing and pray specifically for the individuals involved. Our prayers must be impersonal, that is, correcting our view of man but not addressing the thought of specific persons. Thus in a situation where dishonesty seems rampant, we can know that man, the idea of Principle, God, is always pure and wise. This acknowledgment of the spiritual facts will serve as a law to the situation, without trespassing on the mental rights of those involved.
Since it is possible that our information or opinions about a given situation are incorrect, it is best to let the words of Science and Health be the guide: "The heavenly law is broken by trespassing upon man's individual right of self-government. ... In mental practice you must not forget that erring human opinions, conflicting selfish motives, and ignorant attempts to do good may render you incapable of knowing or judging accurately the need of your fellow-men."
Science and Health, p. 447.
- I've tried praying for the world, but I couldn't get inspired, so I gave up.
Scientific prayer for the world is God-impelled and God-directed. The impulse that leads us to pray in the first place is divine. The suggestion that we then can be uninspired is the imposition of error. We can be certain that this invalid suggestion cannot block the inspiration of Truth.
Praying for the world should generally be prefaced by metaphysical work for oneself. This work can include daily prayer and study of the Lesson-Sermon in the Christian Science Quarterly.
One reason for praying for oneself first is that the problems of the world often seem overwhelming when they are addressed from an unenlightened, uninspired, human standpoint. Work undertaken from this viewpoint too easily seems burdensome and ineffective. Also, the inspirations we gain when praying for ourselves can be very helpful in working for the world. As we pray over world situations, we are seeing that what we have already claimed as true for us is true for all.
For example, our prayers for ourselves might lead to a clearer understanding that man has no Ego or Mind apart from God. This truth applies to world situations as well.
Mind, inseparable from its child, man, is constantly feeding man with spiritual ideas. This man cannot be starved. Our prayerful knowing of this fact helps to bring relief and permanent solutions to those suffering from famine.
Mind, God, always imparts pure, loving thoughts to His idea, man. This man cannot be hopelessly locked into suicidal hatred. Understanding this and claiming it as the law to our world will help to ease tensions in troubled areas.
Mind is the source of man's consciousness, man's home. Spiritual man cannot be driven from the consciousness of omnipresent Mind by beliefs of famine, war, or cruel discrimination, for these have no place in God, good.
These truths, understood and brought to bear on the human situation, expose false beliefs of separation from God, and they heal.
- This problem seems so complicated that I can't get a clear focus on what to pray about.
Mrs. Eddy has provided a valuable tool for focusing on world problems for the purpose of healing: The Christian Science Monitor. The Monitor provides timely information on subjects needing healing. Sometimes the specific cause or causes of a problem will be pinpointed. Other times the need will simply be made known. In either case, the information provided may give us just the clue we need to focus our work. Further research using Concordances to the Bible and to Mrs. Eddy's writings can help lead us to inspired insights.
On occasion the Monitor may present opinions that are contrary to our own. These differences should not be allowed to cloud our recognition of the healing purpose of the Monitor and prevent us from doing needed metaphysical work.
The Monitor is useful as a tool. But there is no substitute for our own inspired communion with God. A prayerful attitude permits us to discern the right spiritual truths for a given situation. Because divine Mind, God, is the only Mind, He is always in focus, never divided or confused. His image, man, reflects this perfect unity of intelligence and wisdom. Understanding this truth permits us to give focused, orderly, and effective Christian Science treatment.
- I am only one person. The problem is too big for my prayers to have an effect.
Remembering that God is the power behind all righteous prayer, we won't hesitate to pray even if we think the problem is large. Very likely we won't be the only ones turning to God for help. But even if we are, our number has nothing to do with the effectiveness of our prayers. The following account illustrates how Christian Science treatment can be effective in bringing light to a situation that seems very large and out of control.
At a sporting event a crowd erupted onto the playing field. Individuals began setting fires, pulling up turf, and wandering about aimlessly, looking for mischief. At first I watched the television with fascination. The sportscasters expressed their dismay over the use of an ill-conceived promotional device to draw a number of young people who apparently had little interest in the sporting event itself. Many who remained in the stands also appeared disturbed at the senseless disruption.
Finally I pulled my attention away from the picture. Although I cannot remember my exact thoughts, I reasoned along these lines: The real man is present right now where this false dream of disruption seems to be. The man of God's creating is inseparable from divine law. He knows only good. The man God made has never stepped down from perfection. He is not confused or led by the carnal mind but is self-governed because he is governed by God.
From the inspiration of these thoughts, I felt certain that order and harmony were the fact. Soon the police came. The people in the stands stood up and applauded as the police formed a line on the field. The crowd dispersed. Individuals from the stands came down and helped the ground crew pick up debris. Order had been restored. To me this was the answer to prayer. I was also grateful to see the love of order that so many of the spectators had displayed, first by refusing to participate in the violence, and second by doing everything they could to help get things back on the right track.
Later I talked with another Christian Scientist who had also seen the event. He too had been praying. At the time, each of us was in his own home, but we both had felt the need to turn to God for a restoration of our sense of harmony. It would not be surprising to hear that others had given it the same attention we did.
- I have prayed diligently about this situation, and yet the problems go unsolved.
Don't give up. When this suggestion tempts us, we might think again of what we would want to do if we or a dear friend were confronted with a stubborn problem. Of course we'd keep praying.
When a difficulty seems unyielding, prayerful insight may lead us to consider the concept of God held by the majority in a particular region or country. The concept that a group holds about God helps to determine its concept of man. In the little book The People's Idea of God, Mrs. Eddy writes, "Periods and peoples are characterized by their highest or their lowest ideals, by their God and their devil."
Peo.,pp. 6-7.
Recurring violence may spring from the view of God as an angry deity, calling for retribution. Repeated injustice aimed at a minority group may point to the majority view that some have been chosen by God but others have not. Famine and lack may hint at a belief of many material gods, none powerful enough to bring needed sustenance. Widespread dishonesty and corruption may have a root cause in the belief that good and evil are in equal balance in the universe and thus both are legitimate. As insights about the underlying sources for prevailing attitudes unfold to us, the counter facts that will bring healing will unfold as well.
When claims of error are systematically rooted out, we should not be surprised to hear that progress is being made on the human scene where before improvement seemed impossible.
As we persistently refute the bad news that presents itself to us, we are healing ourselves of the belief of living in a world outside God. We will find ourselves being lifted to behold the city of God, the New Jerusalem described in the book of Revelation. At the same time we will be helping others to see the same vision. Eventually we will find that there is no more bad news, for of the heavenly city the Bible declares, "There shall be no night there."
Rev. 22:5.
