Calm in a Storm

Is there anything that can be done when you feel overwhelmed? Yes, you can turn directly to God in prayer and expect to find a state of thought that is peaceful, even when the circumstances around you are not.

Becoming aware of the fact that God, who is perfect Love, is All-in-all, is prayer in action. It follows the example that Christ Jesus set for people to find true peace.

The trust Jesus had in God enabled him to still a violent storm. He was asleep in a boat when it came up. The wind and the waves seemed like terrible threats to the disciples who were with him. They woke Jesus up and asked him if he wasn't worried that they'd perish.

Notice his response: "And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm" (Mark 4:39). Jesus was able to bring calm to the situation because he knew God. And this same spiritual understanding is able to silence any threatening disturbance of human living.

Jesus showed God to be in control. He knew God as all-powerful and ever present. The divine Principle. Our caring Father-Mother, who cherishes us all. This awareness is not just positive thinking. It is built on the law of God. When brought to bear on our lives, this law is provable. It heals. Turning to God for help in time of need is what Jesus always did, and moreover his teachings insist we can do the same. He said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father" (John 14:12). Today, just as in Bible days, relying on God's laws brings quiet.

So, how can you start to learn more about God? The textbook of Christian Science boils it down to this: "The starting-point of divine Science is that God, Spirit, is All-in-all, and that there is no other might nor Mind, - that God is Love, and therefore He is divine Principle" (Pg. 275). This book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," written by Mary Baker Eddy, reveals the nature of God and teaches how to heal in the manner that Jesus did.

Let me share with you an example of something that happened recently to prove to me that praying matters. I stopped by a good friend's office to take her a flowering plant. She was quite upset because she had misplaced an important cashier's check. Searching had not turned it up. She had other things weighing on her mind. And she asked me if I would pray for her.

I found myself becoming very quiet, listening for God's guidance. I asked if she had a pad of paper, and wrote down this verse from the Bible: "Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10). I assured her that she didn't need to depend on her wits to find that check; she could depend on the law of God, divine Principle. I knew that she was not alone - God was with her every moment. I knew that helping to quiet her fear and worry would help her to hear just what she needed to know from God.

I left to go home, and continued to pray for my friend, trusting all to God. She called me that afternoon and said she had turned quietly to God. And about 20 minutes after I had left, the idea came for her to look in a certain drawer, inside an envelope. The cashier's check was there.

We were both delighted. However, my true delight was in seeing evidence of the fact that God is All. That His law was in force. That good itself was in control. Acknowledging God had been a prayer that calmed my friend's thought and stilled the storm of worry. It had been a type of reasoning based on spiritual fact, and its good effects had been provable.

Does peace seem elusive in some way to you? You can change your circumstances by changing your thoughts - by understanding that you are not without God's love or help. The resulting calm you feel will then truly have a solid foundation, a foundation that rests on Principle. We have the ability to be calm right in the middle of any "storm" in life when we know that God is in charge.

You can read other articles like this one in a weekly magazine called the Christian Science Sentinel.