Prayer for more universal good

The Bible is full of remarkable accounts of people who looked to God for direction, then acted upon His instruction for the greater good. Such accounts show us the way to a more spiritual life, in which we find we are constantly sustained by the good qualities that God, the divine Spirit and Mind, brings forth.

Bible accounts illustrate how God’s care comes through even in the face of human oppression and doom. For example, Moses glimpsed a sense of safety that opened a way forward for the children of Israel, bringing them through the Red Sea and assuring them that they would reach the Promised Land, even when circumstances seemed dire (see Exodus 13). Later in the Bible, when St. Paul boarded a ship with others, he advised them not to set sail due to potential danger. Although the people didn’t listen, Paul assured them that God would still protect them through the storm. And He did (see Acts 27).

Both of these stories (and countless others in the Bible) show that an awareness, even in small degree, of God’s love for His creation helps us discern spiritual guidance, which can cut through the chaos of mortality or the noise of physical circumstances, and bring out more of God’s power and love in our lives.

In light of global troubles today comes the need to awaken from a focus on human whims and turmoil to a more spiritual focus, based on spiritual reality, which enables us to do more good. The discoverer of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, explains: “In Science, you can have no power opposed to God, and the physical senses must give up their false testimony. Your influence for good depends upon the weight you throw into the right scale. The good you do and embody gives you the only power obtainable” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 192).

Last winter, my family decided to take a trip to the mountains. Not only did it turn out to be a time of intense weather conditions, but also, I couldn’t put aside my concerns about things like the war in Ukraine and the pandemic. I found myself thinking, What a vulnerable world we live in! By the time we got to our hotel, I was feeling ill, feverish, and shaking.

Because I have found practical help from the messages in the Bible, I turned to these lessons again. When troubles arise, it can be tempting to believe that we, and our world, are susceptible to the whims of human minds. But as Moses, Paul, and others in the Bible – above all, Christ Jesus – showed, God is the one maintaining good, and He holds us safe as His children, or spiritual expressions. As Jesus proved throughout his ministry, recognizing this heals disease and discord.

After praying with these ideas into the night, I knew I was going in a good direction. By morning, I was feeling good physically, and I also felt new inspiration in my prayers about world problems.

Facing and overcoming, through prayer, the mental and physical battles we find ourselves in helps us realize that God is always here to lead us to victory – to the healing and harmony that come from glimpsing everyone’s true, spiritual nature as children of God. This carries us through to be the helpers needed for wider victories over evil.

It requires a willingness to yield to the divine Mind’s spiritual way. This might mean we have to shake off our own self-focused visions of how things should look and happen – much like the children of Israel, wandering in the desert in search of a promised land, or those on the ship with Paul, who thought they were on a good enough path.

The full renewal of thought may come in little bits. But our need for these new insights to realize God’s promise for us will bring us closer to the love of divine Mind. Then we are naturally led to ways we can promote universal goodness, because as God’s creation we are naturally good.

The story of spiritual seekers is one of uncovering a more divine basis, where our lives and well-being are sustained by divine Mind and include the responsibility of discerning more of God’s goodness toward everyone. At times it can feel like a fight with material, mortal thinking. But God communicates the spiritual thoughts needed to see the way clear, healing us and enabling us to support universal good.