His angels carried the message

A FRIEND of mine called from overseas, telling me he was suffering from a strange malady. He asked if I would help him through prayer in Christian Science. In prayer I realized that God is the only creator and that all that He made is perfect and good. No disease has a place or power in God, or in God's man. God loves His offspring and is always present, regardless of the circumstances. The next day a cable arrived from my friend, saying he was better but asking that I continue to pray. As I prayed, a conviction came of the need for rejoicing, for an uplifting of thought that would come from singing hymns from the Christian Science Hymnal. The Psalmist sang, ``Praise ye the Lord: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.'' 1 My first thought was to see how I could reach my friend; mail was too slow. I found that the cable had been sent from a downtown store in this faraway city. Then I realized that since the inspiration to sing hymns was a direct answer to my prayer, and was God's message, he could receive the message directly from God; His angels would deliver it. Sometime later my friend told me he had felt impelled to sing hymns, which he did through the night, and his healing came. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, defines ``angels'' as ``God's thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality.'' 2 Man, who is never for an instant separated from God, is always in the company of angels, God's spiritual thoughts. There are times when we are seeking divine guidance and we suddenly know what we must do. This is spiritual intuition, His angel. God's angels are as present with us today as they were when God spoke to the men and women of Bible times. At the most critical point in Jesus' mission, when he was arrested before the crucifixion, one of the disciples retaliated with violence. The Master rebuked him with these words: ``Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?'' 3 No matter what situation we may be facing, we too have access to a legion of angel thoughts, leading and sustaining us, showing us His love and constant care. Prayer is an important way to open our thought to God's messages. Listening, of itself, is an important part of prayer. Prayer in its truest sense is not a mere rush of words and familiar truths. It involves spiritual stillness, mental listening for God's thoughts. Spiritual thoughts comfort, and they often come to us as words from the Bible or from a hymn. Listening to and heeding the message, we are led to do the right thing at the right time and in the right way. Prayer includes the calm knowing of what God is, and what man is; it includes the realization that God is Life, Truth, and Love, and that man as His image is inseparable from Him--always safe in His love and care. As a result of such prayer, we're more conscious of His presence and open to His wise direction. Noah, whom we read about in the Bible, was certainly receptive to God's direction when he built an ark. Noah listened and was obedient, and as a result, he and all who were with him were saved from the flood. As we listen and are obedient, we will see God's love and constant care. God's thoughts, His angels, are with us wherever we are, showing us what we must do and how to do it. These wise ideas do not come ``out of the blue'' but derive from the infinite, divine source of all wisdom and goodness. 1 Psalms 147:1. 2 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 581. 3 Matthew 26:53.