Praying for the world

The Psalmist says, “O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches” (Psalms 104:24). Often, the picture the world presents seems at odds with this description. In order to pray effectively for the world, we need to be alert to which picture we’re accepting as true—do we see a place of discord, lack, confusion, hatred, disaster, and death? We have biblical authority for challenging this view: “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:3). Here, the writer points us to the divine and only creation, made by God, who, from eternity, has created it complete and “very good” (see Genesis 1:1, 31).

Through this spiritual understanding we can behold true creation, which expresses God’s harmony, abundance, intelligence, love, and wisdom, right where the discordant picture appears. 

The understanding that creation is perfect and complete, eternally cherished in divine Mind, is the foundation for our prayers. And because we are the reflection of Mind, we know what God knows, which means we can turn to God in every circumstance for the true picture. When our thought is filled with this true, spiritual view, we are able to see and know His creation and rejoice in it, rejecting as a material misconception any discord that seems to oppose it. The only and always-present reality there is comes from God. As Mrs. Eddy writes, “All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 468). We can trust in this, and turn our thought fully to God, expecting to receive the understanding we need to pray effectively.

Through this spiritual understanding we can behold true creation, which expresses God’s harmony, abundance, intelligence, love, and wisdom, right where the discordant picture appears. Again, Mrs. Eddy provides clarity on this point: “… harmony is universal, and discord is unreal” (Science and Health, p. 414). We can all pray for the world and its inhabitants with the inspiration gained each day from a better understanding of the spiritual nature of God’s creation. As our thought is spiritualized, we understand more fully what Science and Health states: “Divine metaphysics, as revealed to spiritual understanding, shows clearly that all is Mind, and that Mind is God, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience,—that is, all power, all presence, all Science” (p. 275). We have our Pastor’s authority, then, to know that the spiritual universe is the only universe; there are not two—one spiritual and one material, or one that is material and will some day become spiritual. Our prayers for the world can rest on the fact that all is, right now, the manifestation of Mind and remains eternally intact. 

Our prayers for the world can rest on the fact that all is, right now, the manifestation of Mind and remains eternally intact.

All creation, including man—including you and me—is the infinite manifestation of God and His attributes, which are expressed continuously in all the works He has created. God is in control of every aspect of His creation, and we can keep our thought filled with the truth that man, government activities, and the natural world can increasingly reflect the harmony of divine Mind, as God’s government is understood. Material sense suggests that the world is in its grasp and that at any minute any aspect of that world can be threatened. Spiritual sense tells us that all expresses the imperishable glory of God. This is the understanding we must increasingly bring to our prayers for the world in order to pray effectively.

The Bible says: “O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth … For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised” (Psalms 96:1, 4). And Science and Health tells us: “When we learn the way in Christian Science and recognize man’s spiritual being, we shall behold and understand God’s creation,—all the glories of earth and heaven and man” (p. 264). Let’s go forward to see this world, and pray each day with the understanding that the truth is available to all to heal the world’s challenges.