Prayer for All Mankind

It is natural for those who are awake to the healing power of God revealed in Christian Science to want the whole world to be blessed by it. Their heartfelt longing is expressed in the "Daily Prayer" given by Mrs. Eddy in the Manual of The Mother Church. One sentence of this prayer is, "And may Thy Word enrich the affections of all mankind, and govern them!" ^{Man., Art. VIII, Sect. 4 ;}

"All mankind" is a great number of people—somewhere in the region of four thousand million on this planet at this time. Each one of these people is an individual who has unique life experience, his own thoughts and way of expressing them, his own joys and satisfactions, his own needs. Our daily prayer for them all, expressed in general terms, that the Word of God, divine Love, may enrich and govern their affections and lives will do much to ensure that the benefits of the inheritance of the sons of God to which they are entitled will develop in their experience. But, more than that, although we would not pray for individuals unless they request this spiritual help, except in an emergency, we can usefully entertain in thought truths that will help groups of people who are victims of particular forms of discord.

Mrs. Eddy once wrote, "Three times a day, I retire to seek the divine blessing on the sick and sorrowing, with my face toward the Jerusalem of Love and Truth, in silent prayer to the Father which 'seeth in secret,' and with childlike confidence that He will reward 'openly.'" ^{Miscellaneous Writings, p. 133 ;}

If we trace a finger over the map of the world, we may pause on the outline of certain countries and think compassionately of the people who live in them. We may remember their social and economic problems, as well as their sickness and sorrow, the challenges of governmental unrest, war, disease, calamitous climatic conditions, crop failures, and, in some cases, even famine in which hundreds die daily. Surely, as we ponder these pictures of stark need and suffering of many sections of the vast family of mankind, we must realize that our prayer for the world can be more than the cursory repetition of one sentence in the early morning of each day. We can also pray to meet the need of these people who, according to the daily newspapers, have problems that are especially acute.

For instance, the Maharashtra State of India, where drought conditions exist for months on end almost every year. When the monsoon fails, farmers and their families flock into the already overcrowded city of Bombay, and the consequent pitiful hunger and distress evoke the world's compassion and generous response in terms of money and relief supplies.

Experience shows that more is needed than temporary relief from hunger and thirst in such a situation. A few shiploads of grain rushed to a stricken city, a shuttle service of tanker trucks organized to take water to parched farming areas, work relief projects established to provide a means of securing at least a scanty livelihood for unemployed agricultural laborers—these can help to care for immediate requirements. But the perennial anxiety remains that recurring famine conditions are just around the corner, and this will be eliminated only when the Word of God, divine intelligence, is seen to be enriching the affections of the people involved. Then their understanding of the presence of abundant spiritual substance will forever eliminate lack from their human experience.

When Christ Jesus was confronted by a hungry multitude, he rejected the disciples' proposal to send the people away to buy themselves food in the neighboring shopping centers. Instead, the Master said, "They need not depart; give ye them to eat." Then he did for the others what he always did for himself—he prayed, blessing the human situation through the spiritual understanding of God's love. Thus, through his prayer, the hunger of that multitude was met—"They did all eat, and were filled." ^{Matt. 14:16, 20 .} And the whole incident was so satisfying that it has inspired mankind in all generations to this day.

It is within our power to help meet humanity's needs through the Christ, the true idea of God, as Jesus did. We too can pray to the divine Father of all, confident not only that He has already met those needs abundantly, but that the very knowing of this divine fact will open the way for multitudes to be satisfied in human experience.

Whether the challenge is a condition of famine in India, or distress brought about in America by a hurricane, or in Africa by political and social change, Christian Science, the Science of true, spiritual being governed by God, the divine Principle, Love, can help us to heal humanity's misery. We need not fear to listen to and read reports of world events, in dread that these will give us mentally more to meet than we can handle. We can be confident that our daily prayer for the enrichment of "the affections of all mankind" will do much to uplift the thought of multitudes, and to help and heal them.