Article April 1, 1985 Issue

Let prayer replace "if only"

JAYNE ANN MOODY

Have you ever found yourself thinking, "Oh, if only ..."? If only I didn't have this physical difficulty, or a problem with my weight, or financial trouble. If only I had a better job. This kind of thinking is not as harmless as it may seem, since it is a virtual affirmation that we have no control over the circumstances that confront us. And to fantasize solutions to our problems is to waste precious opportunities to do the kind of constructive thinking that can bring real progress.

How much more productive and uplifting is the deep, prayerful desire to express in our lives the spiritual dominion, true health, and harmony that come from God. Through prayer we can begin to realize something of the omnipotent law of God; for God is divine Principle, having the power to deliver mankind from every kind of trouble. Speaking of God as the proven Principle of scientific mental healing, Mrs. Eddy states in Science and Health, "This apodictical Principle points to the revelation of Immanuel, 'God with us,'—the sovereign ever-presence, delivering the children of men from every ill 'that flesh is heir to.' "^{Science and Health, p. 107.}

When Christ Jesus silently or audibly communed with God, he indulged in no vain fantasies about the sick and the sinners who turned to him for healing. With definitive power and authority he realized the kingdom of God, or presence and reign of God, within the one in need. We might say that he saw the individual who sought healing as spiritual, therefore already complete, healthy, and whole. He fed multitudes, healed, raised the dead, by understanding the truth, including the fact that the activity of divine Love and Life is ongoing, unceasing. Such breadth of spiritual realization brings salvation to the human condition.

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