Article September 25, 1989 Issue

Disarming evil

THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

NOT long ago a macabre report of murder on the Mexico-Texas border was in the news. We were told that the crimes had been committed by a drug-smuggling gang practicing the occult and engaging in demonic worship. Such acts are so grotesque that they may leave us shocked and feeling almost helpless. Some people may tune them out entirely, while others may conclude there is little one can do to prevent such tragedies.

But there is something meaningful we can do. We can pray. Prayer isn't an escapist way of avoiding the bad things in life. It's the most effective means we have for confronting the fatalism that would let wrong operate unchecked in our lives. When we turn our thoughts to the supremacy of divine power, prayer disarms evil by dispelling fear, defeatism, grief—whatever would keep us resigned to acts of evil. It frees us to take the necessary steps to stop wrongdoing.

The Bible is rich with examples of how an increased awareness of God's omnipotence frees one from danger. People in the Bible overcame what appeared to be overwhelming circumstances through a clearer recognition of God's supreme power. Moses, Elijah, and Daniel, to name a few, attributed power and reality to God rather than to the evils they faced.

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