Prayer for good government

Joyce E. Boshler

One day a dear friend asked me, "The Bible tells us to pray for those in positions of leadership and for the peaceful resolution of differences. But how can I know which side is right?"

The answer that came to me was that prayer for our government is not a matter of determining which individuals are right or wrong, or of siding with one and defeating the other. The solution to any problem is not in the problem but in the understanding that God, good, is All-in-all, and that man is His spiritual idea.

God, the divine Principle of all being, governs every one of His ideas in every circumstance. We can all be obedient to this all-loving Principle instead of allowing human will, personal loyalties, or ambition to motivate us. When we trust in this Principle, which guides only to good, we are able to resolve any problem and regain harmony.

This same concept applies to our prayer for government. In truth, each of us is God's idea—His own creation, man. To express qualities of God such as goodness, truth, wisdom, and love is natural. The members of our government—who, in reality, are also God's ideas—can respond to prayers that affirm their true, spiritual nature. And when we pray in this way, we aren't praying for a particular human outcome—we are praying for God's will to be done.

Sometimes it isn't easy to do this, especially when we have strong feeling about what the human solution should be! But trusting in God's government is essential. It frees us from limitations and unreliability of the human mind and opens us up to the infinite possibilities of the divine Mind, God. Prayer is not an effort to change or manipulate matter or persons. Rather, it includes a denial of anything that would make us believe that creation is material, composed of fragmented thoughts and beings who are inherently at war with each other. Prayer also includes affirmation of the allness and goodness of the divine Mind. Science and Health declares, "Be firm in your understanding that the divine Mind governs, and that in Science man reflects God's government (p. 393).

We can affirm that in truth man is amenable only to divine Principle; he cannot be manipulated by special interests or bias. We can deny the mistaken belief that man, the idea of God, can become entangled in any appearance of despotic control, dishonesty, corruption, or sin of any sort. Such misconceptions cannot overshadow the spiritual qualities of goodness, purity, equality, completeness, and unselfishness that truly identify us, and out-weigh all else.

We can gain much strength from the thought that it is God's law that ultimately governs. This is a good law that by its very nature must bless everyone. Psalm 19 explains this law and what it does: "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes" (verses 7, 8). Nothing can be added to this law that does not already exist, and no right can be taken away.

But does the prayer of faith and spiritual understanding actually influence and transform human government? It does! It had brought mankind out of the dark ages, established freedom and democracy, won wars and vanquished oppressors. And it will continue to do so, no matter how intractable the problems of a particular government may seem to be.

The voice of Truth can be heard today as surely as it was by the patriarchs, prophets, Christ Jesus, and the apostles. It can be heard and heeded in offices and boardrooms, in legislatures, parliaments, and halls of justice the world over. Our task is to let it guide our thoughts and acts, and let it meet our every need.

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CHRISTIAN SCIENCE SENTINEL

November 3, 1997

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