Sitting at the press desk in council chambers, with pad and pen in hand, I'd sometimes roll my eyes as the aldermen made comments and decisions that, in my view, were not very wise or progressive. My job was to write "briefs" (very short articles) for the local paper about city council meetings. I was deeply grateful for the work, but found myself growing increasingly frustrated by the legislative process.

It would be much easier, I thought, to pray about city government if I didn't know so many of the details of what was happening at City Hall. Still, this writing job was an answer to my prayers, and I was certain that God had put me in this position for a good reason. Maybe it was time to pray about my feelings of frustration and futility.

Each day I read Mary Baker Eddy's "Prayer for Country and Church," which is in her book Christian Science versus Pantheism (p. 14). One morning, I realized that this prayer could be applied locally, as well as nationally.

The prayer begins: "Pray for the prosperity of our country, and for her victory under arms. ..." Praying for the prosperity of my community, which had lost several large industries and thousands of jobs in recent years, felt very natural. It also gave me something specific to do to help resolve these problems so prevalent in my city.

As to the "victory under arms," I realized that I could apply this to prayer for our local police force. I asked God to watch over these men and women, and affirmed that they would all be divinely guarded and guided as they went about their daily work.

Further on, the article urges us to pray "that justice, mercy, and peace continue to characterize ... government ..." Again, it seemed natural to acknowledge the presence of these spiritual qualities of God in our local government and to trust that they'd take root and unfold in ways that would benefit the city and its workers.

"Pray that the divine presence may still guide and bless our chief magistrate, those associated with his executive trust. ..." At first, affirming that God would guide and bless our mayor and his staff felt merely like words rolling off my tongue. But soon the deeper meaning of those words sank in, and this prayer gave me great peace and satisfaction. In addition, I feel the change in thought that came about as a result of my prayer led to my having a good working relationship with the mayor. I grew to have much respect for him and his devotion to improving our city.

"... give to our congress wisdom. ..." I asked God to give our aldermen wisdom, and prayerfully acknowledged that the one God, who is the only Mind, would intelligently and thoughtfully govern their motives, decisions, and actions.

It soon became clear that my most important work was not taking notes at the meetings, but prayer, which would sustain our government. Before each meeting, I'd ask God, "What is my spiritual purpose here? What is the real story here? What is the spiritual fact?" Discerning the spiritual fact was a terrific help in focusing my prayers, and it also made my writing much easier.

Three years after starting that job, I moved on to new writing opportunities. But looking back, I see many tangible proofs of progress.

Several commercial and residential properties that had been abandoned and derelict for many years were sold to developers and homeowners. New industries and businesses moved into the city. After 25 years of effort by a local historical group, the city approved its first ordinance designed to protect the community's historical structures.

Also, several state grants allowed the city to undertake major improvements to streets and parks. Another large grant enabled the city to buy new police cars and hire several more police officers.

Those city council meetings, I learned, were important, but they were not the main event. Praying for our city was the main event, and the city's progress was the natural outcome.

Rosemary Fuller Thornton