Article February 28, 2000 Issue

Prayer that disarms violence

What I did when gunmen invaded my workplace

By James Scott Rosebush

There was a commotion in the hallway outside my office. Initially, I chalked it up to the noise of a cleaning crew, but since this was the middle of the afternoon, I grew more curious. Not long after that, we were all told to lock ourselves in our offices because our floor had been commandeered by gunmen who were attempting to take the president of our company hostage.

Alone, frightened, and instructed to stay in my office behind the desk, I had two resources at hand. One was a telephone, which I used to call a Christian Science practitioner to pray for my personal safety and for the security of all our employees. The other resource was my own appeal to the law of God to disperse this violence peacefully.

Although I don't remember now just how fast things happened, I know that my appeal to God developed quickly along several fronts. The first was my desire to replace intense fear with confidence in God and His ability to keep me and my colleagues safe. This included a strong petition for the safety of our president.

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