Drought relief on the prairie
There we were—running across a rocky meadow, stumbling through tall grass, pushing against gusts of wind. Drought had made the grass tinder dry, and smoke from a fire sparked by a firecracker was billowing above the prairie. The fire was about one quarter of a mile away from my relative's ranch complex. Well aware of how serious this fire could be in the high plains of Colorado, we would do whatever we could to stop the flames before they burned out of control.
As I ran, the words "God's government" kept roaring through my thought. In my panic I didn't realize it was a healing message from God until it became so insistent that I had to pay attention. It was then that a passage from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy came to mind. It was the spiritual description of wind, which states: "That which indicates the might of omnipotence and the movements of God's spiritual government, encompassing all things" (p. 597 ).
Still running, I reasoned that if God is all-powerful, His government could be no less potent than He Himself is. And if God is good, it follows that His governing of His creation must heal, restore, and protect, but never destroy with anger. God's government must have an effect that's as good as its spiritual source. Furthermore, because God is always present, His healing law must be available in every situation. And like its source, divine law must be trustworthy and protective. I reasoned that just as a breeze flows around everyone and everything in its path, God's governing law must encompass all things with the all-embracing goodness of divine Love, God's nature.
Suddenly I was no longer afraid. By the time we reached the flames, the wind had shifted, the fire had turned inward on itself, and died out so abruptly that dry grass leaning where flames had leaped into the air wasn't even singed. Embers still smoldered, but along with the change in wind direction, a gentle rain came that thoroughly doused any fear that the flames would flare up again.
Was it just coincidence? Was it mere luck that the direction of the wind changed at just the right time and brought much-needed rain? Some might think so. I don't. Those calming, powerful ideas that raced into my thought were so comforting that I felt an unspeakable peace encompassing me. I felt fear drain away even before I knew the danger was over. The prayer that had reached my heart would reach my need, and I knew it. Yes, I was still running, but my steps were no longer an out-of-breath struggle to get to the scene before the fire threatened animals and buildings in its path. Now those steps were leaps of joy and confidence—I knew that everyone and everything was under God's control. Safe. Loved. Protected.
When faced with weather extremes and their consequences, you may think you are a helpless victim with no control. But the Scriptures dispute that concept. They tell us that God gave His children the ability to subdue danger and to subjugate the terror it instigates. When you're confronted with dangerous or unstable conditions, you have an effective means of maintaining your God-given ability to prevail—prayer. Even on the run!
To me, prayer is not a mental cave where we run to escape problems. It's the active, vigorous affirmation of the presence and power of God in every situation. Through prayer, you recognize spiritual law in your midst, and you are able to see practical results—effective and right at hand. Prayer enables anyone to annul the cruelty of deprivation and danger.
Consider how the Scriptures emphasize the presence and healing power of God's government in the direst conditions. Moses led the Israelites through a wilderness of intimidating circumstances, yet every challenge he faced had its answer in the prayer that acknowledged the law of God to heal. Even water was found in that dry country—enough to satisfy everyone, including animals.
The prophet Elijah was threatened and had to run for his life, yet he found that power was not in the earthquake, wind, and fire, but in the "still small voice"—which to me is the healing law of God (see I Kings 19:11, 12 ). The greatest example of all was Jesus, who affirmed the right of anyone to heal and to follow the way he blazed.
One of the spiritual facts that Jesus proved was that God, through His healing law, meets human needs in beneficial, not destructive, ways.
Jesus stilled storms. He showed that rains do not have to come in deluges that erode and destroy.
Christian Science affirms the healing laws of the Bible, explains them, and shows how anyone can understand and put these laws into effect in his or her own life. These divine laws of good reach our hearts with comfort and love, rippling outward to meet our needs. God's promises can be trusted. As the Bible states: "My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass" (Deut. 32:2 ).
