Article November 1, 2004 Issue

Conflict impels prayer. When opinions collide on the world stage, and people feel their safety at risk, they begin to reach beyond themselves for comfort and resolution.

GOD IS MY REFUGE

BY PATRICIA KADICK

More and more there's acknowledgment that prayer is a way to cope with conflict—a way to quell fear and insure safety. Recently I spoke with people from a variety of traditions about their prayers and how they seek to go beyond simply saying words, to nurturing a deep trust in God whatever the situation. Following are some of the conversations and prayers I was privileged to hear. Also stories that inspire trust, whatever faith tradition—and may help inform prayer as we tend the gardens of gratitude for the Divine's protection and care. Running throughout is evidence of humble willingness to rely on God and to acknowledge that His/Her power is trustworthy and accessible. Prayer "pressed down and running over." Not just for safety in the middle of gunfire, but for families at home where shots of a different kind may be fired.

Knowing where to start in your prayer can be tough. Not surprisingly, others feel as I have—mentally on their knees, praying that their lives serve the greater good, and trusting the outcome to God. The 91st Psalm weaves through my thought. Yet it's Jesus' Prayer, and Mary Baker Eddy's discussion of it, that impel my prayers today. Particularly these lines:

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