A KIDNAPPING IN IRAQ—SUDDENLY IT WASN'TABSTRACT ANYMORE

BY ROSALIE E. DUNBAR

Like many people, I've read about the people taken hostage in Iraq. And while I've felt that such actions are deeply wrong, and have often prayed, the concept itself was always abstract.

Until today, when I found out that a journalist I'm familiar with had been kidnapped while in her car in Iraq. Suddenly, it wasn't an abstract concept anymore.

Prayer is still the best weapon in my arsenal, and so I plan to use it on her behalf, and for all other hostages.

In the world today, many innocent people have been violently taken by others in the midst of conflict. History shows that the spiritual faith that some have had has produced remarkable results both sustaining them during and in delivering them from captivity.

One story I find especially meaningful in the context of this recent kidnapping is the account in the Bible of how Peter was released from his shackles by an angel and led out of the prison to freedom. He thought it was a dream—until it became inescapably apparent that he was free (see Acts, chap. 12).

An interesting aspect of the account of Peter's experience is that members of the church were praying for him. For me, this is just one of the many examples throughout history of the fact that prayer for others makes a difference for them. It isn't just an intellectual exercise that makes us feel better in the midst of anxiety. It has results.

Mary Baker Eddy, whose work is at the heart of this website, was well acquainted with the power of truth to transcend time and space. A healer who followed in the footsteps of Christ Jesus, she knew that prayer was effective, even for those who were far away.

In her landmark book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, she wrote: "The 'still, small voice' of scientific thought reaches over continent and ocean to the globe's remotest bound. The inaudible voice of Truth is, to the human mind, 'as when a lion roareth.' It is heard in the desert and in dark places of fear" (p. 559).

That voice of Truth provides comfort to those who are kidnapped and "in dark places of fear." It provides comfort to those of us who love them and who know that only the touch of the Christ—the love of God that Jesus exemplified—can be there with them.

This love is powerful and sustaining; it gives a strength that nothing else can provide—for us and for them. We can trust it, no matter what the outcome.

The power of Truth is always active, and it is always on the side of good.

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This article first appeared on www.spirituality.com.

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