Article April 24, 2006 Issue

'MIGHTY THROUGH GOD'

Prayer brings victory over all types of difficulties, including physical ones.

BY CHARLES FERRIS

THE BEST DEFENSE against evil is to see through its claim to be real. Through Christian Science we come to understand that the only reality that evil can seem to have is the reality we give it in our thought. So our job is to see evil as an illusion, a misconception, a lie about the perfect, spiritual creation that God has conceived and established.

The Apostle Paul saw that the way to combat evil is to take a spiritual approach. Battling materially would make a reality of it. Instead, we can turn to the basic fact of God's omnipotence and goodness. Praying from that standpoint, we can prove evil to be unreal and powerless. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (II Cor. 10:3-5). The Christ is the true idea of God and His creation, and understanding this comforts, enlightens, and heals us.

In this warfare it may not always seem easy to reject the reality of evil, especially when an illness or troubled situation appears so real to the material senses. But those senses are not reliable, and their falsity is seen when we exercise our spiritual sense. God, the divine Mind, has given each of us this ability to understand Him and know our true spiritual identity. Then we're able to see the illusory nature of evil, and in this way dispose of it. This is the method of our Christian and spiritual warfare.