FOR YEARS I worked and lived in countries dominated by state-owned enterprises where individual initiative was often squashed and poverty was rampant. Fear, outright crime and danger, as well as disease, were endless conditions of everyday life. Yet, I was convinced that living at risk wasn't the natural state of humankind. it's simply not what God, who Jesus taught is entirely good, has in mind for us (see Mark 10:18).

People everywhere deserve to realize this vision of risk-free living under the care of the Almighty. Yet the majority of the populations in the countries where my family and I lived, seemed to have no escape from the risks they faced. In most of these countries, it was considered a success when a parent earned enough for food from one day to the next. Many felt at risk just walking out of the house. Individuals who could afford it hired guards to keep their homes safe at night. Still, break-ins were a common occurrence, as were carjackings. In some areas, quick and violent police surveillance to quell political dissent was ongoing.

Faced with such a bleak picture of human existence, how was I able to maintain an expectation of life as peaceful and good? The Bible tells us that God made man in His own image and likeness, declaring everything that He, God, had made to be good (see Gen., chap. 1). I love to think of God's goodness radiantly filling all space. To me, that's the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus promised that this "kingdom of heaven" is already within us (Luke 17:21). And Mary Baker Eddy wrote that man as God's spiritual idea "is clad with the radiance of spiritual Truth" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 561). Everyone everywhere exists in that radiance—moving about, conducting business, raising families. We have this radiance now, even if we feel far from it. And I believe that we all intuitively know we have the right to live fearlessly in peace, no matter what our surroundings may be.

What are we seeing, or looking to see? This is the important question. If we see ourselves and others as captives of risk and stress, disease and danger, we can change that view by looking to God in prayer. The following verse from Psalms affirms that we are already under God's protecting wing: "He [God] shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust" (91:4). Through continued prayer and reliance on God, we can experience the truth that we're not ever at risk.

A starting point could be recognizing that God, who is Love itself, is here and now. This recognition supplies confidence and courage, whether in an office or busy shopping mall, riding the school bus or the commuter train—even on patrol in Baghdad.

This mental activity is inspired prayer that heals. And it's a solemn charge, one we need to take seriously. I've found that the discipline required to align my thinking with God keeps me from apprehension. It also provides the courage and strength to mentally confront any kind of threat. Such effort requires the vigilance of a soldier fighting for Truth—aligning thought and action with the good Christ Jesus taught. Mrs. Eddy advised, "The Christian Scientist has enlisted to lessen evil, disease, and death; and he will overcome them by understanding their nothingness and the allness of God, or good" (Science and Health, p. 450). Reasoning that is based on the omnipresent goodness of God nullifies the claims of risk, and this type of soldiering protects not only ourselves but those around us.

This too is important: that we pray to recognize that evil is nothing, is powerless in the face of the Almighty God. Since God fills all space all the time, it's possible to see and identify God's qualities right where we are. Striving to understand, as Christian Science affirms, that there really is nothing "out there" to unexpectedly cause harm has practical benefits.

9/11 taught us that no one can claim immunity from the possibility of another terrorist attack. This has resulted in extra security personnel at public transportation sites and airports—and heightened sensitivity to the possible risks involved. But such precautions can prompt gratitude rather than annoyance. It's also an opportunity to support the security personnel's alertness and to realize that everyone is under God's protection, rather than potentially helpless victims.

One of the mantras of security specialists is "Be aware of the surroundings." This involves vigilance. And by lifting that awareness to a more spiritual level, we can face the atrocities of terror, disease, poverty, or any nagging fear, and find in each situation examples of God's radiance, because His presence is always at hand and more powerful than all else.

An account from Jesus' life can provide much to consider as we pray for the safety of our families and communities from terror of any kind. Once Jesus was in a synagogue in his hometown, Nazareth, commenting on a prophecy from the book of Isaiah. Jesus' claim that his coming fulfilled that prophecy turned his listeners into an angry mob. They drove him out to a cliff, intending to throw him off and kill him. But "he passing through the midst of them went his way" (Luke 4:28—30).

This brief account gives no indication that Jesus struggled against those who surrounded him. He simply passed through the crowd unnoticed. Perhaps, in his deep dependence on God, Jesus was so confident that he could not be a target for the mob's hate, that he was actually no longer seen. The Bible says he then moved on to Capernaum, evidently without fear or haste.

We, too, can depend on God and realize divine Love's protection in our lives. We may not have occasion to pray for our own or a loved one's escape from a mob, but we can approach each day, each situation, with gratitude for and confidence in God's radiant goodness.

Regular disciplined prayer ensures our safety. Even if we've inadvertently wandered into harm's way and feel vulnerable to some kind of attack or disease, we can seek God's guidance to make decisions that will protect us. Once I felt trapped as I drove through an unfamiliar and dangerous neighborhood in Latin America. It was nighttime and I'd lost my bearings. Then, I got a sudden insight of just where to turn; this thought led me to safety and helped me to avoid a potential carjacking.

Your prayers might result in bringing assurance to an apprehensive colleague, or in feelings of brotherhood that impel an embrace of new neighbors of an unfamiliar ethnicity. Or your prayer might result in physical healing as you recognize God's children as exempt from the risks of contagion, accident, or heredity. As Mrs. Eddy wrote, "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need" (Science and Health, p. 494).

Prayer that acknowledges—looks for and sees—ourselves, our communities, and countries, under God's wing is effective and raises the morale and well-being of society as a whole. Each one of our prayers is needed and counts. CSS