ON OCTOBER 20, The New York Times reported on a revised formula used by the National Academy of Science for calculating medical costs. It shows that approximately 47.4 million Americans (almost 1 in 6) last year lived in poverty—seven million more than the government's official figure. This means that the United States has a higher poverty level by most measures than any other industrialized nation.

A US Census Bureau report announced that this upward surge in America's poverty rate underscores the toll of the recession on ordinary households across the nation. Apparently, of the over 40 million Americans living in poverty, most have incomes of less than $10,991 for an individual or $22,025 for a family of four (The Christian Science Monitor, September 10, 2009).

Not just in the US but throughout the world, the needs are great, and now is the time to seek sustainable solutions. Whether an individual faces extreme scarcity or indebtedness, what truly sustains can be found in a scientific approach to prayer—the kind of prayer Jesus practiced. He relied on the infinite outpouring of spiritual substance—of God's resources, which are always right at hand to heal and restore. Jesus' teachings and demonstrations proved that divine power can free those in bondage to evils of every kind, including poverty (see John 14:16, 26).

Mary Baker Eddy showed how this Christ Science has a spiritual, not a material origin. "It is a divine utterance," she wrote, "the Comforter which leadeth into all truth" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 127). One of these leadings urges us to recognize our true value, which goes beyond economics, and to reach a deep awareness of our spiritual wholeness. This comes to us from the divine Mind, or God.

Mind is the source of all intelligence, and its law is applicable to all places, including those countries hardest hit by disease, climate change, water shortages, overpopulation, or recession, which are among the cause of poverty. Spirit, not matter, defines the nature of being, and the law of Spirit enables one to prove that no one, regardless of circumstances, has an identity separate from God.

When Jesus fed five thousand people in the wilderness with a scant supply of food, he presented a way of multiplying resources that those who watched probably didn't understand. They were yet to grasp the distinction between what the Apostle Paul labeled temporal, "the things which are seen," and those that are eternal, "the things which are not seen" (II Cor. 4:18). Science and Health explains: "As mortals gain more correct views of God and man, multitudinous objects of creation, which before were invisible, will become visible" (p. 264). This makes it clear that spiritual solutions can lead to concrete answers that meet human needs.

The solutions become more evident as good from God becomes more tangible to us than feelings of hopelessness about material conditions in the world. We gain a conviction that God's unparalleled, undiminishable spiritual resources are available to all. And this is a message we can share—in prayer—with all people, no matter how far removed we are from, say, the laid-off workers in the American heartland, the orphans in the slums of Mumbai, the shoppers in Harare who face barren supermarket shelves, or the 30,000 children living and working on the streets of Kinshasa. Despite the conditions these individuals face, it's a spiritual fact that nothing can undermine the force of prayer on their behalf, firmly based on God's laws.

Mark's Gospel tells of a rich young man who didn't walk but ran to Jesus, to learn the secret of eternal life. He was obviously searching for something more than his material belongings had given him, or he wouldn't have sought out Jesus in the first place. At that time, he couldn't follow Jesus' call for him to let go of a lesser good for the sake of a much greater good. But Jesus loved him anyway. The young man walked away sad, but perhaps Jesus' loving reception also kindled hope in his heart (see Mark 10:17—31).

Are we ready to hear the Christ's call, and make similar sacrifices in our own lives and communities, whatever our income ranking? Are we praying to affirm each individual's continuous unity with God—a bond that must lead to progress and a greater awareness of God's love?

It's sometimes tempting to give quick and easy answers to those questions. But Jesus' example requires that we look deeper and accept God's love for us and also for our fellow beings. When that love present and sparkling in our hearts, our prayers will declare with certainty that God does indeed care for every aspect of His creation, every moment, and without fail. And our human circumstances will provide proof of that prayer.

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