Sentinel Watch February 6, 2012 Issue

Prayer for prosperous cities

Carl S. Taylor

Greg Kohuth/Michigan State University

I am a native of Detroit, and my work as a social researcher has made me acutely aware of the challenges of urban America—especially those areas in transition from reliance on once prosperous industries that employed many workers. Black youth in particular have suffered not just because of their inability to find jobs, but also because long-term unemployment in the family can have a corrosive effect on their expectations and development. 

When I was a young boy growing up in Detroit, jobs were plentiful. This fact, coupled with good neighborhoods and a solid family life, assisted my development as a solid citizen and someone who believes that prayer can and does change things. Today’s kids don’t always have a stable environment, and they need our prayers. 

In my search for solutions to problems affecting urban youth, I find answers that sustain me in Mary Baker Eddy’s book Science and Health. She writes, “In divine Science, where prayers are mental, all may avail themselves of God as ‘a very present help in trouble’ ” (pp. 12–13). 