How I Found Christian Science August 17, 2015 Issue

Trusting God with our desires

Joseph Megwe

In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy asks, “What are the motives for prayer?” (p. 2). This question has made me think deeply because of the many ways people pray to God: “God, bless me with health and wealth.” “Father, I want to be in this specific career.” “God, I want a romantic relationship with that girl.” “If You, Father, do this for me, I will exalt You and praise You, until others know that You are God.” I believe that many people might pray along these lines out of an earnest desire to meet their wants or needs. I used to pray similarly, until Science and Health taught me a higher sense of prayer.

Soon after completing my high school education about ten years ago, I became a student of Christian Science, having been recently introduced to it by a friend. I was interested in reading Science and Health, the Christian Science textbook, and learning more about my relationship to God. I hadn’t read very far when I came to a statement that stopped me in my tracks: “Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds” (p. 1). “Wow!” I thought, “What would happen if this was true?”

I had been born and brought up in a big slum in Africa, where my three brothers, my sister, and I had to raise ourselves. (Our mother lived far away for work, but would send us money.) Simply completing primary and secondary school was an amazing achievement. I was the first one in my immediate and extended family of about 40 people to do so. But I had gambled to make ends meet and pay for school fees, and I had also trained in boxing, just in case I ever needed to fight. Everything changed when I trusted God to “mould” and “exalt” my desires.

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