Years ago, when I worked as a lifeguard, we were taught to scan the beach for any movement that stood out as unusual. Rather than watching each individual, we were to observe the whole scene for anything unexpected or out of the ordinary. To do this required a keen awareness and an alertness to the present moment. It took training to not focus on each individual part of the scene, but to instead take a broader view. Watching the environment in this way enabled us to notice when one aspect was out of place, so that we could respond quickly to any trouble and maintain safety for everyone. 

A comparison can be made to spiritual watching. The more we keep our gaze focused on the truth and reality of God, the more aware we are of aberrations in thought that would pull us into fear or negativity, so we can immediately respond with an awareness of the presence of infinite good, God, and experience healing. 

During the recent pandemic’s shelter-at-home orders and the flurry of press conferences, curve charts, and economic forecasts, I’ve found moments that needed this broader view of the infinite, divine presence. Selfless and courageous efforts by, and public recognition of, first-responders are expressions of good that stand in stark contrast to the miasma of uncertainty often dominating public thought.   

However, in order to be alert, we need to be awake, and awakening thought to the reality of God’s love for His, Her, creation starts with an understanding of the nature of God. The Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, begins the chapter “Prayer” in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures with this sentence: “The prayer that reforms the sinner and heals the sick is an absolute faith that all things are possible to God,—a spiritual understanding of Him, an unselfed love” (p. 1). The prayer that awakens us to a larger perspective of God, good, is based in a selfless search for truth and an understanding of God’s love for all that benefits not just us or even just one individual in need—as important as that may be—but our neighbors, our community, and the world.

The purpose of prayer in Christian Science is for human consciousness to awaken to and remain focused on this broader view of the all-power and always-present reality of God and God’s love. It is for God to become known to us as tangible, infinite good. Learning more about the reality of God as divine good enables us to reject whatever is unlike God. Wisely acknowledging individual and societal troubles as ultimately unreal and powerless brings healing, for us and the world. As we know the nature of God better, we don’t get distracted. When we remain spiritually awake and alert to God’s love, we are not easily mesmerized by the uncertainty of the times. And God, through the activity of the Christ—the divine message of love that comes to human consciousness—compels thought to yield to divine goodness. 

When we remain spiritually awake and alert to God’s love, we are not easily mesmerized by the uncertainty of the times.

Since God’s spiritual man includes all the attributes of God—such as caring, generosity, and unselfishness, not to mention alertness, awareness, and vitality—being awake to goodness is the natural state of our being. Prayer that mentally affirms the unbreakable relationship between God and man involves us in the solution to individual and world problems. 

Anything counter to God-given goodness should stand out as a deviation from the reality of Life, God. Eddy explains, “If goodness and spirituality are real, evil and materiality are unreal and cannot be the outcome of an infinite God, good” (Science and Health, p. 277).

This goodness is an unopposed, all-encompassing power that enables us to take a stand and then witness God’s love canceling evil in human consciousness and experience. Human wishing and wanting are no substitutes for the spiritual understanding that eliminates fear and brings thought in line with ever-available, spiritual harmony and peace. 

Prayer based on spiritual reasoning does not ignore difficulties or pretend all is well when it seems otherwise. Its foundation is what Christ Jesus taught. Jesus’ uplifted spiritual consciousness remained alert and awake to God’s love, goodness, and power, even in the midst of the disease and suffering that appeared to surround him. Understanding the ever-presence of God requires letting the Christ-idea become as real and present to us as it was to Jesus. As it does, disease and discomfort resolve into health and harmony. 

Just as the lifeguard scans the horizon, ready to respond to any needs, we can watch the global landscape and be ready to respond with prayer. When we do, the Christ inspires and compels us to be alert to reject the limited, imperfect, mortal view that denies God’s goodness. This alertness will bring healing to our lives and the lives of others, and God’s goodness and love will be all there is to see. 

“Many sleep who should keep themselves awake and waken the world. Earth’s actors change earth’s scenes; and the curtain of human life should be lifted on reality, on that which outweighs time; on duty done and life perfected, wherein joy is real and fadeless” (Mary Baker Eddy, Message to The Mother Church for 1902, p. 17).

Larissa Snorek
Associate Editor