Internationally, the frequency, severity, and cost of extreme weather have been increasing in recent years. And predictions for the future are often dire. Is it hopeless, or is there something individuals can do to make a positive difference, even in challenges of global proportions? Can the weather be affected by spiritual understanding and prayer? 

The Bible records positive impacts on the weather and earth’s elements as a result of spiritual understanding and obedience to God, divine Love. Jesus calmed stormy seas. Elisha was shown that God was not in earthquake, wind, or fire, but in the “still small voice” that he heard when they ceased (see I Kings 19:9–12). Moses, trusting in the “salvation of the Lord,” parted the Red Sea (see Exodus 14: 13–22)—a manifestation of God’s presence completely negating the laws of physics.

There are also wonderful accounts of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, praying about the weather on the basis of God’s loving control and of her expectation that other Christian Scientists do the same. (A helpful narrative on this can be found at www.marybakereddylibrary.org/mbeweather.) The foundation for this was her understanding of God’s all-power and wholly good nature. In her primary work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, she writes, “All that really exists is the divine Mind and its idea, and in this Mind the entire being is found harmonious and eternal. The straight and narrow way is to see and acknowledge this fact, yield to this power, and follow the leadings of truth” (p. 151).