The Ebola outbreak: Our prayers are needed
To the degree that we understand man’s spiritual nature, we help lift ourselves and others out of infectious disease and the fear of it.
Originally published as A Christian Science Perspective in The Christian Science Monitor
My country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, is presently facing a new outbreak of the Ebola virus in its northern region. Reports of infectious diseases, whether in our immediate area of residence or in remote places, deserve everyone’s attention and prayers.
I have naturally joined all who are praying about this challenging situation. I pray in the way I have learned from the teachings and the life experience of Christ Jesus, who proved that God’s ever-present love does not simply alleviate suffering and disease but heals them. He found healing natural because he acknowledged that the healer in every case is God and that with Him “all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). On this basis, he healed many chronic and infectious conditions, including several cases of what is referred to as leprosy and was viewed as highly contagious.
Christian Science has taught me to base my prayers on the solid spiritual foundation of Jesus’ teachings—namely, the allness and perfection of God and the nothingness or unreality of anything unlike God, good. Disease obviously falls into the latter category; it is not from God but the result of an erroneous belief in a reality or power opposed to God, the All-in-all. Indeed, Christian Science has taught me that God is One—the only power and all good, not the source of any evil, such as disease. Evil having no reality or power, we cannot be susceptible to it in any form.
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
