The powerful Tropical Cyclone Nargis that struck Myanmar (also known as Burma) a few days ago has had a devastating effect on this area. Landing on the low-lying Irrawaddy River Delta, the storm had nothing to slow down its powerful winds. News reports at this time indicate over twenty-thousand fatalities, thousands more missing, and at least a million people homeless.

Myanmar is governed by a military junta that in the past has been reluctant to accept outside help. But the scale of the disaster has, at least to a degree, opened the doors to humanitarian aid. The junta still wants to maintain at least some control over who comes into the country and what kind of help is rendered. Prayer, however, is one form of assistance that all can offer.

Perhaps one of the first things to affirm is that God, Spirit, is the Father and Mother of each individual, no matter what his or her religious beliefs may be. Divine Love cherishes all of its children, and is right now an ever-present help to those in need. Understanding that each of us is in fact spiritual changes the parameters of prayer. Instead of praying to a manlike God, we are turning to infinite Spirit, who is ever-present Love. With Love’s guidance, each need can be met.

One of the difficulties that rescue workers face in almost any storm of this magnitude is accessibility. Getting supplies to people, finding survivors, restoring needed services. The size of the problem as compared to the available material resources may suggest that there is no way the need could be met.

In his letter to the Romans, however, the apostle Paul articulated a powerful spiritual law that directly applies to this and other disasters. Paul’s life was anything but sheltered, so he had ample opportunities to prove the truth of his words: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ... Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

The love of Christ, which is God’s love present here and now on the human scene, is well able to transcend divisions, suspicion, fear, anger, doubt. Suspicion and fear can be eliminated by Christly love, which has no personal agenda, and unites all in a higher good.

Even if supplies of food and water are limited, under God’s care those in charge can make good decisions and make the best use of what’s available. Prayer can also guard against accidents during the rescue and supply effort. Under the government of the one Mind, each individual is able to respond to wisdom’s guidance. Those coordinating the rescue can maintain their alertness and not be distracted by the myriad issues that need to be addressed.

Christly love for one’s fellow humans can refresh and restore workers who are searching for the missing or ministering to the injured. In a disaster of this type, there may be times of confusion because the visual landscape is so changed by the storm or other event. Our prayers, recognizing that the one Mind, God, is an intelligent and strengthening guide, can enable rescuers to maintain their bearings and thus make progress in helping those in need.

Family and friends, who may be searching for the missing, can also feel the tenderness of the Christ, easing sorrow and providing calm in place of fear. There is ample evidence that people can survive for long periods before being rescued, and our prayers on their behalf can help. Christ is with them, pointing thought toward life, and giving strength to resist the temptation to give up.

Even as rescues go on, the danger of disease is also a factor to consider. Polluted water supplies, potential for disease when the dead and the injured are present in overwhelming numbers, also bears prayerful attention. The concerns about disease that arise from such conditions are based on the premise that man is a material entity, vulnerable to disease. But each of us—including all in the affected area—is spiritual, the idea of Spirit. Because this is a provable law, it follows that our prayers, affirming this fact for people in Myanmar, can help to bring about more healthful conditions and create a climate of thought that isn’t overwhelmed by the fear of disease.

As the world has become more and more united technologically, these advances have also provided more opportunity for those who love their fellow men and women to join together in prayer whenever there is trouble. These prayers unite all humanity as one family in a way that can only bless and heal our world.

Christly love:

Science and Health
340:23

King James Bible
Rom. 8:35
Rom. 8:37
Rom. 8:38, 39