“God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.” This has always been my favorite verse from the Bible. In the face of recent natural disasters in Indonesia, the Philippines, India, and other places around the world, I’ve been pondering where true power lies—and I’m always learning that it’s not in earthquake and floods, nor in any destructive force. Power lies with God, Love.

Through my study of Christian Science, I’ve found that God’s love and His control over His creation are bigger than any disaster. Prayer helps in overcoming our fears, big and small, and enables us to listen to God for His help. As God alone is supreme cause, can there be an effect that is less than good?

As an avid reader of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy for the last 16 years, I’ve depended on prayer for solving all kinds of problems in my life. And I love that true prayer can never be selfish, but rather includes all of humanity.

Praying for people facing severe challenges is natural and inbuilt in us as sons and daughters of God. I remember an incident where divine Love pushed me to pray selflessly for others.

It was in 2005 in the month of September when my husband had to return home to India after attending a conference in the US. Before coming home to Chandigarh, he had to fulfill his commitment of attending a housewarming function at my uncle’s residence in Delhi. After he had boarded his flight, my father-in-law told me that all flights due to arrive in Delhi had been diverted to Karachi, Pakistan, because of incessant rains in Delhi. I quickly finished serving dinner to my family and took some time to pray because I felt alarmed by this situation.

Now, I realize this is not the same kind of situation as some people are facing around the world. But the ideas I used to gain comfort and peace have been useful to me since then.

In my prayers, I affirmed that there are no diversions, no delays in God’s kingdom, and as my husband was traveling to serve the divine purpose in his work, how could his trip be less than harmonious? But all this time I was feeling restless. I decided to sit back quietly and listen to God for inspiration.

Still, I was not able to get inspiration for a long time. Then came the rebuke—Have you prayed for Hurricane Katrina victims in the US? I was really moved! At that time there were calls for prayer that reached all corners of the world, because of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. To be truthful, I’d been postponing this prayer with self-justification that I already had so many other issues that needed prayerful attention. But this time, I obeyed and prayed specifically to know that Love is holding each of the people affected by extreme weather in His loving care, as assured in Science and Health, “Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need.”

After all this was said and done, peace still seemed beyond my reach! I tried harder to hear some inspiration for my dear husband. This time I heard—Have you prayed for your uncle’s housewarming function? He had built his house with great effort and had invited so many relatives and friends with so much love. I prayed to know that incessant rains could never keep my uncle and his family from sharing his joy and satisfaction. I was so inspired with this truth from Science and Health: “Moral and spiritual might belong to Spirit, who holds the ‘wind in His fists;’ and this teaching accords with Science and harmony. In Science, you can have no power opposed to God, and the physical senses must give up their false testimony.”

Now I was calm and felt peaceful within. I got a clear message that my husband’s “going and coming” was in God’s control, as promised in Psalm 121.

After that, I slept peacefully and was awakened by my husband’s late-night phone call. He’d reached Delhi on time and was moving on to my uncle’s place. I asked him about the rains and water on the roads. His innocent reply made me laugh. He said that no, it wasn’t raining, there was some water on the roads but why I was even asking? My heart was filled with gratitude for Love’s perfect control. He attended my uncle’s housewarming function without any difficulty and was back home soon.

I have not forgotten the lesson learned that day in calming alarm, and I’m now praying for people around the world affected by severe weather. This is now a top priority item on my agenda. And I’m sure such prayers are natural for millions of others as well.

Inspiration:

Science and Health
494:10-11
192:17-21
520:3-5 The (to !)

King James Bible
Ps. 62:11
Acts 17:28