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Praying for the world
The Psalmist says, “O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches” (Psalms 104:24). Often, the picture the world presents seems at odds with this description. In order to pray effectively for the world, we need to be alert to which picture we’re accepting as true—do we see a place of discord, lack, confusion, hatred, disaster, and death? We have biblical authority for challenging this view: “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:3). Here, the writer points us to the divine and only creation, made by God, who, from eternity, has created it complete and “very good” (see Genesis 1:1, 31).
Through this spiritual understanding we can behold true creation, which expresses God’s harmony, abundance, intelligence, love, and wisdom, right where the discordant picture appears.
The understanding that creation is perfect and complete, eternally cherished in divine Mind, is the foundation for our prayers. And because we are the reflection of Mind, we know what God knows, which means we can turn to God in every circumstance for the true picture. When our thought is filled with this true, spiritual view, we are able to see and know His creation and rejoice in it, rejecting as a material misconception any discord that seems to oppose it. The only and always-present reality there is comes from God. As Mrs. Eddy writes, “All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 468). We can trust in this, and turn our thought fully to God, expecting to receive the understanding we need to pray effectively.
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