If asked to name a prophet of modern times, would you be apt to include yourself? You could, you know, for if we acknowledge the fact that man is the image, idea, of God, the all-knowing divine Mind, each of us has the ability to see beyond the evidence of the physical senses.

That man is the reflection and expression of God is basic to the teachings of Christian Science, which are concordant with the Bible. In Genesis we read, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him." ^{Gen. 1:27;} No place in the Scriptures do we find that man's ability to reflect God had any limitations other than those imposed by mankind's unenlightened thinking.

Mrs. Eddy defines "prophet" in Science and Health as "a spiritual seer; disappearance of material sense before the conscious facts of spiritual Truth." ^{Science and Health, p. 593;} Why not accept your status as "a spiritual seer" and demonstrate your present capacity for long-range spiritual perception? This process can be started by identifying man's infinite capabilities.

Just as we pray to express more love and intelligence, we can work to develop a clearer understanding of present conditions and a better insight into future developments. In other words, we can determine the nature of our experience, eliminating uncertainties of chance or willful human planning, either our own or that imposed by others.

Mrs. Eddy affirms man's ability to anticipate the future in these words: "It is the prerogative of the ever-present, divine Mind, and of thought which is in rapport with this Mind, to know the past, the present, and the future." ^{ibid., p. 84;}

The Bible is filled with thrilling accounts of the use of prophetic ability. Their close communion with God, divine Mind, protected and guided these men. Moses delivered a nation from slavery and led its people to the Promised Land; Joseph saved his brothers and the Egyptians from starvation; early Christians escaped from prison, evaded their would-be executioners, and found receptive recruits for their new religion—all by listening to and acting on God's direction.

Christ Jesus demonstrated ability to know the past, present, and future. He talked with Moses and Elias as contemporaries, detected the readiness for healing of the woman afflicted with hemorrhage for twelve years, and prophesied his own crucifixion and ascension.

Just as the healing works of Bible times are emulated in a degree by Christian Scientists, the ability to prophesy can be accepted today as demonstrable. Recognizing and identifying our status as prophets is important. Perhaps you're already more of a "spiritual seer" than you realize! Incidents of protection from accident are frequently the result of having prayerfully sought God's guidance, of having received the signals, and of having acted accordingly, so avoiding potentially dangerous circumstances.

To illustrate. I was awakened early one morning by gyrations of the bed and considerable noise. On the wall opposite, a very heavy mirror was swaying back and forth. There was no doubt but an earthquake of considerable magnitude was in progress. My first thought was to deny any power to material forces. Then I declared aloud that I was divinely protected and would be divinely guided. Very quickly the message came, as though spoken aloud, "Get out of the way!" I jumped out of bed and immediately heard a crash behind me. A very heavy, metal-based lamp had landed in the exact spot where I had been lying. There was no damage to me or the lamp, except that the light globe had exploded and the bed was covered with tiny pieces of glass. This was, for me, proof of the protective power of divine Mind—when we seek it, hear it, and heed it.

Intuition is allied to prophecy. The development of spiritual insight, a better understanding of God and of man's relationship to Him, improves our capacity to act intuitively, often revealing an opportunity to help someone or to avoid an unpleasant encounter.

As thought is directed Spiritward, and as we accept the allness of the one Mind, God, we are motivated to act in ways that will heal and bless without meddling in another's thinking. But spiritualized thought can, for the purpose of correcting them, detect erroneous mental conditions that are impeding a healing or endangering ourselves or others. Mrs. Eddy's statement "Know, then, that you possess sovereign power to think and act rightly, and that nothing can dispossess you of this heritage and trespass on Love" ^{Pulpit and Press, p. 3.} is a call to claim and use our ability as prophets.

It is important that once led through prayer to take a course of action, we allow no deviation from that course unless so directed by divine Mind. Human opinion, intellectualism, and precedent would often pull us off base, would make us question the voice of Truth that charted our course.

A few years ago a Christian Scientist was asked to manage a business that was on the verge of bankruptcy. This challenge proved to be an opportunity to demonstrate Christian Science in many ways. One way was in connection with a union contract that was not only crippling one of the subsidiaries but was depriving employees of steady work. After establishing the motive clearly in thought—to benefit everyone concerned—the manager prayed to know what course to take, what scientific improvisation would meet the need.

Innovative concepts for a new contract unfolded and were presented to the union officials, who could see nothing but trouble if such a deal were consummated. The company's legal counsel said that though the proposal would benefit the men as well as the company, it was so foreign to union policy that it would never be accepted. Not once did the manager consider abandoning this solution which was the result of prayer and was felt to be God-directed, but continued declaring that God's law was universally operative. At a subsequent meeting the union officials accepted all the terms of the proposal. They said they didn't know why they were agreeing to something so irregular.

During the following year, as a result of this contract, the union gained seventeen new members, every employee worked throughout the year (almost unheard of in that seasonal business), and the subsidiary made its first profit in nearly ten years. When the contract expired, the union renewed it with the comment that none of the bad effects they had feared had materialized—evidence that God-directed action is God-protected and God-perpetuated.

Each week's Bible Lesson in the Christian Science Quarterly provides a springboard from which to raise our level of spiritual perception, our prophet status. As knowledge of the infinitude of the power of God unfolds, all sense of limitation is replaced by confidence in our God-given dominion over material forces. The conviction that man's vision and comprehension are unrestricted spiritualizes thought and reveals needed knowledge of the past, present, and future that strengthens the capacity to heal, protect, and guide.

Prayerful communion with God, infinite Mind, which takes precedence over human planning and opinions, prepares the atmosphere of thought in which His plan will become clear. For one, an inspired concept of home or employment may lead to a new house or job. For another, greater appreciation of the kindness and consideration of others may attract delightful new friends. And for some, the recognition that the highest satisfaction lies in serving God may open the way to devote full time to the practice of Christian Science healing.

Gratitude for every evidence of our ability to shed the limitations imposed by physical science and to accept as normal the boundless sphere of activity prescribed by divine Science is indispensable. Whether the evidence is imposing or simple—sustaining a nation or a company's employees, saving from a flood or from a falling lamp —it is proof of the love and protection inevitably resulting from acknowledging the unfailing power of God.

Once you've identified yourself as "a spiritual seer," you can develop this talent, use it more extensively in the preventive and curative art of Christian healing. You can be a full-time prophet!

[Forty-eighth article in a series.]

There is a spirit in man:
and the inspiration of
the Almighty giveth them understanding.