I recently had an experience which made perfectly clear to me the efficacy of prayer, regardless of the circumstances that might argue mightily against trust in God and the essential goodness of man as His spiritual child.

There is much talk about dishonesty, crime, injustice, irreversible losses, and so forth. In addition, the economy of my country is in great turmoil, and money itself seems very hard to come by, let alone the ability to pay one's obligations. Thus, after I sent my office assistant to the bank with some deposits from my business, as well as an endorsed check for my property-tax payment that could have been cashed if found, and then learned that the endorsed check and the tax document had been lost, I realized I had to stay calm and trust God's direction. This is what Christian Science has brought me—an understanding that because God is omnipresent and omniscient, everything is known to Him.

As I prayed for direction, I thought of the Bible statement that God is "of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity." At that moment I felt deeply inspired to pray to know that everyone passing through the area who might have found the check was in reality God's child; each one expressed spiritual honesty and purity and therefore would never take something that didn't belong to him or her. I truly felt a spiritual love for the spiritual nature of my fellowman. I realized, too, that the person I sent to make this transaction had been doing her best to help and that as a result I could trust that the goodness behind her actions had its source in God and could not make her a victim of loss or accident. In Christian Science I have learned that error—all that is contrary to good, to the will of God—does not have true power, regardless of appearances to the contrary.

I called a Christian Science practitioner who prayed along with me. She was most helpful and made a kindly observation that touched me deeply. She said that payment of rightful obligations is an expression of love, not simply a financial transaction. This meant to me that my assistant and I were expressing God's love. Therefore we couldn't suffer any damage because God governs every act of love.

I realized man's true supply comes from God and cannot be lost or stolen, and for this I was immensely grateful. I began to read a Bible passage from the book of II Samuel given to me by the practitioner. It speaks of justice, purity, light, and perfection and ends in this way: "God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect."

Within a half-hour from the time I learned of the loss, I was contacted by the person who had found the tax document and the check, and I went to pick them up. Even though this document and check were extremely important, what I learned in this experience was profoundly spiritual, not economic or financial. Christian Science has deepened my love for others and has enabled me to turn unreservedly to God for direction in all the details of my life.

I am very grateful for this and for the many other blessings that have come through my study and application of Christian Science. It is truly changing my life, my response to difficult situations, and my love for others.

Leide Aparecida Lessa Jordão
São Paulo, SP, Brazil