Some answers are easy to come by. In many places, simply by dialing a telephone number we can receive the correct time, a weather update, or the latest traffic conditions.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if all our questions could be answered by this simple method? If someone could give us answers and direction in every area of our lives? So many questions confront us. "What should I be doing with my life?" "Where can I find a job?" "Is this the person I should marry?" "Should I buy this home?" "What do I need to study to pass this examination?"

When we are faced with decisions, whether the everyday kind or the once-in-a-lifetime variety, where do we turn for help? When human reasoning has been exhausted and no clear answer is forthcoming, I turn to God. (If I have been spiritually alert, I will have turned to God immediately, saving a lot of time and effort!)

In asking God for help, we're not turning to a mystical and removed deity who has to be informed of our needs. Christian Science helps us see that God is ever-present Love, the supreme intelligence, or infinite Mind. Man, as God's spiritual offspring, includes the qualities of Mind, such as wisdom, acuity, and insight. Man never lacks inspiration, ability, opportunity, or dominion, for under God's government there is no limitation or confusion. Man is forever upheld by God's love, directed by His wisdom. The need is to realize the truth of ourselves and to be receptive to God's direction.

The prophet Jeremiah perceived God's loving care and guidance. He understood God as saying, "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, ... thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."

When we humbly ask our Father what He wants us to do, allowing ourselves to be motivated by purity and unselfishness, human will is abandoned to a greater and greater degree. We discover we are yielding to our Father's will.

We pray "Thy will be done" in the Lord's Prayer, and what we come to see more clearly through steady communion with God is that His will is being done. Right now it is in full operation, and it is good because God is good. As the divine creator, He has unerring control over His universe, which is totally spiritual because God is Spirit. Obviously, there seems to be much that is out of control—and anything but good—in our world. But a growing perception of the true nature of creation under God's government will help us prove His nearness and power and enable us to see the way forward.

Christ Jesus illustrated for us all what it means to yield to God's will. He knew that God was directing him and that he was fulfilling God's purpose. "The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works," he said. In truth we have the same Mind that was in Christ Jesus because we are all children of the same Father. Knowing that we are the offspring of God, held eternally in His love and guided by the one Mind, strengthens our reliance on God and fortifies our trust in Him. We're not really confused and doubting mortals but God's spiritual offspring. We live and move in Him, in the one Mind.

We are demonstrating our spiritual selfhood in a practical way when we obey the Ten Commandments. As we strive to fulfill these commands, expressing unselfishness, integrity, forgiveness, and humility, we find we are receptive to God's direction and ready to demonstrate the promise "Thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left" (Isaiah). ...

One of the first times I asked God for direction was when I was a college student and was taking a science exam. This was not a favorite subject, but I had studied and was satisfied that I was prepared. As I was working on the exam, however, I came to a question that completely stumped me. Without this answer, my paper would be incomplete.

I put down my pencil and listened, trusting God would guide me. These comforting words of Jesus' came to me: "I can of mine own self do nothing" and "I and my Father are one." I then reasoned that God was my intelligence and never limited. I had no separate mind from divine Mind. I really felt God's presence with me. This gave me assurance to do the work, and the answer came so clearly that it was as if a voice spoke to me. I received an A on the paper.

When we ask for God's guidance, we can confidently expect an answer. In Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy describes angels as "God's thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality." Be ready to receive these angels! They come in many ways. A wonderful idea may just occur to us. Or we may think of a Bible verse, a passage from one of Mrs. Eddy's writings, or a favorite hymn. Or a friend's thoughtful comment may be the very thing we need to hear. We'll know the message is God-sent by the peace and joy and encouragement it inspires. And we can trust in God's guidance, even if we don't understand it right at that moment!

One day I drove my son across town to meet with his college counselor. I planned to spend time in the nearby Christian Science Reading Room while the meeting took place. As I headed toward the Reading Room, however, the thought came clearly that I should go home immediately. It seemed a waste of time to drive all that distance when I could be studying, but the message persisted and I headed home, even though I knew I would be returning within the hour.

When I walked into the house, I knew instantly why I was there. A gas burner on the stove was going full blast, and the air was heavy with fumes. I turned off the burner, and as I began airing out the house, the telephone rang. It was an important long-distance call and vital for me to receive. I had been directed to be where I was supposed to be at the exact time I needed to be there!

"God is the fountain of light, and He illumines one's way when one is obedient," writes Mrs. Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, in Miscellaneous Writings. "The disobedient make their moves before God makes His, or make them too late to follow Him. Be sure that God directs your way; then, hasten to follow under every circumstance." In truth only the one creative Mind is governing, motivating, and animating man. To the degree that we acknowledge this fact and are God-directed, we cannot be misdirected. When we are serving and glorifying Him, we are fulfilling His purpose for us. And we find our answers!