The state of the economy, whether personal, national, or global, has probably never preoccupied everyone quite as much as it does today.

Our modern facilities—computers and fax machines, which send information all over the world instantly; stock exchanges in London, New York, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, which afford the opportunity to purchase or sell stocks around the world and around the clock—certainly help us to keep track of financial statistics. But they don't do anything at all to solve the underlying challenge of managing the economy so that supply and demand match each other all the time.

Some people think of the word economy as just another name for frugality. But doesn't it include the quality of resourcefulness as well? Managing the economy well calls for good judgment, too. And good judgment requires good thinking. And because good thinking has its source in God, divine Mind, what we might call the spiritual dimension of economy is very important.

A theological definition of the word economy is "The Creator's plan." So the highest sense of economy is that of God's provision for His creation. This provision is made up of His ideas. Man includes these ideas because he is the image and likeness of the one divine Mind. Through prayer we each can draw on God's ideas to meet our own daily needs.

What kind of prayer? Not just begging God for the things we think we need. But praying to make our own thought more in accord with the truth of being by expressing more of the spiritual qualities that reflect God. What sort of qualities? Wisdom, integrity, justice, unselfishness, creativity, perception, stability, and so on. When we cultivate these, they open up new and satisfying experiences, changing drab routine as well as dire need into useful progress.

Mrs. Eddy speaks of God's provision for man in Miscellaneous Writings. She states: "God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies. Never ask for to-morrow: it is enough that divine Love is an ever-present help; and if you wait, never doubting, you will have all you need every moment. What a glorious inheritance is given to us through the understanding of omnipresent Love! More we cannot ask: more we do not want: more we cannot have" (p. 307).

I remember very vividly an experience my husband and I had that illustrates how divine Love supplies us with all we need. We arrived back in England during a snowstorm after living in Africa for a number of years. My husband's job had been terminated, and because of local violence it had been wise to leave quickly. We left everything behind and had no idea what we would do when we arrived in England. During the voyage we had been praying with the spiritual ideas that Mind provided us with, along the lines of those mentioned in this article. We were well aware of the challenges that awaited us. Through prayer we knew better than before that God is Life and the provider of all good. The first night we stayed in a hotel. The next day I went out and found a flat, and my husband bought a warm suit. By the end of the week he had a new job. All this was quite different from anything we had expected, but it was wonderful evidence of God's loving care.

This is only one of several occasions when our circumstances have changed radically as a result of international events that seemed quite beyond our control. Each time, opportunities have opened up involving new work in different countries as we responded to the spiritual ideas our prayers unfolded to us. And, looking back, we see that these experiences widened our understanding of God's creation.

So, whatever our economic needs may be, a more spiritual dimension of thought can bring us new ideas. And we all have the God-given resourcefulness and perseverance to put these ideas into practice successfully.

How can we develop the spiritual dimension of thought that makes us responsive to God's ideas, and help others to do so as well? Christian Science explains that spiritual understanding is really inherent in each one of us as the child, or reflection, of God. Through prayer and the study of Christian Science we will come to see this more clearly. We hear God's ideas as we listen for them and cherish them. Then, step by step, we follow divine guidance and witness Love meeting our needs.

This is quite different from thinking of ourselves and everyone else as needy mortals, trying hard to eke out a living from inadequate resources, or even learning to get better at going without things we think we need. It's a thought turnaround that produces wonderful and sometimes surprising results.

The effects of this kind of thought-trasformation are seen on an occasion when Christ Jesus helped the disciples to bring in a big catch of fish after they had tried all night without any success at all. In Luke's Gospel we read: "Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes" (5:4–6).

What had happened? The fish were the same. They had been there all the time. The location, the fishing nets, and the fishermen themselves were all the same. But the result was quite different. Thought had been awakened by the call of the Christ. The disciples had responded to the God-sent idea. Then positive results were seen.

Christian Science explains that this is the natural effect when human thought is willing to launch out into the deep—the more profound spiritual level of thought that yields such unexpected and satisfying results, as Jesus showed us.

Mrs. Eddy assures us in Science and Health, "Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need" (p. 494). But sometimes people protest, along the lines of Simon Peter's comment to Jesus, "Well, divine Love hasn't met this need of mine." Perhaps the answer might be that not enough of divine Love has been allowed into human consciousness. Perhaps it has been blocked by negative, materialistic thinking, a sense of limitation, of doubt or depression, or even of apathy or resentment. Again, the need is always for more trust in God, more understanding of the perfect well-being of His creation, and more receptivity to the spiritual ideas that are unfolding the proof of God's infinite goodness. Divine Love doesn't work independently of man. You and I need to allow the ideas of Love to permeate thought; we need to recognize, accept, and demonstrate them.

This receptive attitude should extend to every activity of our daily lives, not just sorting out money matters. It's quite simply the best way to deal effectively with any human situation that may confront us.

Can we really expect to see economic conditions improve in human experience, even at a time like the present? Yes, if we are prepared to use every opportunity to invest more effort into employing the spiritual qualities God expresses in man and through man. Then we can share the results that they bring. In the divine economy there are no gluts or shortages, no booms or busts, just the perfect coordination of supply and demand.

This is quite different from merely being careful to make our salary last until next payday, or stretching limited human resources to make them go a little further or last a little longer. And it's quite different from rashly taking on excessive commitments and then frantically praying for the means with which to meet them.

In short, the spiritual supply of good isn't something to be squandered, hoarded, or taken for granted, but something to be treasured and shared. And it doesn't mean getting what we think we want all the time in the way we think we want it. Sometimes there turns out to be a better solution and a better way than we had planned for ourselves or accepted as right for everyone involved.

These are some of the ways a spiritual dimension of thought affects the management of our economy—and goes on to permeate and bless every aspect of our lives.