These days, a simple Internet search on the word mosquito would put almost anyone on the alert. Verbs such as "control," "suppress," and "trap" dominate Web site descriptions and product advertising. "Kill mosquitoes before they kill you," one site cautions.

Forget biological warfare for a minute. This attack on America is coming from within its own borders, as the West Nile virus affects growing numbers of people throughout the US. Disease control experts predict that eventually the virus is likely to spread across the entire country, and they foresee more human cases before the end of the year.

But in spite of safety precautions and control tactics, public vigilance and federal funding, the West Nile virus looks unstoppable. In August, The Christian Science Monitor reported that "so far this year; the so-called West Nile virus has spread farther and caused more fatalities than anthrax" ("Virus deaths spur mosquito-control efforts," August 19, 2002, by Laurent Belsie). According to news sources, relatively few mosquitoes actually pose a threat. But fear lingers in the mind of the public.

Prayer is a step we can take to confront West Nile and to seek solutions. But this step involves a different kind of vigilance from the kind for which public officials have been calling. This is a spiritual step, and it involves watching how we think.

"Watching" requires identifying whatever brings feelings of helplessness or anxiousness, and removing it. I prayed to do this when I initially heard about West Nile, and I was startled to discover I'd unwittingly become "infected" by an absolute terror of this virus. As I understood it, this was one of the characteristics of an epidemic: widespread infection. I wasn't surprised to read that an epidemic is defined as something that affects many individuals in a population at the same time.

But how can we keep free of fear? How do we stay "immune" to this mental epidemic?

It helps me to recognize that there is only one God, or Mind, and that this Mind created everything and called it "good." To align my own thought more closely with this Mind and acknowledge that Mind is, in fact, the sole source of my thoughts. Creation, as the first chapter of Genesis repeatedly describes it, is not a mixed bag of good and evil. It is totally good, harmless, indestructible. The Mind that conceived this creation is also the Mind that maintains it. God would never want us to consent to anything less than this good existence.

Because my family lives in Tennessee, ongoing news accounts about nearby Louisiana's own West Nile death toll and rising infection count had me feeling pretty worried. All I could think about were my parents and sister in Memphis—just a short distance away from the Louisiana line, as the mosquito flies, so to speak.

I'd always harbored a strong dislike for mosquitoes. And the spread of the virus also increased my aversion to what I saw as a flying pest. But I also knew in my heart that the description "flying pest" didn't exactly fit in with the Biblical idea that God's creation was and is "very good." I decided I needed to pray some more, and I asked God to do two things. First, to eliminate my fear. And second, to help me understand the harmlessness of His creation, including mosquitoes.

As I prayed, I was struck by how relevant the words of the 91st Psalm were. I realized that as I began to get a clearer view of existence as not material, corruptible, or harmful, I was actually "dwelling in the secret place of the most High," as that psalm puts it. Dwelling there not only left no room for fear, but also kept me focused on the truth that creation was good. And the psalm contains promises that accompany this focus: "Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways" (9-11).

To me, the assurance in these words was that when we understand God as the sole source of our thought and substance, we'll be protected. It is a mode of thinking in which we become aware of our unbreakable link to God and see that, to Him, each creature is not only harmless, but also useful. This means that there can be no life-threatening plague—mosquito-borne or otherwise—where God is.

The other assurance was that I could be receptive to God's angels. To me, angels are those thoughts that bring feelings of peace and well-being, often in direct contrast to what's going on around me. These angels remind me that no matter what the frightening news is at any given moment, we are actually forever protected by God.

My "watch" not only changed my attitude toward mosquitoes. It also took away my fear. It showed me that there is a spiritual reality that we can turn to at all times. That in this "secret place of the most High," we can find a release from fear and a conviction that we are safe.

In praying, I found myself participating in a public vigilance that I feel will help alter the course of the West Nile problem for the better. We can all take part in this. Our prayers are the neighborhood and individual efforts that are genuinely needed, and the effects of these prayers are worth watching for.