When someone experiences even a bit of the liberation that comes through spiritual healing—the physical and mental freedom that results from being renovated from within—it's natural to want to share it with others. "Why, this is for the whole world," we may have said to ourselves.

It may seem challenging, however, to realize that one's own exploration of God's laws of health brings with it an accompanying demand to try to heal the world's ills, including its political and economic challenges.

This is what may have been on the prophet Isaiah's mind when he told the Hebrews, "Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations" (Isa. 54:2). So it's important to ask oneself, What is it that occupies my thought? Am I as concerned about the state of the world as I am about healing my latest personal trouble?

Anyone who has prayed diligently, perhaps several times a day, to heal a pressing difficulty, knows the value of perseverance. The same persistent mental activity would also help heal the world of its many collective wounds, even though the one praying may not individually be aware of the steps that need to be taken in any instance. Yet, each one of us does hold the world in his or her thought—in one's "tent," as it were—and we do have a share of responsibility for the state of the world we inhabit.

Just how prayer affects the outcome of collective situations may seem unclear. But it's not possible to be neutral about the state of world affairs, and to the extent that one's thinking mirrors the underlying spiritual reality, he or she can help heal international conflicts.

In reality, we're all children of God, the one divine Mind, and prayer for the world can begin by acknowledging the control that this Mind has over its creation. This spiritual fact may seem a long way from being recognized, but it is based on the same spiritual truths that underlie individual healing. "Christian Science must be accepted at this period by induction," Mary Baker Eddy wrote in Scienceand Health. "We admit the whole, because a part is proved and that part illustrates and proves the entire Principle" (p. 461).

Audible prayers in most churches generally include petitions for God's direction in domestic and international affairs. At the time of the Russo-Japanese War almost a century ago, Mary Baker Eddy wrote in this magazine, "I request that every member of The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, pray each day for the amicable settlement of the war between Russia and Japan ..." (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 279).

When we take on the responsibility of solving our personal difficulties through prayer, we haven't really finished the job until we also address whatever is unresolved in our own thought. That may be the immediate contribution many people can make to resolving larger problems.

At one time I had difficulty developing a piece of commercially zoned real estate. Although the property had been zoned commercial for several years, someone in the city planning office threw up various roadblocks to the deal, including at one point her own statement that she hoped the property would never be developed. For a time, matters seemed to be at an impasse.

My prayer was to see this other person, not as an opponent, but as someone who was motivated by a desire to do her own job as well as possible. The issue was eventually resolved satisfactorily, the property sold, and without going to court—the equivalent in this case of going to war! It was one small act of peacemaking.

America and her European allies are going through a particularly troubling period. Persons of intelligence see vastly different scenarios for the right actions to take. Praying that strives to see more of God's kingdom on earth—in this case, the reign of justice, mercy, equity in relationships—will surely contribute to wise decisions. And it is part of a healing practice.