Prayer from across the sea
How do I pray for a bombing that happened thousands of miles away in Kenya? This question instantly popped into my head when we received word of the Kenyan referendum bombing. How can I—one person who has no connection to that part of the world—pray for the people there?
It’s a question that I needed to address before I could hope to have any positive effect on the situation in Kenya. This is something I always struggle with, whether it is a war, a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, or something else that tries to influence the way I’m thinking about the world. I am too small to have any power to change something greater than myself, right?
WRONG! I mean, sure, if you look at it from a strictly human perspective then it seems pretty useless for one person to pray about something. But are we only the skin and bones we see with our eyes? No, we are spiritual ideas, and we must learn to look at things from a spiritual view. This will change the world.
I heard this story about when Christopher Columbus discovered the West. The Native Americans could not see the ships approaching on the horizon. All they could see was a disturbance in the water. The idea of a ship was so foreign to them that they actually could not see them. One day the head of one of the Indian villages, who had been peering out at the ocean, finally saw the ships. In turn, he showed them to the others and suddenly they could see them, too.
That is how we can affect the world. We can see things that most people don’t because we know something about the spiritual nature of God and His ideas. Even so, it can be hard for us to see things as spiritual ideas because we are surrounded by materiality, but we must remain persistent as we declare the spiritual truth about what’s going on in the world. Kick out the thoughts of disorder and chaos because they are not spiritual laws.
When we understand what’s really happening, we can show something new to others, just like that Native American leader did with the ships.
I saw these interviews that the Christian Science Board of Directors did after the earthquake in Haiti. They are answering the question Am I too small to make a difference? Tom Black states this beautiful idea that sums up what I am trying to say. He says,”So in the place where disaster appears to be, if I only had eyes to see it, is great calm and joy and order and peace. In that place is not chaos, disorder, and destruction.” We need to see with our “spiritual” eyes, we need to see this joy and order and peace. When you see this for yourself, you can help others see it. So see it!
By Justin Belote
For more ideas about this topic:
Blog: Peace the world over
Praying about world violence or other issues?
Blog: Praying for the world. And the people in it.
Podcasts: Healing Violence
Quelling Violence
Prayer and Politics
Articles: A story of peace, not violence
Persistent peace
A spiritual answer to violence and suffering
Overcoming violence with good
Transcribed Audio Chats: Peacebuilding and the decline of war
Prayer: a powerful weapon against terrorism
Topics: World Issues | Tags: bombing, Kenya, referendum, terrorism, violence
“But are we only the skin and bones we see with our eyes? No, we are spiritual ideas, and we must learn to look at things from a spiritual view. This will change the world.”
The only way humanity has learned truth about our existence is through the scientific method.
Assuming an unobserved and unsupported view of reality as a sacred truth is weak and dangerous thinking.
Independent of wish-thinking, what evidence is there that we are more than skin and bones?
Thanks, Justin! I always love a good analogy to help understand a spiritual concept. I guess other people do, too, and that’s one reason Jesus taught in parables. I’d say you’re doing a great job of following his example!! Keep it up. :)
Wow I’d never heard that story before. It’s very interesting way to look at it. I know that with everyone’s good thoughts great things can happen, even if we’re not close to the incident.
Yes, Natalie, your right, He can only cause good! I read this cool thing in Science and Health a couple nights ago. It said something along the lines of how we don’t stand at a blackboard and pray to know math, you simply follow the rules that have been established. Its the same thing here we don’t pray for good because good is the spiritual laws that have been established. We simply must just follow them and recognize them. Show other people the math equation so to speak.
Andres your right on, too. Mrs. Eddy has two quotes in the beginning of Science and Health and one is by Shakespeare, it says, “Nothing is good or bad but thinking makes it so.” Thinking is everything and dwelling on the negative things is admitting that they are negative. We must push beyond this and change our view of these events because, again, only good is, can, and will happen.
This is great! thanks for sharing Justin! I love the story of the native americans and the relation you have made with today’s disturbances. It is all mental and we need to start correcting our thought rather than be feeding to the fire all these negative thoughts!
Thanks for sharing those great ideas, Justin! I really like the idea that we can “show” others a spiritual way of thinking. If we keep our thought uplifted and clear, it’s sure to be felt by others. I know, personally, I’m really inspired by the people who are confident they can make a positive change in the world. And I can be one of those people, too. I know who the only One is that causes anything, and all He can cause is good. I just have to work on not forgetting this. Does anyone else struggle to remember this truth when they hear bad news? How can we hold onto it?
Natalie, I’m glad to hear you struggle with this idea when you hear bad news. You struggle with it because it’s a logical fallacy to claim that god is omnipotent and omnipresent and all-acting, but we have signs of discord and pain all around us. Even it was an illusion, as CS claims, the illusion should not even be able to present itself in a completely governed universe.
CS does not hold up to logic or scientific methods.
And that is why more and more people should struggle and see the critical flaws and dangers in this philosophy.
The time for better thinkers has come.