Prayer and true security
A Christian Science perspective: Finding safety and protection.
It is natural for individuals and nations to want to feel safe. I have learned through my study and practice of Christian Science that I can pray about security and turn wholeheartedly to God to know and feel deeply a real permanent sense of safety.
Security that comes from God is not precarious or at the mercy of material circumstances, but is promotive of freedom and possibility. No evil lurks in God’s presence. This is because God, the one God, who is Love itself, loves each of us.
I love the Bible verse that says, “The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders” (Deuteronomy 33:12). To me, it speaks of our indissoluble oneness with God.
Consonant with the Bible’s teachings, Christian Science teaches that we are one with God as His spiritual likeness, so we can no more be disconnected from Him than a ray of light from the sun. In my prayers, I seek to better understand my unity with God, all-powerful and ever-present Love. In actuality, we all dwell in safety – we live in God’s omnipotence and omnipresence, which, because of God’s pure goodness, includes nothing that can harm.
Mary Baker Eddy, who gave to humanity her discovery of Christian Science, searched the Bible to gain its deeper spiritual meaning, including the significance of biblical events and terms. In defining Noah’s ark, she says in part: “Ark. Safety; the idea, or reflection, of Truth, proved to be as immortal as its Principle” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” p. 581).
Understanding that man (every one of us) is the reflection or image and likeness of God helps me see that my life reflects the one unassailable Life, or God. This is the Life we all reflect. Each of us is the cherished and valued child of God, Spirit, who is our only true source of being. Acknowledging this strengthens our prayers for the world.
As I pray about humanity’s safety, I see that fears of vulnerability loom large. These fears darken thought and obscure the message of our oneness with all good – our complete safety in God, who is good itself. God’s ever-present message to us of the supremacy of good is the Christ. The Christ-message comes to our thought to eliminate feelings of insecurity. It not only brings us peace, but also guides us to safety when we heed its leadings. Jesus proved his real spiritual selfhood to be the Christ, safe from danger. He walked unharmed through angry crowds seeking to hurt him, for instance (see Luke 4:24-30). The light of his divine nature also enabled him to heal multitudes through his understanding of God’s perfection and our likeness to God.
I have found that as the light of spiritual truth dispels the darkness of fear and worry in my thought, I am more conscious of God’s goodness all around me, and I have felt guided in practical ways that have kept me safe.
When an abiding understanding of God’s goodness and love impel thought and action, hatred, fear, and aggression lose their foothold in our individual lives, and this contributes to a lessening of them in society as a whole. In reality, Love’s defense of us is in the truth that Love knows nothing but goodness and freedom for its beloved creation. This law of Love is at work in human consciousness, and therefore on the human scene. As we grow in our understanding of divine Love, our ark of safety is evident in our experience, and that safety is felt by those around us and beyond.