Politics really seems to have taken our nation by storm this election cycle.  This hotly contested presidential race has people thinking about moving to Canada if their candidate of choice doesn’t win.  Should the outcome of a presidential election have so much power over our lives?  How can we pray effectively about our nation’s government and get results that bless all of our country’s citizens, promotes the unity of all nations, and creates peace for you and me?

Christian Science prayer empowers us to see that the force governing our lives is not a central government in Washington DC or our state’s capital.  Instead, man’s life is governed wholly by God.  The Bible gives us countless examples of God’s law superseding the statutes put in place by man.  Daniel was thrown into a den of hungry lions for disobeying the decree of the king, but he didn’t suffer any negative consequences.  The lions didn’t touch a hair on Daniel’s head!  The other result was that the law that had banned prayer to anyone but the king was reversed.  Daniel’s God, the God of Israel, was recognized by the king as the true, living God.

In modern times there are also examples of prayer having an effect on the political scene.  Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer and founder of Christian Science, resided in New Hampshire at the turn of the century.  During this time Russia and Japan had entered into an armed conflict.  In 1905 President Roosevelt asked the two countries to sit down for peace talks, and the place he chose as the site for negotiations was Portsmouth, New Hampshire, not far from Eddy’s house in Concord.  Mary Baker Eddy called upon all members of The Mother Church of Christ, Scientist to “pray each day for the amicable settlement of the war between Russia and Japan; and pray that God bless that great nation and those islands of the sea with peace and prosperity.”  (The First Church of Christ, Scientist and Miscellany 279:23 pray).

In only a month a treaty was signed ending the war and establishing peace.  Warring countries could not continue fighting in the face of the overwhelming peace established through Christian Science prayer.  God’s grace was poured out on the world in this hour through this faithful and effective prayer.  Faith in God is what tips the balance in the favor of good.  In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy writes “Your influence for good depends upon the weight you throw into the right scale.”  Having faith, even as small as a grain of mustard seed, is the one percent that tips the scale and influences the situation for the better.

In the same way that peace was demonstrated 1905, today we can demonstrate peace in our country’s political system by prayerfully supporting the democratic process that makes our nation so great.  The goal of our founding fathers was to “form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,” as stated in the Constitution of the United States of America.  Qualities like justice, tranquility, welfare, and liberty are all qualities of God.  As the sons and daughters of God we can lay claim to these qualities, and we can have faith that we will be able to demonstrate them in the life of our nation.

So lets try it!  Lets all join together to pray for our country’s presidential election.  This prayer is not political, it does not favor one candidate over another.  Instead it is putting our faith into the fact that our nation is governed by God, Divine Mind.  In this way, we will be empowered to form that perfect union written about in the Constitution.  Also in Science and Health, Mary Baker Eddy writes that “The devotion of thought to an honest achievement makes the achievement possible.”  By devoting our thought to securing the blessings of liberty, we will see that heaven is not a far off place we may someday go.  Instead heaven will be seen here, now, on earth.

We invite you to join us in prayer and share your inspiration in the comments section below!  Remember, your thoughts and prayers for our political system do have a real impact.  Sharing them here on our blog is a way for us to unite on this subject, and collectively we will make a difference.

You are also invited to join us on Wednesdays at 7:30pm for our Testimony Meeting and Sundays at 11:00am for our weekly church service.  Our Reading Room is another great resource to dig deeper and find helpful articles on how Christian Science heals.   You can join any of our services on the phone at the following number:

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