When the latest round of natural disasters occurred in Indonesia, the Philippines and Samoa, a despairing voice sighed in the background of my thought, “Oh not again. These disasters happen year after year. They are never ending…”

I caught the subtle, yet gross, evil and reversed it with a stern proclamation of truth: “Never stop bearing witness to God’s harmonious kingdom and all of mankind’s inclusion in it!”

If we ever get tired of praying, it’s a sign that we’re caving into evil and giving more power to evil than we are to God, good. This is not a healthy mental place to be!

Jesus was adamant in his teachings that evil was a lie and a liar. His understanding of the supremacy of God, good, enabled him to overcome and conquer every single form of evil the world could throw at him. And he left his example for us to follow. He conquered natural disasters too with his stilling of the storm and feeding the hungry thousands.

Prayer is more than uttered words. Prayer is more than time spent studying the Bible or spiritual texts. Prayer is more than thinking right thoughts. Prayer is a spiritual life lived, spiritual mindedness expressed, good deeds done. Prayer is a crystal clear understanding of what is spiritually real, and experiencing that reality in a tangible meaningful way. Prayer is living in the Kingdom. And this kind of prayer is a joy to participate in.

There is nothing burdensome about prayer. Burden comes from not praying, from believing that evil is real and giving into evil suggestions.

God is good, and God is omnipotent. This immortal truth does not seem real to the material sense of things, but the whole purpose of prayer is to break free of any mortal lie of life in matter and accept spiritual reality as the only reality. In a consciousness of Truth, evil disappears, and so does its erroneous effects.

So, when a disaster hits somewhere in the world, it’s not a time to believe that evil is real, destructive and hopelessly in control. It’s a call to do exactly the opposite. It’s a call on our practice of Christian Science to reverse the aggressive claims of evil and vehemently replace them with unmovable statements of Truth that bring healing to those in need.

Spiritual step by spiritual step, prayer by prayer, mankind discovers and experiences to increasing degree the glorious freedom that comes from understanding spiritual truth and accepting its reality. And this progress will include greater dominion over the weather and consequently fewer climate disasters.

Never tire of knowing the truth that helps your fellowman in any part of the world. We are all brothers and sisters, part of one family, under God, and we all benefit from each other’s prayers to understand truth better and see it demonstrated more concretely.

“Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” I Thes.