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Angels to the rescue

A Christian Science perspective: Turning to God in prayer brings healing messages that meet our needs.

  • By Margaret Jane Seymour

We all have challenges to face in our lives. I have learned that whenever there’s a problem – big or small – we are able to turn to God and better understand that our loving Father-Mother is right there with us, caring for us, forever maintaining the well-being of all of us.

The 91st Psalm gives this assurance: “Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways” (verses 9-11).

In her book “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, defines “angels” as “God’s thoughts passing to man; spiritual intuitions, pure and perfect; the inspiration of goodness, purity, and immortality, counteracting all evil, sensuality, and mortality” (p. 581).

The Bible tells of God’s angels, or “spiritual intuitions,” delivering people in times of need. For instance, in one account we read that Hagar, Abraham’s bondwoman, was turned out into the wilderness with her son at the request of Abraham’s wife, Sarah. Their supply of water ran out, and she feared that her son would die (see Genesis 21:9-20).

The account says that God’s angel told Hagar not to be afraid, and that “God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water.” She was able to give her son drink. God was with them to care for their needs, despite what appeared to be a dire situation. The Bible goes on to say that Hagar’s son “grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.”

I myself received a needed spiritual message when I needed to take a trip by boat some years ago. I had regularly suffered from feelings of seasickness when traveling in boats and was quite fearful of embarking on this trip.

I reached out to God in prayer for some kind of reassurance. Part of what came to me were the words “stationary power, stillness, and strength.” I knew this was from the writings of Mrs. Eddy. The complete statement is: “The best spiritual type of Christly method for uplifting human thought and imparting divine Truth, is stationary power, stillness, and strength; and when this spiritual ideal is made our own, it becomes the model for human action” (“Retrospection and Introspection,” p. 93).

I pondered the words, and became calmer and more confident as I boarded the boat. I realized that fear could not be from God, who is all-loving and imparts only good to His spiritual children, who “live, and move, and have our being” in Him (see Acts 17:28).

I kept in thought the unchanging peace and power of God’s presence everywhere. This was uplifting me and supplying me with the strength to overcome fear. I accepted the fact that God, divine Love, was firmly in control, and therefore I was safe. I was able to complete the trip without any ill effects whatsoever.

I love to contemplate the thought that God is with us and is the source of true strength, peace, and stillness, and that through prayer we’re able to perceive this and feel that calm, healing presence. This isn’t overlooking trouble, but opening the way to its removal.

This article was adapted from an article in the Oct. 31, 2016, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.

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