Praying about the Gulf oil spill
A collection of articles, comments, and discussions offering prayer and support to those affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
A Christian Science Monitor editorial
Why the Gulf oil spill demands more than new regulations
President Obama has rightly set up a commission to recommend new rules for offshore drilling even as he suspended permits for new drilling. But to prevent unexpected, human-caused natural calamities in the future will take something more: a demand for higher qualities of thought, such as a greater sense of obligation to others, a respect for one another’s views, and a longer-range regard for the collective good and the environment. more
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From The Christian Science Monitor — a Christian Science perspective
Lessons from the oil spill
Prayer can be a tremendous help even where the problems associated with the Gulf oil spill are concerned. Effective prayer isn’t a petition to an anthropomorphic deity, but the opening of the heart and mind to the infinite possibilities and power of God, divine good. read
Oil spill: moving beyond blame
In a biblical account, Moses felt God’s power to save in the midst of a battle, and his helpers saw the vital importance of supporting those who were risking their lives to protect others. The Gulf oil spill has parallels with that experience, and prayer can support and protect the people earnestly working to stop the spill and its effects. read
The oil spill and a different kind of news briefing
It’s important to know what the news media is presenting about the Gulf oil spill, but it’s also important to know that the most reliable news about it comes directly from God. The saving Christ is on the spot right now with everyone involved in the oil spill, so there need not be any lingering reminders or long-term effects from it. read
A healing answer to the Gulf oil spill
Progress is being made, but oil is still spewing into the Gulf of Mexico—a fact that brings the need for prayer into the sharpest possible focus. The Christ, or spiritual idea, can lead out of danger by drawing thought irresistibly to the right course of human action. And it can restore things too, just as Christ Jesus did. read
The oil spill and God’s finger
Christ Jesus refers to putting down evils with the finger of God. Such a symbol can convey a sense of the remarkably precise power that a God of divine Principle, perfect Love, can exercise. If God can remove an evil such as an illness from an individual, why should we doubt that such a divine presence can put His finger, figuratively speaking, on a relatively tiny oil leak? read
Oil spill: prayer’s effective response
Many people are concerned about the current oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. While human actions are necessary and helpful, spiritual steps are also needed. In fact, our human response can result from our prayer. We can pray for God to supply each person involved with the right idea needed at the right time. more
Help for oil spills
God has solutions, even for oil spills. God doesn’t allow man to be helpless. As we pray meekly, practical, immediate solutions occur to thought. They may be inventive and innovative or simple and obvious. But God never leaves humanity outside His care. more
Restoring Earth after disasters
Is it possible to rescue nature from the things that would despoil it? Can Earth’s loveliness be restored, not just in the Gulf of Mexico but around the globe? Yes. Discerning the spiritual reality of God’s creation, we all can see the effective remedy that prayer provides. read
Online chats
Thinking and praying about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill
On June 2, an online chat featuring Christian Science practitioner and teacher Ron Mangelsdorf was hosted on spirituality.com. With the Gulf oil spill affecting several US states, devastating wetlands and local fisheries, people gathered online to pray and think deeply about how God’s love for humanity and for all creation can bring to light inspired solutions and restore peace and well-being to these parts of our Earth. more
Prayer about the Gulf Coast oil spill
Christian Science practitioner Kit Wittich was the featured guest for this online chat about ways prayer can bring inspired solutions to the problems posed by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. more
Online chat & transcript
Prayer and the environment: spiritual solutions for a healthy planet
Ron Ballard, a Christian Science practitioner and teacher, explores how a change in the climate of our thought can help us all make a difference in purifying and restoring the planet. When we take a spiritual perspective and think of the environment as more than just a physical construct, we discover its infinite, unconfined, boundless nature. more
TMCyouth.com blogs
Prayer restores life after the oil spill
Nothing is beyond divine restoration. Nothing impossible to God. Your
prayer makes all the difference in bringing this to light. Whether you’re praying from your own living room or on one of the contaminated beaches, you’ll be right in the middle of the relief efforts. more
“On our knees” for oil?
Thousands of miles away from the Gulf of Mexico? No problem! All of us can help deal with the oil spill by devoting our efforts to changing the mental climate of consumption and waste. more
tmcyouth.com discussion
Praying about the oil spill
Join a discussion about ways people are praying about the oil spill. more
Spirituality.com articles
Gulf of Mexico oil spill and seeing God’s environment
Prayer that starts and ends with infinite Spirit is like a focusing knob on a microscope. It enables us to clear our thought and see beyond the oil spill to the singularly pure spiritual reality. read
Solutions to the Gulf oil spill? God’s too big to fail!
Often news reports about the Gulf oil spill give little reason for optimism or hope, but prayer in Christian Science offers a different perspective: God is too big to fail! more
Reflections on praying about the Exxon Valdez oil spill
Prayer-based insights about humanity and the environment transformed a man’s thoughts about a previous oil spill. They can do the same for you now. more
Visit spirituality.com for more related articles.
Question of the week
Do you pray regularly for the environment?
Site visitors to spirituality.com share their prayers and spiritual perspectives on the environment. Jump-start your own prayers here. more
From the Christian Science Sentinel
Can God help with technology?
When the answer to a complex problem seems beyond our grasp, there is somewhere we can turn. An understanding of God’s all-knowing, all-powerful nature removes fear and reveals inspired, creative solutions—no matter what the magnitude of the crisis—as this IT worker found out. more
Your Daily Lift podcasts
Creative solutions to oil spills
We can trust God to provide solutions no matter what problem we face, including an oil spill, as Christian Science lecturer Chet Manchester explains. more
Uncontaminated
Christian Science lecturer Heloísa Gelber Rivas explains a line of reasoning that overcomes the fear that God’s universe can be contaminated. more (También disponible en español)
