Sometimes, we take in the news or experience things in our own lives and say, “I can’t believe it!” Admittedly, this is generally an expression of exasperation. But with a different thought behind them – one based on spiritual authority – the same words convey something very different. They become a prayer of affirmation that what we are seeing isn’t the reality it seems to be, but a transient belief in a mortal or material existence, which isn’t so in light of the allness, the reality, of God, Spirit.
That’s not to suggest that simply disbelieving something that we don’t want to be true is a prayer. But it is prayer to know the truth that God, our creator, exists and is good – infinitely good. That’s a truth Jesus demonstrated by his singular life and multiplicity of healings. Evils, from sickness to sin and even death, yielded to Christ, the spiritual idea of God that Jesus knew and loved and fully embodied. His many healings proved that anything that isn’t good isn’t of God, and is, therefore, a temporal belief rather than the solid fact it seems to be. And his capacity to heal illustrated the ability inherent in each one of us to discern God, good, as the universal reality.
Even a shocked “I can’t believe it!” hints at this spiritual sense. It shows that we expect good in our lives and instinctively balk at what is an affront to that expectation. This aversion to the wrongs we see and hear is rooted in the truth that God doesn’t create anything unlike Himself, so He doesn’t know anything unlike good. And in our true, spiritual identity as God’s image or reflection, neither do we.
So if the things we see or experience don’t express God’s care, harmony, integrity, etc., we can indeed confirm in prayer that we can’t believe it. That is, as the spiritual offspring of God, Spirit, we cannot be persuaded for a moment to accept as real anything that denies the infinite goodness of the All-in-all. No matter what we see or feel, we can stand for the divine Science, or truth, of our God-reflecting thinking.
For sure, this spiritual reasoning goes against the tide of human conviction. But as Mary Baker Eddy writes in “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” “If thought is startled at the strong claim of Science for the supremacy of God, or Truth, and doubts the supremacy of good, ought we not, contrariwise, to be astounded at the vigorous claims of evil and doubt them, and no longer think it natural to love sin and unnatural to forsake it, – no longer imagine evil to be ever-present and good absent?” (p. 130).
Through communion with God in prayer and spiritual study, we awaken to this divine sense that so consistently motivated Jesus. By it, we might first see that the ills of life, such as sickness, fear, hatred, and injustice, are matter-based beliefs. But as we rise to a clearer understanding of what is and isn’t real, we recognize the nothingness of these beliefs themselves. This recognition is Christ’s healing light, which lifts us above the fray – above competing conceptions of what is true that are clamoring for our attention – and enables us to attain the peace of Mind.
From this vantage point, thoughts come to us that replace any resignation to wrong with the inspiration that leads to right resolutions. We find healing for ourselves and shine a light on what’s spiritually true for others – in fact, for the whole world.
What’s needed is to disabuse ourselves and others of the false belief in a power outside of God by yielding our fears and doubts to the conviction of Mind’s sweet control. This supports the emergence of right attitudes and actions in ourselves and others.
So when we’re distressed by personal, local, or global events, let’s respond with the “I can’t believe it!” thought that truly doesn’t believe it. Let’s spiritually, lovingly, and gratefully accept that we are the reflection of Mind, which never has to believe because it always knows. And all that Mind knows is the ever-active, perpetually loving, all-spiritual expression of God’s love that pervades the universe He creates and sustains.
Then, even – or especially – in the face of challenging circumstances, we can take our spiritual stand with the expectation that it will have a healing impact. We can steadfastly accept that God and the good that He knows are our own and everyone’s present and permanent reality.
Adapted from an editorial published in the April 6, 2026, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.
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