Loneliness—God has an answer for you

There may be times in life when any one of us feels lonely. But it’s important to understand that loneliness is never a permanent state of being. Through the grace of God, everyone is entitled to find a reason for hope in life and a way out of loneliness.

Christian Science is a wonderful discovery that reveals God’s true nature to all humanity. It teaches what many in the world intuitively feel—that God is what the Bible declares Him to be, “. . . a very present help in trouble,” who cares deeply for all of His children, especially those who may be feeling very alone in life. God is our divine Parent and Friend who is always willing, ready, and able to help.

I believe that our heavenly Father communicates with each of His children, and my most effective praying happens when I listen to what God is revealing to me, rather than when I pray by telling God all my problems. After all, Christ Jesus said, “Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” A prayer that involves humble listening will always direct one in ways that will be helpful and lead to greater good.

As a spiritual approach to finding answers to life’s problems, the listening kind of prayer differs from other approaches to problem-solving that rely on human knowledge, experience, and theories. A prayerful, spiritual method relies on divine inspiration and revelation—and on discerning the divine laws of God and how they operate in our lives.

While there’s no doubt that there have been advancements in understanding existence, human knowledge is finite and fallible. On the other hand, the infinite intelligence of God, who may be thought of as divine Mind, is the source of all true understanding. Above all human knowledge and expertise are the laws of the divine Principle, which is able to meet every human need. Therefore, it always makes sense to look to God for answers.

Loneliness is not so much a condition of physical isolation as it is a state of thought. Given this mental nature of loneliness, we need to treat it by addressing it mentally. Prayer has a direct impact on thought. It uplifts a person’s mental state in ways that allow him or her to rise above limited, human perceptions.

This spiritual elevation of thought can reveal a wholly different perspective on life, which leads to a new way of thinking. Through prayer, old, troubling views of our lives and circumstances yield to a glorious new understanding, and healing happens. It’s all a direct result of thought shifting to a more spiritual outlook.

Many circumstances in life can lead to someone feeling lonely. Single adults who lack companionship and family sometimes find themselves feeling quite alone in life. Elderly people often find themselves in living situations where they feel very far removed from loved ones. Sometimes in our careers, we feel misunderstood or unsupported, and it seems as if we’re standing totally alone. And even when someone does have the companionship of marriage, or is surrounded by friends and co-workers, it is still quite possible to feel alone.

In each of these instances, loneliness appears to be due to circumstances. Consequently, we believe that the situation must change before a feeling of loneliness can disappear. But Christian Science shows that the only change that’s needed takes place in one’s thought. By relying on prayer, we can gain God’s wisdom, and discern what we need to know at a given moment. As Mary Baker Eddy explained in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, “The very circumstance, which your suffering sense deems wrathful and afflictive, Love [God] can make an angel entertained unawares.”

The change of thought that heals loneliness is not positive thinking—simply exchanging bleak thoughts for happy thoughts. Christianly scientific prayer takes us beneath the surface, to the very core of who we are and what we believe. It’s a spiritual approach to healing that shifts thought from limited human perceptions and blind beliefs to divine inspirations and spiritual conclusions. These conclusions are represented by the following spiritual facts:

• God is ever present; therefore, man is never alone.
• God created man in His image; therefore, man is the full manifestation of all worthiness, fulfillment, and happiness.

• The child of God is never for an instant separated from the divine source of good.
• In reality, there has never been a reason to feel lonely, but there is always a reason to hope, and to experience the abundance of God’s pure love and joy.

Take the example of someone deployed in military service far from home. This often separates families for extended periods of time. A soldier may feel very alone while serving in a distant land, while his or her family and friends can feel just as alone on the home front.

But separation is a human concept based on physical limitations of time and space. Prayer can lift anyone’s thinking above this human concept to perceiving the spiritual fact—that divine Love knows no boundaries, neither is it ever confined by time and space. In infinite Spirit, there can be no separation of the created from the Creator, or between all sons and daughters in God’s universe.

Through prayer, thought moves from a human basis of physical separation to a divine standpoint of spiritual union and eternal oneness.

There’s great comfort in a growing understanding of the fact that no matter where we may be in the world, we can still feel the love of a spouse or family or friends. We can feel united, one in God’s love, and not lonely or separated.

In like manner, someone who is single does not need to accept the human assessment that he or she is all alone and cut off from a reliable source of happiness and fulfillment. The Bible verse that assures us nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God” is stating an actual spiritual fact. Through his words and healing works, Jesus made it clear that we are one with God—the only reliable source of all good and fulfillment—never cut off from Love itself.

Not even the truest of human companions can be the actual source of one’s joy and fulfillment. Happiness is ultimately found in Spirit, in God, and it’s only in our connection with God that we experience real and lasting happiness. Whether married or single, we’re never alone when we feel the companionship of divine Love present with us.

The life of Christ Jesus is an inspiration to people all over the world. He is deeply adored, and for good reason. One of the lessons his life demonstrated is that one can be alone, but not lonely. Jesus often found himself alone on his path of glory. He was on his own for days in the wilderness, abandoned in the garden of Gethsemane, isolated in a tomb.

When considering those moments when Jesus seemed most forsaken, we need to understand that he was not lonely, but busy fulfilling his purpose in life alone with God. He was alone with All—with all that is fulfilling and satisfying. Alone with his true source of happiness.

At first, this may not be very comforting to one who is feeling desolate and seeking companionship. However, learning that we are forever alone with God and His ideas, with the All-in-all, is the ultimate fulfilling of human experience. Once we’re on this path, and learn something of its demands and rewards, there is no doubt that life will be satisfying and joyful.

Ron Mangelsdorf practices and teaches Christian Science healing from his home base in Palmer, Alaska.

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