Category: Spiritual Healing

Quick healing of bike accident injury

I don’t know exactly how to pray for each and every situation, but I do know that prayer has a meaningful and beneficial impact on my life.  Whenever I am unsure about how to proceed with prayer, even when I know that is the right step to be taking, I simply think, “It matters how I think right now.”  This thought always humbles my thinking and allows me to be receptive to God.

During a recent road biking excursion I made a swift and unexpected dismount onto the pavement at the start of a climb.  As I was lying in the road trying to piece together what had just happened I looked over at my arm and noticed a bone in my arm looking alarmingly out of place. Instead of praying immediately, I let the physical situation take hold of my thought—I was experiencing really forceful resistance to prayer which was completely contrary to my usual response of, “It matters how I think right now.”  In a few minutes I was helped off the road and able to lie on the pavement in the sun.  My fellow riders included three family members who also actively practice Christian Science, and for them I couldn’t be more grateful.  As I struggled with resistance, these three people purposefully and vocally reminded me that I was in fact perfectly whole and able to claim dominion over the physical situation.  Their conviction to see me as spiritually pure melted my resistance in a matter of moments.

The second I began to identify more with a spiritually whole vision of myself, rather than a fallen, injured physical person, the transformation from bone out of place and a great amount of physical pain to feeling perfectly normal was very quick.  My brother, who was sitting with me and praying as I lay on the side of the road was himself impressed with the way improved thought and a willingness to simply be present with God directly corresponded to a restoration of my arm.  The healing was in fact so swift, that I had a hard time trusting the results at first.  In response to this tentative thinking, my brother and I worked with this idea from Mary Baker Eddy, “Whosoever understands the power of Spirit, has no doubt of God’s power, —even the might of Truth, —to heal, through divine Science, beyond all human means and methods” Miscellaneous Writings 52:7.

Half an hour later I was playing with my two-year-old niece whom I instinctively reached out to and picked up in my arms when she called my name and ran to me.  I experienced no pain from this simple act of love.  A week later I participated in a 100K bike race on the exact same road where the bike accident had happened a week before.  I was able ride free of pain or apprehension both physically and mentally.

I pursue a lot of outdoor sports, from cycling and distance running to rock climbing and river running.  Without a doubt, these experiences have been the most significant for me as a student of Christian Science.  It’s in those moments of physical duress that I have come to know and understand my spiritual identity as the more accurate and complete description of me.  I am so grateful for the insight that prayer gives us into life, making each opportunity to pray not just physically but mentally and spiritually transformative.

L.T.

Prayer helps after head struck

I have a very dear friend from England who was moving her parents into a care facility so I flew to LA to assist with packing the house.  As we left Starbuck’s after getting something for breakfast, I became aware of someone ranting to my left and suddenly he threw my friend against the wall.  As I turned to help my friend, he struck me on the temple with a blunt object and I seemed to be experiencing a lot of pain.  We hurried back to Starbucks to avoid further threats from this seemingly deranged young man.

I immediately thought, man is not a victim and can’t be victimized.  The side of my head was really pounding by this time so I kept repeating the Scientific Statement of Being (found on page 468 of Science and Health, by Mrs. Eddy.)  I sought reassurance that my friend was OK and she exclaimed there was a huge lump growing on my head.  I assured her that I was fine but she insisted the paramedics be called.  This is not what I wanted but I knew I needed to handle this so I tried to remain as calm as possible.  The paramedics found my blood pressure was absolutely normal; however, they gave my friend a litany of symptoms to watch for as I declined any further assistance.

We walked back to the house but as we started to get the packing materials out, I was in extreme pain and experiencing a migraine aura.  I was so grateful to have my cell phone with me which had a Christian Science practitioner’s number in it.   The practitioner gave me some encouraging ideas and the aura lifted immediately but the pain persisted; however I was able to pack.  Later that afternoon, the police arrived for a routine investigation precipitated by the paramedics’ report.  I sincerely expressed this individual needed help not incarceration.  Later that evening, I was able to sleep comfortably and I awoke with absolutely no pain.  We packed the rest of the house and I flew home that afternoon with no ill effect from the cabin pressure.  I went to work the next day, and although there was extensive bruising, I experienced no more pain.  Within a few days all evidence was gone.

My friend called me about a week later from England to see how I was doing. I said I was perfect!   She then admitted she had been having difficulty breathing when she was thrown against the wall but was so concerned about me that she made no mention of this incident.  Her present normal condition without medical intervention was further proof of God’s love for both of us.  I am so grateful for this demonstration of God’s care in sudden need.

RT

Prayer to leave matter out of solution brings good results

A few weeks ago there appeared in the weekly Bible Lesson (“God the Only Cause and Creator”) this passage from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, page 69:  “… ‘Do you teach that Spirit creates materially, or do you declare that Spirit is infinite, therefore matter is out of the question?’ ”  That question really grabbed my attention and stayed with me.

A few days later, I began to experience an annoying pain in my right arm.  Since I was on vacation at a tennis resort and had several matches scheduled, I started thinking, “Oh no, maybe I won’t be able to play; maybe if I stretched, or soaked in a hot tub or applied ice packs or something, I’d get through the next few matches.”  But right at that moment my thought returned to the above reference.  I wanted to leave matter completely out of the picture!  I turned to an article in the December 2010 Christian Science Journal entitled “Petition- an Important Element of Prayer” and started a prayer of petition.  I asked God to just rid my thinking of all these matter-based suggestions of methods to deal with a painful arm.  I pleaded for a purely spiritual recognition of my perfection at that very moment.

Soon the pain was gone.  I played tennis every day for the next ten days with no ill effects.  I was grateful for two reasons:  I wanted to realize the blessing of “leaving matter out of the picture”… and I wanted to enjoy the rest of my vacation!

H.F.

Illness While Driving Overcome

My husband and I drove to his university, about an hour and a half from home, for a 50th reunion weekend.  Events filled both Friday and Saturday, ending quite late each night.  I’m the designated driver after parties, and because of commitments, we had to drive back home each night.  The Friday night drive went fine, but as we started the drive Saturday night, I was feeling quite ill.  I had had little sleep in the days leading up to that weekend, and that lack of sleep, plus an active two days, hit me as dizziness, weakness and nausea.  As I drove through a rainstorm along crowded, unfamiliar freeways (“with the drunks out in force” as my husband assured me), I struggled to stay focused on the task at hand, praying firmly about God’s control.  Nevertheless, as we approached a long bridge over the bay, I seriously considered taking an exit and stopping somewhere until I could feel better.  But I knew my husband would be very alarmed.  And more importantly, I knew that God’s presence, strength and caring would not be any closer or stronger off the freeway than they were right where I was.  So I kept on, literally praying myself across that bridge, singing silently the hymn that assures us that “everlasting arms of Love are beneath, around, above.  He it is who leads us on; His the arm we lean upon.”  My conviction of God’s control grew steadily and I knew that no material circumstance (lack of sleep, storm, high winds, dangerous roadways) could weaken that control or prevent us (and everyone on the road) from safely reaching our destination.  When we arrived home, I was feeling so good that I was awake for two more hours, taking care of household things.  What a comfort it is to know that we are never outside of God’s care and the harmony of the spiritual creation that we live in every moment — and that we can turn trustingly to that care when we need it most.

C.O.

“Kingdom of heaven at hand”

In Matthew 10:7, Jesus states that “the kingdom of heaven at hand.”  This instruction from our Master to his disciples is a topic I had been studying specifically for a few weeks.  I was fortunate to find a few very good articles on this topic in past periodicals in our Reading Room.  Two of these articles were extremely inspiring.  Both entitled “Kingdom of heaven at hand”, one is by Robert Dolling Wells in the Christian Science Journal of December, 1959, and another by C.W. Chadwick in the June, 1905 Journal, page 153.  Chadwick emphasizes that Jesus’ mission was to show that salvation was to come in this present world and the distinguishing feature of that mission was to teach mankind the practical proof of the truth of this concept of “heaven at hand”– here, now.  He taught that heaven was not achieved by a state called death.  Why else would he have come to earth to urge men to “repent” and “believe the gospel”?

These ideas were ringing in my thought when I inadvertently tried to run through a glass door on my way to a tennis match.  After bounding back from the blow to my nose and forehead, and after a few confused thoughts, I regained my sense of “repentance”—changing my thinking—and re-established the “kingdom of heaven at hand”, refusing to accept that this kingdom included injury.  I began the match, but in a couple of games I began to feel neck pain.  My first thought was, “Aren’t you glad you refused to accept the idea of injury in God’s kingdom!”  Within minutes all sensation of discomfort or evidence of injury was gone.  I was very grateful.

H. C.

Effects of scalding water spill on skin healed

I had a lovely healing today.  As I was doing a cleaning project in the kitchen, the thought came: “If God didn’t make it, I can’t know it.  If God doesn’t feel it, I can’t feel it.”  I pondered this as I went about my task.  All of a sudden, some steaming water I was using to clean some equipment spewed out over my forearm.  At that moment, the phone rang, and it was my friend with her Wednesday readings she wished to read to me.  Her topic was “Rise up and let the Christ Lead you to the Living God.” She didn’t know of my need, but read me the citations from the Bible and Science and Health, by Mrs. Eddy.  Whole-heartedly agreeing with the presence of the living Christ, and cherishing that earlier message about if God didn’t make it, I can’t know it, I found myself instantly healed of any bad effects from contact with that scalding water.

M.L.

Prayer Heals Foot Injury

A few summers ago I was moving some debris and rocks out of the creek near our cabin in an effort to clean up an area that had the possibility of damning up. My footing was unsteady and the rocks, slippery wet. In the course of this work I inadvertently dropped a very large rock/boulder on top of my tennis shoe-clad foot. I could feel that something was not right immediately and hobbled off to the side and sat down. In those next few minutes I realized that I had a choice. I could accept this as an accident that had the potential of sidelining me for days, maybe weeks, OR claim my freedom from harm just as Jesus and his disciples did in their healing ministries.

Many times in my life, God’s loving care, direction, and supply have been made apparent in very practical ways. In one short week I was to fly to Denmark to visit with my daughter who was in a school program there. We had already made plans for an active seven-day bicycle trip around that country during her break. You might say I was very motivated to again witness God’s goodness, and fast!

Here are some of the ideas that came to me:
Healing as Jesus healed is demonstrable today, and he expected us to follow his example:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:12-14)

“And these signs shall follow them that believe”…(Mark 16:17)

Jesus was never impressed by sin or overwhelmed by suffering:

“And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him… And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.” (John 9:1-3,7)

My “problem” was an opportunity to be closer to God:

Rouse ye, rouse ye, face the foe,
Rise to conquer death and sin;
On with Christ to victory go,
O side with God, and win!
(Christian Science Hymnal #296)

Upon removing my shoe, the foot had already started to swell and was turning colors but I knew healing progress was occurring because I felt calm and expectant of good, and although very painful at first, it was now much less so and soon not at all.

In the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures on pg. 424, Mary Baker Eddy states from experience that

“Accidents are unknown to God, or immortal Mind, and we must leave the mortal basis of belief and unite with the one Mind, in order to change the notion of chance to the proper sense of God’s unerring direction and thus bring out harmony.”

And on pg. 397,

“When an accident happens, you think or exclaim, “I am hurt!” Your thought is more powerful than your words, more powerful than the accident itself, to make the injury real. Now reverse the process. Declare that you are not hurt and understand the reason why, and you will find the ensuing good effects to be in exact proportion to your disbelief in physics, and your fidelity to divine metaphysics, confidence in God as All, which the Scriptures declare Him to be.”

I continued to listen for “angel” ideas that affirmed God’s all-goodness and worked to shut out any arguments to the contrary. In less than three days my foot was normal in size, almost back to a natural color and I had complete mobility. Consequently I had a lovely bicycle adventure in Denmark, all the sweeter knowing that God’s loving care was my only “rock”!

LRR

Testimony of healing of “frozen shoulder”

This past Tuesday evening I got up off the couch after watching a couple of TV programs,  and discovered that I couldn’t lift my upper right arm without shooting pain.  I tried moving my arm in different ways and continued to feel either an almost total lack of strength or acute discomfort.  Almost immediately I started to worry about what had caused this,  and also what effect this would have on future activities,  from a tennis match the coming weekend to an overseas fly-fishing trip scheduled for early November.  I wrestled with both the pain and the worry throughout the night.

On Wednesday morning I told my wife that I was having the difficulty, because it was clear that I was favoring my right side.  She asked me to try to raise my arm (I couldn’t, without pain) and turn my wrist and hand to the left, as if I were pouring tea.  I couldn’t do that either, without pain.  My wife told me that the symptoms were just like a condition that she had previously experienced, called “frozen shoulder”,  a condition which had required several months of physical therapy to achieve a return to freedom of motion.

I was determined to deal with the issue by turning to prayer.  I had experienced a healing, through prayer alone, of a similar condition about 5 years before, although it took a number of months to regain freedom of motion.

Later that morning I started to read an issue of the Christian Science Journal.  There was an article* that seemed to address my situation beautifully.  The article used the Biblical story of David and Goliath as a metaphor for conquering the fear of illness (or any other condition posed by mortal mind).  It talked about each of David’s five smooth stones as representing a counter-thought to the challenges of fear and mortal thinking.  Here was some great ammunition for dealing with this physical challenge!  There was another article that talked about the perfection of my spiritual identity that provided additional support for my thinking.

I like to think of God as the power that created the universe—a creation that I find easy to conceive of as unimaginably vast, and the power to create it as infinitely strong.  Coupled with that power are qualities that give meaning to all life:  Love, and Truth, or Justice.  This always builds my confidence that whatever my material condition may appear to be, not only is it unreal and temporal, but as God’s reflection I possess the infinite power to reduce any such false claim to its native nothingness.

I realized that I needed to clearly and consistently establish this understanding of divine power in my consciousness.  I had to be “on patrol” to guard against negative suggestions that kept floating into my thoughts—that the shoulder condition could impede right activity—that a healing could take a long time—etc.  I’ve always found that reminding myself “What is God thinking here?” and continually asking “Is this God’s thought?” tends to keep me on the right track.  So over the next two days I really concentrated on being the metaphorical porter at the door of my thought –a modern day “thought bouncer” whenever negative suggestions seemed to come to mind.

The very next day, Thursday, the shoulder seemed to have improved markedly, and by Friday I was able to resume my full range of normal activities without any evidence of stiffness or pain or inhibited movement.  The change was so quick, and so complete,  that I was truly overwhelmed,  not only with relief and gratitude,   but with a profound appreciation for the incredible power of prayer to God to heal.

*“Inevitable Health”,  Julie Ward,  Christian Science Journal, November 2009
The first stone was the idea that “Disease has no scary name—its only name is nothing”.  The second was “Disease has no place—it’s never on the body, but is merely a suggestion of mortal mind”.

JS

Prayer guides hikers

I suppose a trip down the relatively un-traveled canyon of Yosemite, Tanaya Canyon, had been a goal of mine for several years, mainly because of what I’d heard about the spectacular views of the great Half Dome down the gorge. But once I was there, hiking—or should I say boulder-hopping and climbing–with my proficient son and five other (novice) climbers, I realized that I might be in over my head. Rappelling down rock walls with fully loaded backpacks, sometimes into waterfalls and cold pools, precarious rock-hopping across the tumbling, roaring creek, and traversing steep granite slabs, struggling to find very ill-defined trails in the dark, together with a foot injury problem that had been plaguing me for several years, all created a situation in which I had nowhere to turn except to my understanding of God’s protecting, preserving, and comforting presence with me at all times.

As good as my intentions were, however, fear and concern still hovered around me. It was once written that “worry is the lowest form of thought” or that fear and worry claim to be necessary, but actually have no useful purpose at all. And my favorite definition of worry—“Ingratitude in advance.”

Well, I must admit, I was worried and fearful, both for my own well-being and for the safety of our little group. That week, the Christian Science Bible lesson had been on the subject of Truth, another word for God, and many of the references were centered on taking the “right path” or walking the straight and narrow without straying off-course from the truth of God’s ever-presence and His guiding Hand. This was exactly what I needed, as I struggled to hold my thought in sync with Truth. I must say, however, that more times than I care to admit, I allowed my thought to stray, and intrusive fear-mongering thoughts would flood in. I found myself complaining about precarious situations or expressing my doubts about which way we were choosing to go as we worked our way over boulders and down the gorge. (It was only later, after the trip, that I learned that every year several hikers perish, trying to negotiate this canyon without proper understanding of its perils).

After several false stops and starts at adjusting my thought, I prayed along the lines of trusting that our real “team leader” was divine Mind, giving us the insight and wisdom to take the correct ways, make the right moves, and use the right precautions as we made our way down the canyon. And I must say, it wasn’t as much I, but both of my sons (my other son was along as well), who rose to the occasion with a calming presence, assuring us all that we could all accomplish this task successfully, without any incidence of injury or danger. And on several occasions my climbing-proficient son made some unusual directional decisions for the group that were crucial to bringing us down the gorge successfully and fully intact. We completed the hike, fully trail-tested, but safe and grateful.

It has been said that the secret to life’s peace and happiness has nothing to do with what happens to you or what situations you find yourself in, but has everything to do with how you respond. And every day we can each strive to do a better job of responding to every situation in daily life with a renewed awakening to God’s, Love’s, ever-protecting and guiding presence. This way, our lives are no longer made up of outward situations that the human mind wants to label as “good” or “bad”, but rather a deep inner assurance that brings our peace into the situation and results only in a further awakening to God’s love.

S.V.

Prayer helps birds, too

Recently, during a stay at our cabin in the Sierra, I was stacking firewood outside and heard a loud bang.  Looking around to where the sound had come from, I noticed a bird had evidently smacked into one of the cabin windows.  It lay motionless and I exclaimed out loud “Oh No!”

Saying this reminded me of an article that I had read many years ago in the Christian Science Sentinel entitled “Don’t Go Down to the Plain of Oh No”.  The author recalled that in the Bible story of Nehemiah, who is in charge of the work to restore the broken down walls surrounding Jerusalem, that an enemy continually asks him to come down to the plane of Ono to talk.  Nehemiah recognizes that this was a ruse to stop the important work and wisely declines saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you? “  This play on words reminded me that I too had important work to do (pray) and declined to go down to the plain of Oh No!

Jesus says in the book of Matthew “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered”.  I reasoned that God must also have all the feathers counted on this little bird too.  I silently vowed to witness in my thinking the unending fact of God’s care for this small but precious idea of His. I refused to allow even a look at the bird, feeling that it would distract me from the work of seeing this bird as God had made and maintained it.

I continued to pray with thoughts that came to me and even stacked a few more pieces of wood, feeling more and more confident that God was the source of this bird’s being.  I did happen to look at some point and noticed that the little guy was now standing upright and moving his head.  Rejoicing in this outward expression of the facts that I was witnessing in my thinking, I looked away again to affirm in my thought that no after effects or side effects could result from God’s constant, seamless care of his creation, which included this bird.  Soon, heading into the cabin, I saw that the bird was no longer there!

L.R.R.