Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to header Skip to footer
Web Original

The power behind true prayer

From The Christian Science Journal - June 23, 2014


What is it that makes prayer truly healing? Does such prayer require great human effort in order to be effective? 

One winter some years ago, I was toiling away at prayer myself, when I had an experience that showed me a far better way. My son was about ten years old and was sent home from school because he had a fever. I made him comfortable and sat by his bedside praying for him as he drifted in and out of sleep. I was endeavoring to pray in line with Jesus’ familiar instruction to “know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32), so I was prayerfully considering my son from a spiritual standpoint as God’s child, ever healthy and strong, under divine Love’s constant care. When I didn’t see much effect from my prayers, I tried knowing these truths more intensely. 

After a little while, as my son slept, I stepped into the backyard with our dog, as he needed to go outside. We’d had an ice storm the previous night, and the whole neighborhood looked like a glass menagerie. The sun shone brightly, and the ice-covered trees sparkled under a clear blue sky. The sheer beauty of it lifted my spirits. As I stood there, yearning for a clearer understanding of how to pray more effectively, I noticed a pine bough, heavy with glassy ice. Just as I was looking at it, the ice dropped off, melted by the sun. Despite appearances, the ice hadn’t ever really been part of the branch. So it could not remain.

Sign up for unlimited access

You've accessed 1 piece of free Journal content

Subscribe

Subscription aid available

 Try free

No card required

More web articles

concord-web-promo-graphic

Explore Concord—see where it takes you.

Search the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures