Five years ago I was in as hopeless a state as a human being could be. Today, thanks to Christian Science, my life is filled with happiness. As a token of my gratitude to Almighty God and in the hope that others may be benefited, I wish to tell of my experience.
After attacks of pleurisy, pneumonia, and asthma my lungs were in a weakened condition. I endeavored to find a suitable climate, but at each place I was told: "You cannot stay here. You should go somewhere else." When this had been told me for the third time, my hopes were at their lowest ebb. I could not sleep lying down, but had to sit up near a fire all night, and I had to take quantities of medicine to relieve my coughing. At this point my sister in London, who is a student of Christian Science, wrote me a letter which said: "Dear brother, you are in trouble. I am posting you a Christian Science Sentinel. Read it." I duly did so, and it so impressed me that I said to my wife, "I must get a copy of a book called 'Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures' by Mary Baker Eddy." To my utter astonishment she replied, "I have had a copy of it for over twenty years, but I do not understand it."
She gave it to me, and I started to read it at once. When I got near the end of the chapter on Prayer, I was very much impressed by these words on pages 12 and 13: "In divine Science, where prayers are mental, all may avail themselves of God as 'a very present help in trouble.' " At ten o'clock in the evening my wife went to bed and left me before the fire in the sitting room, where I sat thinking over the words from Science and Health, "all may avail themselves of God." Then, as honestly and humbly as I knew how, I earnestly prayed to God to help me. While doing this I fell asleep and awoke at five the next morning. As the fire was out, I relighted it. Then I fell asleep again and awakened at eight. The thought flashed through my mind, "If you were sincere in your prayer to God for help, what are you doing here? Get up and dress." This I did and then went into the kitchen for breakfast, to the alarm of my wife.
