Whenever I read the account of Jesus healing the epileptic boy (see Mark 9: 17-29), two significant lessons stand out to me. First, when his disciples asked Jesus why they failed in their attempts to heal the boy, Jesus answered (Mark 9:29), "This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." Secondly, after Jesus sent the error out of him, the boy fell to the ground, and the many observers thought he was dead. However, Jesus knew his treatment was successful. He took the boy by the hand, and he arose, perfectly well and healed.
One night my eight-year-old son woke me complaining of an earache. He got into bed with me. I immediately turned to God in prayer. I asked God to reveal to me the specific claim behind the difficulty. After several minutes of prayer I understood the claim to be the basic false belief that matter could interfere with and upset spiritual harmony. I recognized that my son's hearing was spiritual, and that since God created him with this spiritual faculty, no one or thing could deprive him of manifesting perfect hearing.
At that point I knew the child was healed! My thought was at peace, and with joy I silently sang my gratitude to God for His healing perfection.
