We sometimes think that our primary needs in life are material—the need for relief from pain, for deliverance from sickness, for food, for a means of transportation, for companionship. But the fact is that unless we look for them in Spirit we may exclude from our lives the very things for which we cry out. Christ Jesus said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness." He then pointed to the fruitage of such seeking in these words: "And all these things shall be added unto you." Matt. 6:33;
When one is ill or in pain, certainly one should work for healing and comfort. As a preliminary to gaining a normal state of well-being, prayer for physical release is not to be condemned. Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health, "Desire is prayer; and no loss can occur from trusting God with our desires, that they may be moulded and exalted before they take form in words and in deeds." Science and Health, p. 1;
Students of Christian Science, in their early stage of growth, often tend to confuse demonstration of Truth with the human fruits of that demonstration. In Christian Science one does not demonstrate material things but rather the reality and rules of divine being. We carry into effect, in thoughts, words, and actions, the spiritual facts of being we understand. Like a mathematician, we not only understand the rule but use the rule in working out a problem in demonstration of its principle. The rule remains absolute and perfect while it is being applied to the problem at hand.
