Science and Health by Mrs. Eddy states (p. 405), "Belief in material suffering causes mortals to retreat from their error, to flee from body to Spirit, and to appeal to divine sources outside of themselves." I experienced a graphic example of this a few years ago. I woke up one night after a couple of hours of sleep with an inflamed throat and great difficulty in breathing. I felt as though I wanted to avoid any swallowing, and it was frightening to feel that something was obstructing my breathing. I asked my wife to call a Christian Science practitioner to ask for help through prayer.
We found that the practitioner was away from home but could be reached in another state. I decided not to call there and, with my wife's encouragement, took a Bible and Science and Health into the living room to seek some truths to pray with. Prayer seemed difficult, so I opened the Bible and began reading. Starting at Psalm 107 or 108, I read each verse, pausing to ponder and give gratitude for the uplifting thoughts I found and to underline passages that stood out to me.
I found myself wondering whether I should call a practitioner for prayerful support, since the pain was still severe. Then I came across this verse (Ps. 118:8): "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." I took this as a message that in this case I should continue in my own prayers without calling anyone else. (On other occasions I have had very loving and effective support from practitioners, who help us to turn to God more unreservedly and see that all problems can be resolved. Partly because it was so late at night, and partly because of a growing assurance that I would find the help I needed right there in the Bible, I decided again to press ahead on my own.)
