The local members of The Mother Church have been working together to see each Sunday service and Wednesday testimony meeting as an active healing service. Jesus' sermons healed, and so did Mrs. Eddy's. We reasoned that it's natural for us to expect dramatic change of thought that will lead to physical and moral healing during each service. After all, our pastor, the Bible and Science and Health, declares the healing Word of God, which is always in operation.
Little did I know I myself would feel the dramatic results of the healing power of these prayers. One Wednesday night, just as I left my apartment for church, my stomach became so painful that I could hardly walk. I said, almost aloud, "I know what you're about, and you're not keeping me from church!" The "you" I was addressing was an aggressive suggestion of the carnal mind (manifesting itself as pain in this case), which I had been taught to discern as powerless since God, good, is the only real presence and power. Though I had to stop and walk very slowly, I made it to the meeting. A friend was ushering and shared powerful and comforting thoughts about God's care, yet I found I couldn't sit in the auditorium because the pain was so intense.
So I went to a quiet room where I knew I would be able to hear the readings. Although I found it difficult to pray, the organ prelude calmed my thought. Then I just let the Word of God, revealed in the readings and testimonies that followed, speak directly to me. Before the meeting was over, I was completely healed.
