A favorite walk of mine is along the New England coast. It begins on a long stretch of land over beautiful, hilly moors. It goes on as far as you can see. Then, with no warning at all, at the crest of one of the hills you find yourself atop a bluff with an enormous expanse of ocean stretching out to the horizon. It's as if out of nowhere the scenery has completely changed from endless moors to a view of a wide harbor, a chalk white lighthouse, and miles and miles of sea. The contrast is breathtaking. I have taken this walk many times, and I never quite get over the exhilarating surprise when I reach the bluff and take in that beautiful view!
Jesus promised,
"Ask, and it shall
be given you. "
This walk reminds me of ground that I've covered at times as a student of Christian Science. I've practiced this Science my whole life and have experienced much regeneration and healing. Some healings have been immediate, but others have required prayer over a period of time. The walk recalls the wonderful view that awaits us, and that's always present, even when healing takes longer.
If you look at the career of Christ Jesus, it's hard to miss how many times he healed instantaneously. Yet while Jesus' healings were quick, he also taught the importance of persistence. For instance, in one of his parables he tells of someone with a need to borrow bread from a friend. See Luke 11:5-10 But the friend doesn't want to be bothered. He and his family have already turned in for the night. Even so, Jesus points out, if the man is persistent, the friend will get up and give him everything he needs—not because he is a friend but because of the man's persistence. Jesus follows this teaching with a beautiful promise: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." This is a law of God.
In another place the Bible says, "... in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." Phil. 4:6 We can take our questions and our needs to Him. There is an important difference, however, between going to God with doubt and discouragement and going to Him with thanksgiving. When we turn to God because we realize that there is, in fact, only God, that He alone can truly help us, we feel confidence, joy, and a quiet assurance that our prayers will be answered. Prayer that's expectant of good enables us to see more of what is real to an enlightened, spiritual sense of things. We see Truth, God's allness and goodness, and thereby find healing.
When it takes repeated effort to reach this view, we need not be anxious or concerned. God is revealed to humble, receptive thought. The truth is true—God is good, and good is all that is true at any moment. There is no power that can withhold from us the understanding of God that brings health and healing.
Jesus told his disciples, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:31,32 The New English Bible translates the first part, "If you dwell within the revelation I have brought, you are indeed my disciples." He is instructing us to continue, to stay with the teachings, to dwell in the truth, and the result will be freedom from sin, disease, and death.
For many years I struggled with what is considered an incurable disease. It kept me up nights in fear and discomfort, which then made my days long and uncomfortable. I prayed earnestly, as did my husband. And sometimes a Christian Science practitioner prayed for me. Yet the problem hung on, defiantly. On occasion, I wondered about getting medical treatment; but I knew that true healing could never be delivered by anything material. The deepest need was for spiritual awakening, an exalted, improved view of reality. I simply wanted to feel God's love. I wanted to know the truth, and this awakening would enable me to prove the truth through healing.
The turning point came one night when I felt a resolve welling up within me to stand with God and to stay with what I did understand, regardless of the physical condition, which appeared life-threatening just then. At that moment I addressed the trouble as though I were addressing an individual, and silently proceeded somewhat like this: "No matter what you try to do to me, even if you try to kill me, one thing I know—I am God's child, and my relationship with God will endure through even this. My link with God is permanent, and it is the truth. Nothing can break this relationship with God; nothing else is real or true. No matter what, I am God's..." From that moment on, the difficulty was less threatening to me, and I began to take hold of my God-given dominion. I was able to declare my immunity from evil with more conviction, and bow to God's truth more humbly. The truth had the upper hand, and won out. I was completely free.
Mary Baker Eddy writes: "Remove the error, and you destroy its effects. By looking a tiger fearlessly in the eye, Sir Charles Napier sent it cowering back into the jungle." Science and Health, p. 378 Truth is not intimidated by error. Error, evil, has no substance to sustain itself. Truth alone is substance. The only thing that lends support to error is belief in it. Without a believer, it deflates like a balloon without air.
Before this healing, it seemed as though I'd been going along in the same scene for a long time, not getting anywhere. At times I felt that the view would never change. Nevertheless Christ, God's saving message, was actively at work in my consciousness, bringing about a revolution in thought. This divine action culminated in one moment of clear understanding, though the prayer had been continuous. It was as if the truth that had been applied all along had been preparing thought for this moment of realization and acceptance. Science and Health explains such breakthroughs: "Become conscious for a single moment that Life and intelligence are purely spiritual,—neither in nor of matter,— and the body will then utter no complaints. If suffering from a belief in sickness, you will find yourself suddenly well. Sorrow is turned into joy when the body is controlled by spiritual Life, Truth, and Love." Ibid., p. 14
When we are persisting in prayer, but healing isn't yet apparent, it's helpful to remind ourselves that even then, harmony is real and discord is an illusion. It's a bit like walking on the moors for some time, unaware that very near there is a spectacular view. Yet if we were to take a bird's-eye view of that coastline, we could see that the huge expanse of ocean, that wide, wonderful view, is right next to the moors—right within reach. What gives us the larger view, the ability to see present good, is conscientious, consistent—and when needed, persistent—prayer.
Steadfast knowing of the truth, no matter what appears to be, strengthens and blesses in ways we may not fully grasp right now. We can perceive, admit, and yield to the spiritual fact that man is the beloved, innocent child of God, and for no other reason than that this is the fact. Anything that would deny, obscure, or mock this truth is a lie. This includes the aggressive and almost constant presentation to human consciousness that man dies. We can disagree with such evidence, knowing that we are God's eternally. We can disagree with this insidious lie about the essential nature of God and His pure spiritual idea, man, until every opposing argument is hushed.
Spiritual truth,
applied all along,
had been preparing
my thought.
It is often helpful to ask oneself, "What am I holding in thought, and accepting right now? Is it spiritually accurate—that is, would one of God's angels whisper this to me? Is this a view that is helpful and healing?" Such questions are a form of persistently asking for truth, for a spiritually accurate view. This is real Christian practice.
We are all able to follow Jesus' example in some degree right now. The way to do it is thought by thought, moment by moment. The divine view is the only one that is real and eternal, and it becomes ours as we yield over and over again to Truth.
The beloved of the Lord shall dwell
in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover
him all the day long, and he shall dwell
between his shoulders.
Deuteronomy 33: 12
