About eight years ago I began to wake up in the morning with a tremendously swollen face. Some time later, during a check-up, the dentist discovered that I had cysts on both sides of my mouth. I was told that they had to be surgically removed immediately.
While I was listening to the diagnosis, I realized I had two options: resort to surgery or rely exclusively on spiritual means for healing. I chose the latter because I had already had many proofs that prayer has an effect on one's body and health. I decided to call a Christian Science practitioner to pray with me.
We prayed for a while and I studied the Bible and Science and Health. The first chapter of Science and Health is about prayer, and was the one I studied most at the time. There are many sentences in the book that helped me, but one stands out in particular. It says, "What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds" (p. 4).
