"RISE . . . AND WALK," John 5:8. Jesus Christ commanded, and the lame man walked. "Receive thy sight," Luke 18:42. the Master instructed, and the blind saw. "Sin no more," John 5:14; John 8:11. Jesus charged, and the transgressor reformed.
How did these cures occur? A 19th-century Christian woman, Mary Baker Eddy, sought the answer to that question. Plunging into the Bible, she discovered divine laws at work in the teaching of Jesus, laws that enabled him to heal successfully. She saw clearly that the curative works not only of Jesus, but of the ancient prophets, Jesus' disciples, and others in the Bible, were not mysterious, unexplainable, or one-time phenomena. These healings were the outcome of divine laws in operation. And these healers were able to cure because of their understanding of these laws. Jesus understood the magnitude and power of these laws better than anyone, and he left his teachings for the world to understand how to heal, too.
As a result of Mrs. Eddy's study of Jesus' healings and the Bible's explanation of how he healed, she reasoned that people today could also understand these divine laws and be able to heal more effectively through prayer. She put her theory to the test.
