WHEN FACED WITH AN ILLNESS or an alarming problem, we might be tempted to think that spiritual healing can come only through deep prayer and study, great spiritual insight, and tremendous spiritual growth. Or that the road to recovery might be long. But, as Jesus proved, healing can be simple and quick.
The Bible gives numerous examples of Jesus healing instantaneously—even when the people he helped had little or no knowledge of his teachings. One example was his healing of a man at the pool of Bethesda. This man had been an invalid for 38 years and hoped to be healed by immersing himself in the springs that bubbled up intermittently in the pool. As he lay on his bed, waiting for someone to lift him into the waters, Jesus talked with him, inquiring "Wilt thou be made whole?"
The man explained that no one was ever available to put him into the waters when they started to move. And as he tried to get down to the pool on his own, someone else would get in first. Jesus didn't discuss the problems that this man faced concerning his condition. Instead the made a simple and direct statement: "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." See John 5:6, 8. And the man did as Jesus said and was completely healed.
When Jesus saw the man, he realized that he had been in this state for quite some time. Yet, he asked the man if he wanted to be healed. The man could have been incensed at such a question and answered indignantly, or he could have just ignored Jesus. Instead he was receptive to Jesus' call to rise from his bed. He was willing to hear the divine message and yield to it. This receptivity clearly led to his immediate recovery.
I have always loved this story. In fact, years ago, I had an experience that taught me about being constantly aware of God's presence. In Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy defined this presence as the Christ—"the true idea voicing good, the divine message from God to men speaking to the human consciousness." Science and Health, p. 332. One morning, as I was taking a shower, I felt a lump in my breast. At first I was afraid. But all my life I have relied on prayer for healing, and I felt that I could trust prayer to heal this situation. So I began to consider the steps necessary for spiritual healing. Like the man at the pool of Bethesda, I let the Christ speak to me. As I prayed to be responsive to what the Christ was saying, four ideas came to mind.
The first concept I focused on was the importance of immediately denying the reality of disease. This doesn't mean being "in denial" about the condition, or ignoring it. But my experience is that when I see myself as completely spiritual—made in the image and likeness of God—I understand more clearly that disease is unreal.
The second idea, which I think was the most helpful to me, was not to make a big deal out of this. I had heard so much about cancer in the news that I was very frightened to think that I might possibly be facing this condition. Yet I knew I could minimize its seeming potency by seeing this and all diseases as illegitimate because disease does not come from God. If I could do that, then I'd have the upper hand. The chapter "Christian Science Practice" in Science and Health helped me, especially this statement about what to do when the first symptoms of disease appear: "Suffer no claim of sin or of sickness to grow upon the thought. Dismiss it with an abiding conviction that it is illegitimate, because you know that God is no more the author of sickness than He is of sin." ibid., p. 390.
Third, I was determined not to check my body to see what was happening. If my prayer was going to assert that this condition was powerless because only God is all-powerful, then looking to see what the body was doing would be admitting something other than God had power over me. Checking up on my body would only compromise the conviction of my prayers.
Fourth, I decided not to take in information that the physical senses were giving me. In this case, the information that there was an abnormal lump in my body. My study of the Bible and Science and Health had shown me that the physical senses are an unreliable purveyor of information. Only God, who is all good, can tell me who I am and what my condition is.
I was vigilant in sticking to these ideas that came to me as I prayed, and within a couple of days the lump was gone. Just as simple as that.
