I would like to express my gratitude for the immediate availability of divine help. Over and over I’ve been impressed by how quickly and powerfully prayer can bring healing.
On a Friday during the opening session of an online conference on Christian Science, a young woman who rides one of our horses called to tell me that after a long afternoon ride, large bumps had formed on the horse’s belly and neck. She thought the rash might have been caused by insects encountered during the ride. My first thought was not to be disturbed by this news, but to know that, as a creation of God, the horse was always safe in His care. The woman promised to look in on the horse the next morning, since I wouldn’t be available to do it myself.
I turned my thought away from the pictures she had sent me from her phone. Instead, I prayerfully considered the perfection of the horse as God’s spiritual expression, forever intact. I reasoned that a rash is not a condition of divine harmony, and therefore it could have no real existence. The inspiring atmosphere of the online meeting helped buoy my thought above fear, and I knew that the horse was embraced in divine Love.
I reasoned that a rash is not a condition of divine harmony, and therefore it could have no real existence.
That evening I decided to drive to the stable. When I arrived, it was almost dark, and I found the horse happily eating his hay. He didn’t understand why I was interrupting him. The skin condition hadn’t improved, but with complete trust in God, I affirmed what I knew to be true about him spiritually.
I sat down on the cleaning box in front of his stall for a few minutes, and as I prayed, he kept poking his head out of the opening and bumping me gently with his muzzle. Then he began to smack his tongue—a horse’s way of expressing contentment. It did not seem that he’d even noticed the rash that was so visible to the people around him. He obviously felt calm and well, so I could tell that the healing was taking place and that it would be OK for me to leave.
When the young woman called me from the stable the next morning, she reported that the rash had almost disappeared. I told her she could ride the horse without any concern, and that afternoon she sent me photos that showed the healing was complete.
For me this experience has been one more demonstration of how powerfully prayer works when we turn our attention to God and don’t allow ourselves to be frightened or impressed by material appearances.
