MANY BIBLICAL NARRATIVES ILLUSTRATE how steadfast persistence in prayer, unwavering trust in God's omnipotence, and joyous expectancy of the triumph of Spirit over material resistance result in healing. One story that never fails to inspire me when I need to prayerfully persist in seeking healing is the Old Testament account of the battle of Jericho. See Josh. 6:1–16 .
We read in the book of Joshua, "Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in." Like most cities in Biblical times, Jericho was surrounded by walls as a defense against invasion. Its formidable defenses consisted of an inner wall 12 to 15 feet thick and an outer wall 6 feet thick. Fearful of the approach of the Israelites, the inhabitants of the city stayed within the security of its walls.
Joshua's mission as the God-appointed successor to Moses was to take the children of Israel into the Promised Land of Canaan and possess it. The stronghold of Jericho with its massive walls barred their passage into Canaan. An angelic messenger from God appeared to Joshua assuring him that Jericho would be given into his hands, and the angel imparted a plan whereby the city would be captured: Each day for six days the armies of Israel were to compass the city, whose circumference was small, marching around its walls in silence. The armed men would go first; then seven priests bearing trumpets of ram's horns; then priests bearing the sacred ark of the covenant; then more armed men. Joshua commanded the people, "Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout."
Each day for six days the ark of the Lord borne by priests compassed the city with seven other priests blowing their trumpets. The ark was a wooden chest overlaid with gold. It contained the two tablets of the law of Moses, considered God's covenant with Israel. The Israelites regarded the ark with great reverence. The priests carried the ark by means of two staves because it was never to be touched by human hands. The ark was thought to be the presence of God, Himself, and therefore was always carried into battle to ensure victory.
In our own experience when we seek healing, or when we're doing battle to overcome what appear to be entrenched forms of evil, we may feel we are up against formidable walls of resistance. Metaphorically, these walls could be said to represent beliefs of pain, chronic or hereditary ailments, incurable or life-threatening illness. Or they might represent seemingly intransigent states of thought such as self-will, self-love, resentment, envy, or hatred. We need to compass the walls of such errors with the laws of God—Truth, Life, and Love—which annul, negate, and obliterate every suggestion of a power opposed to God.
In doing battle with physical or any other kind of problems, however long their duration, however insurmountable they may appear to be, we can daily, hourly, moment by moment, deny the errors that confront us with the consciousness of God's allness, Truth's omnipotence, and Love's omnipresence.
In doing battle with physical or any other kind of problems, however long their duration, however insurmountable they may appear to be, we can daily, hourly, moment by moment, deny the errors that confront us with the consciousness of God's allness, Truth's omnipotence, and Love's omnipresence. As we confidently persist in such prayer, the walls of mental resistance to Truth will collapse, and healing will follow.
The Discoverer of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, while teaching a class on Christian Science, referred to the battle of Jericho as one of three picture-stories from which, she said, "we learn without study." She continued: "The first is that of Joshua and his band before the walls of Jericho. They went seven times around these walls, the seven times corresponding to the seven days of creation: the six days are to find out the nothingness of matter; the seventh is the day of rest, when it is found that evil is naught and good is all." Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 279.
In our challenges with sickness and pain, persistently refuting these errors with spiritual truths from the Bible and Science and Health steadily increases our understanding of the nothingness of matter and the allness of Spirit. Perseverance in prayer prevails because it overcomes our conviction of the reality of error or evil. Then the walls of error's resistance to Truth give way. The physical manifestations of discord diminish and disappear. We enter into the city, into the possession of the consciousness of our God-bestowed health, harmony, and peace.
I recently experienced the healing of a physical difficulty that required a good deal of steadfast, prayerful perseverance. A pain developed in the lower part of one my legs, affecting the calf and ankle. Because at times the discomfort was quite intense, I asked a Christian Science practitioner to pray with me. I was most grateful for the practitioner's loving, effective support, for I was able to carry on my work and attend church as usual.
After two weeks, I was much improved and able to continue to pray on my own. This verse from Proverbs was frequently in my thought: "The Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken." Prov. 3:26. I prayed patiently and persistently to realize that the mental argument of discomfort could find nothing in my thought to adhere to—no fear, no doubt of the certainty of complete freedom from the difficulty, no impatience, no discouragement.
I recognized that although the problem seemed to be physical, it was not an internal condition requiring correction. It was an external, aggressive mental suggestion, an imposition of material belief that could be lifted off consciousness through the realization that my true selfhood as an idea of God was not material. I held firmly to the fact that I was the image of Spirit, governed by spiritual law alone. As I continued to prayerfully insist that the only thoughts that could adhere to me and be manifested in my experience were from God, the difficulty steadily lessened, and soon I was completely free.
In the battle of Jericho on the seventh day when the people had compassed the city seven times, the priests blew with the trumpets, and Joshua said to the people, "Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city." As I learned in my own healing experience, when we have faithfully compassed a problem with scientific prayer, affirming what is spiritually true and denying the falsities of material sense, we gain the assurance of God's omnipotence. We can then respond with mental shouts of joy knowing that the victory is already ours. The walls of fear and false educated beliefs of matter that resist healing will crumble, and we will regain the consciousness of perfect wholeness and well-being.
Referring to the battle of Jericho, Mrs. Eddy pointed out to her class, "Mark, that in the case of Joshua and his band they had all to shout together in order that the walls might fall ...." Mis., p. 279. When we are praying to resolve a collective problem in the workplace, in the family, or at church, it's important to prayerfully affirm that all who are involved are of one Mind. A resolution will be found as we grasp the spiritual fact that "the children of God have but one Mind." Science and Health, p. 470. Therefore, the ideas that are needed to solve the problem will become apparent to all concerned. Uniting our hearts and minds in working out the purposes of good, we can mentally and prayerfully shout together. We can make a joyful noise unto God, confident of the triumph of truth over the errors of division, dissension, and misunderstanding.
No error, however formidable, long-standing, or acute it appears, can withstand joyous, spiritually scientific insistence on its nothingness and on the power of divine Truth to cause its collapse. As we persist in our prayers for healing of individual or collective problems, we will always prevail when we understand God's omnipotence.
