God: the source of our health

Where does the source of our health really come from? The Bible shows examples of healings and solutions for all kinds of problems, including many severe physical ailments. The people who were healed feared God – or in other words, lived with respect and awe for Him. Their trust in God taught them to rely on Him to resolve problems, including those related to health. The common thread in these healings illustrates the premise that God cares deeply for His creation. The individuals healed in the Bible had a deep trust in God and were able to see good effects from this trust. We can, too!

By studying the Bible and putting its spiritual healing into practice in her own life, Mary Baker Eddy discovered that health is actually a law of God. She found that because God made everything good, health – being a condition of goodness – was and is the original, continuing state of our being. Mrs. Eddy learned that Christ Jesus was able to heal countless people during his successful three-year ministry because he understood God, whom Christian Science shows to be the all-creating divine Mind, the source and condition of life. Jesus demonstrated through his healing works that God alone is power, and that the understanding of God’s power casts aside fear of another power that can produce sickness. Pursuing these inspired leadings, she learned more about healing from a spiritual basis and proved through the healings she accomplished that prayer is a reliable system for health.

When I learned how to pray in accord with the teachings of Christian Science, I began to witness healing – but it took practice. Each time I needed relief and turned to God, I found prayer to be a reliable solution for health problems on a daily basis – and not just health problems. It became very natural for me to turn to God first when I encountered difficulties of any kind, including issues with relationships or with finances, which were solved using Christian Science.

So when I am not feeling well, why do I turn to God? Because I know God is the source of my health, and prayer enables me to prove that. Prayer, or Christian Science treatment, has a reliable track record for bringing about healing when I’ve needed it.

Many years ago I struggled with breathing, and I was prescribed an inhaler to help me breathe. Times when I ran out of the medication were tough. One particular time I was in the woods, several thousand feet up, hiking with my husband, and I had no medical remedy. What I did have was spiritual truth: what I knew about God as my source of life.

I was able to sit down on a rock and pray. The Bible tells us, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you” (James 4:8). As I drew nigh to God through prayer, a thought came to me that I was God’s expression, entirely spiritual, and this expression included all that was pure and good. I understood God to be the one power sustaining all life – and as His reflection, I was able to express Life – so I had life, and I had it fully!

I stuck with my prayer by remembering a hymn my mother used to sing to me from the “Christian Science Hymnal.” The hymn, by James Montgomery, reads in part: “Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath,/ the Christian’s native air:/ his watchword overcoming death,/ he enters heaven with prayer” (Hymn 285). I continued to pray because I knew the result would be healing and would give me the health and vitality needed to finish the hike.

In a few moments my breath came naturally. Here was my proof of this statement by Mrs. Eddy: “Truth is God’s remedy for error of every kind, and Truth destroys only what is untrue. Hence the fact that, to-day, as yesterday, Christ casts out evils and heals the sick” (“Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” pp.142-143). Although I don’t recall everything I thought about in those few minutes, I never used or needed an inhaler again, and continue to live a very active lifestyle.

Through this experience I was able to put my spiritual understanding into practice. The result proved that the more we know about God, the more this understanding is manifested in health and well-being. I rely on Christian Science not only for healing but to increase my understanding of man’s relationship to God, our creator. I turn to God in prayer for healing because of my love for God and my trust in His ability to respond.