Article March 24, 2014 Issue

Three simple prayers

James Lindsey

Several months ago I was climbing a tree near the back door of our house and injured my heel and ankle when I jumped out of it. It hurt quite a bit. My dad saw what happened and came over and asked me how I was. I said it hurt, but I thought I could go up the hill to care for the animals on our small farm, which was my usual job. My dad thought this would be OK.

I immediately turned to God, both before and after my dad talked with me, to know that I was in His care and protection. I started by saying something called the “no” prayer to myself—basically, a denial that there can be sensation or intelligence in anything physical or material. I’d heard about the “no” prayer the year before from a Christian Science speaker at my church, and it was a good place to begin. I thought about it as I went to the animals, and the prayer helped me not feel confused into thinking that I was a material individual who’d suffered an accident. I was able to go about my duties without feeling overly burdened.

Two days after I’d jumped out of the tree, I told my mom about my foot hurting. She said she would pray for me, and asked if I wanted to talk to a Christian Science practitioner. I decided not to call a practitioner right then, but I did continue praying for myself during that week. I went to school like always, although it was uncomfortable to put my weight on the foot.