Treatment can be more effective and healing more substantial if something takes place in the thought of both the caller and the healer prior to their initial contact. In Christian Science, the coming together of patient and practitioner (whether through a letter, a phone call, or an office visit) should be something of a demonstration of Mind on the part of both individuals. This is such an important relationship that it deserves to be God-inspired rather than simply a matter of convenience or expedience or personal preference. This guidance may come in a moment; sometimes, however, it may take some very thoughtful consideration.

It is natural for a practitioner to pray regularly and perceptively for his or her practice. It's likely that such care for the healing work will include the spirit of Christ Jesus' words: "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me .... No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him." ^{John 6:37, 44.} The Christian healer has a genuine desire to listen closely to God's guidance and to follow His direction in accepting and treating cases. The practitioner is conscious of Mrs. Eddy's provision in the Manual of The Mother Church, leaving the selection of a patient to the practitioner's wisdom. ^{See Man., Art. XXVII, Seel. 4 .}

Preparing the way for the practitioner-patient relationship, however, is not all on one side. The patient has his part to do. Actually, he is doing much when he recognizes that the call or visit he makes is not merely a routine or mechanical act. In fact, each call ought to be backed by a divine impulse, a willingness to trust the divine Mind for guidance, to the very best of his understanding and ability.

To pause and pray for a moment forces one beyond such limited human reasoning as, "Well, I've always called this person before" or "I guess it doesn't really matter whom I talk with." Of course it matters. Yours is a very important call. Quite possibly the patient will be led to the individual he has usually contacted. But if he reaches out to this healer because he is truly led rather then simply through habit, the case will already be on stronger footing.

While the patient, of course, makes the specific selection of whom he feels to be the appropriate practitioner, he can choose in the spirit of Mrs. Eddy's assurance, "God selects for the highest service one who has grown into such a fitness for it as renders any abuse of the mission an impossibility." And a little further on she explains, "When He commissions a messenger, it is one who is spiritually near Himself." ^{Science and Health, p. 455.}

Selecting someone for the high service of rendering Christian Science treatment need not raise uncertainties—even if you are brand-new to Science and have never before called on someone to pray for you. The key is always our desire to be led by God, to be guided by the one divine Mind. When we are motivated rightly— that is, when we truly want the most helpful and spiritually inspired relationship—we'll begin to feel an assurance about the decision.

For this process of selecting and accepting, an absolutely unique situation exists. While many fields of professional aid involve competition—a tugging and pulling for business, with some losing and some gaining—the work of Christian Science healing stands in an altogether different sphere. The Christian Science Field itself holds a deep respect for the practice of healing. This activity is at the heart of the Christian Science movement; it has the wide support and prayer of its adherents. And so, in a way, all who love divine Science are helping to strengthen successful healing and the relationships that are sometimes involved.

In every case God is the source of the healing. The practitioner of the Truth-cure knows this and endeavors to rely unreservedly and scientifically on the divine Principle as the omnipotent healing power in each instance. The patient should naturally grow in his trust in God as a result of scientific treatment. Both practitioner and patient can trust divine Love to unfold to them the right practitioner-patient relationship as well as the spiritual awakening needed for healing. The practitioner encourages, in the patient's thought, a clearer recognition that God's creation is spiritual instead of material; that man's identity is not mortal; that man reflects the immortality of Mind.

Whenever one individual enters into a sacred trust with another, an important privilege and obligation comes into play: it is for both to cultivate a certainty that this relationship has the blessing derived from a desire to yield to God's guiding hand.

NATHAN A. TALBOT