Article October 10, 1983 Issue

Seeing what is real

RHEA ROBERTSON BUCK

The understanding of God heals. Week after week the testimonies in this periodical bear witness to the fact that all types of problems are being solved through prayer in Christian Science. There is a qualification, however. This prayer, this spiritual understanding of God, must be applied correctly. What does this mean? Christ Jesus gave us a clue when he said, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."^{John 8:31, 32.}

You might be wondering just how this spiritual understanding heals. Perhaps you already think that mental disorders and personal relationships can be improved by turning to God in prayer. But how about an unsightly physical condition that everyone can see? Can prayer in Christian Science remove that? Yes, it can, but maybe not in the way you think.

Christian Science does not set out to remove matter, or change matter, by spiritual means. It goes deeper. It shows how spiritual understanding leads to a change in thought which in turn brings about harmony in the physical body. Speaking of God, divine Mind, Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health: "Mind, not matter, is causation. A material body only expresses a material and mortal mind. A mortal man possesses this body, and he makes it harmonious or discordant according to the images of thought impressed upon it."^{Science and Health, p. 208.}