Article June 18, 1990 Issue

Healing through prayer

The effect of reliance on God for healing is more than physical well-being.

Nancy Hormel Reinert

Several months ago I wrote down all the healings I could remember having through prayer as a Christian Scientist.

Some of these healings (which span more than thirty years) are of pains and disorders never diagnosed; some are healings of accidents or of personal conflicts. The list includes such things as a back injury from tobogganing as a child, a deep sore on the sole of my foot, a knee injury while skiing, flu, a hearing loss, music performance fears, and a burn while cooking. Only one important area is not included in that list: prevention. The list doesn't indicate the normal health that results from daily prayer.

Looking at the list as a whole has helped give me a perspective on what healing prayer has meant in my life. For example, remembering these times, and being honest about myself, I can see clearly that one doesn't have to be a perfect or saintly human being to experience spiritual healing. Though I've found that willingness to give up sin or correct mistaken beliefs—and genuine effort in this direction—are essential, metaphysical healing is far more a matter of God's power than of human virtue. One overriding impression I am left with, even decades after some of my experiences, is that God is the true healing power.

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Healing through prayer

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