Article July 9, 2001 Issue

Prayer for a child

Count on God to answer.

By Ellen Allen

We lived in a neighborhood with lots of growing children. One day a neighbor brought Diana, my daughter who was four years old at the time, to me and pointed out some little lesions on her skin. She said this was very contagious—impetigo—and assumed Diana had probably gotten it from her own son. My neighbor told me I had to get Diana to a doctor for a prescription or for shots. She offered some ointment for us to use in the meantime. But I said, "No, thanks," and told her we would take care of the condition through prayer. She really gave me a funny look when I said that.

Since my dad was a lifelong Christian Scientist and my mom had started to study Christian Science soon after their marriage, I'd been raised turning to God in any kind of trouble. But this was my first big need to pray for someone other than myself, and I felt very responsible.

And pray I did! I took Diana inside, put her in her bed, and sat down and read her Bible stories and sang her hymns she liked. I felt pretty good about my prayers, so I left her to play while I busied myself with doing the laundry, preparing supper, and caring for her little brother.

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