Persistent prayer brings peace

Hank Richter

One evening I felt a sudden, painful, tight constriction in my chest. At first I thought it was just a muscle strain. But as the pain got worse and worse, I realized that I was perhaps having a serious heart problem. Soon it became very difficult for me to breathe comfortably, and I was very frightened.

Generally, my first reaction to any disturbing event is to turn to God on my own in prayer. But this time I decided to also ask a Christian Science practitioner to pray for me. During our phone coversation, she recommended several passages from Science and Health for me to review and study. Her calming voice was a big help, and I thought a healing was well on its way to being accomplished.

But the constrictions became even stronger and more painful, and for me to treat them through spiritual means alone was a real battle. After several hours with no relief, I called the practitioner again. I told her of my deepening concern. She patiently and quietly reaffirmed that I was indeed God's perfect son, and gave me more passages to study from Science and Health.

But even though I was thinking about all of these wonderful ideas, the chest pain continued unabated.

At this point my wife, Bev, and I decided that since I was not able to end this problem as readily as I had taken care of many other physical problems through prayer, it might be best to go to the nearest hospital emergency ward for a checkup. I decided to call the practitioner one more time and tell her what we planned to do.

As we spoke, she reassured me that all would be well. Hardly being able to catch a comfortable breath, I said, "Look, I'll give you 15 more minutes to get rid of these pains—then I'm going to the emergency ward." I'd had several instantaneous healings when this practitioner had prayed for me. We were also very warm, close friends, and she realized that I meant what I said.

She said, "Please, Hank, lie down and get as comfortable as you can, and have Bev read out loud to you from Science and Health. And rest assured that I'll keep on praying."

I was completely free from any pressure or tightness my chest.

I lay down on the bed, gasping for every breath of air. Bev sat beside the bed. Later I found out that she'd randomly opened Science and Health, and had started reading from it. I couldn't understand the words she was saying, so of course I don't remember what passages she read. I only recall that my last conscious thought was based on the word "Dear God, please let me sleep."

I fell asleep as my wife read to me, and I have no idea how long I slept. But when I woke up, I was completely free from any pressure or tightness in my chest, and I knew total healing had taken place. The next day I called the practitioner and told her what had happened. I believe we simultaneously breathed a long-awaited grateful sigh of relief. This all happened more than eight years ago, and I have never again had any problems of that kind.

Hank Richter
Phoenix, Arizona

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