Testimony of Healing April 17, 2006 Issue

CHRONIC BACK PAIN HEALED

TRICIA CHANTHA

For as long as I can remember, I had put up with the discomfort of back and neck pain. Although I had practiced Christian Science for years and consistently experienced healing through prayer, I had never specifically prayed during these bouts of pain, but rather waited them out. They were just a part of my life.

One evening I felt an unusually debilitating pain down the whole length of my back. Within 24 hours, I could not stand, sit, or walk without pain, and could only lie down in one position with any degree of relief. This time the discomfort didn't recede, but rather got worse. I began to be afraid that the condition might be serious. I diligently prayed to feel God's healing presence, but the pain and fear continued to dominate my thought.

A couple of days later (it happened to be a rare sunny spring afternoon in England, where I was living at the time) I took advantage of the warm sun and lay on a blanket outdoors in my backyard. I appreciated the fragrant breeze and the lush green all around me. And it occurred to me that even being physically immobile could never stop me from knowing and understanding the God whom I had always credited and thanked for the beauty and variety of nature. That simple insight—that my conscious awareness of God could never be blocked—relieved the growing sense of fear I'd been feeling and marked a turning point in my thought. At that moment, what I wanted more than physical freedom was to understand God better.

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