HOW DOES CHURCH MAKE YOU A better healer?

with contributions from SUSAN MOLLER, SUBHASH MALHOTRA, KENDRA NORDIN, JOHN MINARD, JOSEPH WAWERU KAMENJU, DORRIT KJÆR CHRISTIANSEN, FLÁVIO COLOMBINI

BY SUSAN MOLLER Greenfield, New Hampshire, US

"The test of all prayer," wrote Mary Baker Eddy, "lies in the answer to these questions: Do we love our neighbor better because of this asking? Do we pursue the old selfishness, satisfied with having prayed for something better, though we give no evidence of the sincerity of our requests by living consistently with our prayer?" (Science and Health, p. 9).

While I had passed over these momentous questions before, that day several years ago, they suddenly loomed large. The test of all prayer, I thought? Those questions gave me a new way to look at the effectiveness of prayer. I began to apply this test to my own prayers regarding health, work, home, and social contacts. Often, after praying about a situation, I would just stop and ask myself: Do I love my neighbor better now? Have I pursued old selfishness in any way? Am I living consistently with my prayer?

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