Testimony of Healing June 12, 2006 Issue

RASH HEALED WHEN PRAYER WENT DEEPER

VICTORIA BARTLETT

In January 1992, I began to suffer from a persistent rash. I was itchy all over, especially in any fold of skin. As a longtime student of Christian Science, I've had many healings through spiritual means alone, so it was natural for me to turn to prayer to relieve my discomfort.

I thought I knew what prayer was. "A solemn request of God" or "thanksgiving to God," says the dictionary. A request can be an entreaty, or begging, as in "Give ear to my words, O Lord" (Ps. 5:1). It can be a demand of God to do something, as in "Make haste, O God, to deliver me" (Ps. 70:1).

This entreaty or demand is where I had always started, believing it's the first step in effective prayer because it requires an acknowledgment that God exists. But when I didn't see any change in my condition, I realized that my prayer had to go deeper. I began a search in the Bible and in Mary Baker Eddy's writings, reaching out for guidance to that truth that transforms thought and brings healing. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, I came upon these words: "Through discernment of the spiritual opposite of materiality, even the way through Christ, Truth, man will reopen with the key of divine Science the gates of Paradise which human beliefs have closed, and will find himself unfallen, upright, pure, and free ..." (Mary Baker Eddy, p. 171). It was the "pure" part that set me on the right path. Thinking about the purity of my spiritual identity and praying with this idea gave me comfort.

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