Article April 16, 2007 Issue

BACK TO BASICS

LYNN JACKSON

When you're in the middle of praying about a longstanding problem, it can sometimes be hard not to think, "I've prayed and prayed and prayed, and there hasn't been a change. What do I do now?" The issue may be financial, physical, social, political, or some concern that just nags relentlessly. But when a difficulty seems to drag on and on, and discouragement and doubt settle in, this often results in wondering if you'll ever be free again.

Having faced long-term difficulties myself, there are two things I've learned to do in my prayer: 1) Be persistent, and 2) Get back to the basics of healing as taught in Christian Science. By not giving up and instead returning to the fundamentals I've always known and loved, I've seen how this approach can result in a healing that has seemed a long time in coming.

Christ Jesus highlights the importance of not giving up, in his parable about a man who goes to another's home at midnight asking for three loaves of bread (see Luke 11:5–10). He shows that it's the knocker's persistence that eventually moves his friend to get up and provide the bread. And Jesus concludes his lesson with this salient point: "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened" (verses 9, 10). In other words: "Keep with it. Don't stop knocking at the door, because prayer will always open up consciousness to the healing truth."