Article March 21, 2011 Issue

Letting the Bible speak to us

By Roberta Wallace

I love the Bible. I really do. I enjoy reading it from cover to cover, or selecting a book and exploring certain chapters and verses. I love the stories, and find lessons in harder-to-read books such as Leviticus and Jeremiah, and even in the endless genealogical lists. Most of all, I love when passages of this Holy Book touch me in a way that heals and brings peace. 

Expecting the Bible to speak to me feels natural. My study is influenced largely by the example of Christ Jesus, who relied on Scripture for both healing and teaching throughout his career. Also, by my lifelong reading of the writings of Mary Baker Eddy. Her reverence for the Bible permeates Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which elucidates the healing that lies within the Bible’s pages. Her love for the Bible, her faith, and her conviction to the Word are humbling.

One of my most memorable healings came from an inspired reading of a psalm in the Bible. On a Saturday evening, I had a sore throat and had lost my voice, and was scheduled to sing the next morning at a church service. It was important that I be there if at all possible. That particular evening I opened my Bible at random, and my eyes fell on Psalm 29. This wasn’t familiar to me, although I’m sure I’d heard some of its verses many times before. This time I read it carefully, expecting an answer. The psalm itself became my prayer. 