Persistent prayer heals back pain
Some healings come quickly, others take some persistence. Several years ago in early October, our church was moving into a new location, and for several days I helped out with some heavy lifting. Afterward, my back hurt and I had trouble doing anything without pain. Getting a good night’s sleep was difficult.
Off and on over the next several months, I would ask a Christian Science practitioner to pray for me when I felt as though I was at a standstill in my prayers for myself. This always brought some relief, and a lot of hope, but I wasn’t completely free. I don’t remember specifically all the metaphysical truths that kept me going during that time, but I was able to fulfill my duties at church and home, which I attribute to the sustaining power of all the prayer that was going on.
One of the tools I worked with during those months was the allegory of a trial that can be found at the end of the chapter titled, “Christian Science Practice,” in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. The scene is introduced like this: “Suppose a mental case to be on trial, as cases are tried in court. A man is charged with having committed liver-complaint. The patient feels ill, ruminates, and the trial commences” (p. 430 ). The particular case in this trial was of a man who had helped out a sick friend and ended up becoming unwell himself with a liver condition. I could relate to this account. I felt like I was “on trial” for having helped my church and had been sentenced to back pain. In the trial in Science and Health, Christian Science comes to the aid of the accused as his counsel, defending him by pointing out, in short, that good deeds, “acting justly” (p. 435 ), are not a punishable offense. I realized that I too had acted justly and was innocent.
Winter rolled around, and one January day, I found myself pretty much immobile—all I could do was lie in bed in one position. My husband was very kind in bringing me the things I needed. I spent the day reading articles from the Christian Science periodicals and reaching out to God with all my heart. An article titled, “Healing chronic disease,” was very helpful (William E. Moody, The Christian Science Journal, June 1982). The article defined Christian Science treatment so well for me, and I remember thinking about the specific points in each paragraph and just letting them soak in. It shared truths such as how Christian Science treatment demonstrates that God’s law is always operating, and it showed how Mind is controlling all action. I consented to the fact that I had a divine right to see myself clearly, as God made me. More important to me than just the words I was reading, was the conscious effort I was making to yield to them.
When nighttime came, I hobbled to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready for bed. I was so tired of fighting the pain and making concessions to it. And I was not looking forward to another sleepless night. That was the moment, like in the allegory of the trial, that I clearly felt Christian Science come to my aid. It came to me in the form of a very simple and quiet statement, which felt like a powerful command: “What if you just stopped struggling with this and went to bed like normal people do?” That sounded so good, because I hadn’t had a really good night’s sleep for what seemed like forever.
I did get into bed and fell asleep right away. When I woke up in the morning, my husband asked me if I needed him to stay home from work for the day to take care of me. I remember taking inventory of myself, so to speak, and then realizing with great joy that I was completely pain-free! I got up and went about my day basking in my freedom. One of the first things I did was go to the grocery store where, after I was done shopping, I was able to reach right into the shopping cart and pick up my bags with complete ease of movement. Previously, I had needed to move very slowly and gently when doing this, barely able to get the bags from the shopping cart into my vehicle. I was permanently healed. I’ve heard it said that every healing is instantaneous—even those that take a while. The potential to feel and know our wellness is now, in this instant.
Annette Dutenhoffer
Longmont, Colorado, US
