Removing roadblocks to healing
One question heard from time to time is, “How come I’ve prayed about a problem in my life and it still hasn’t gone away?” Probably all of us have encountered this question at some point, in our own thoughts or from others, and it can be tempting to think, “Well, maybe Christian Science doesn’t work, or at least not for me.” But there have been too many verified healings—recorded for over a century in The Christian Science Journal and Sentinel—for that to be true for anyone. And in those cases where healings have not yet happened, the biblical account beginning at Matthew 17:14 yields important insights.
In that account, a man brings his son, who the Bible describes as “lunatic,” to Christ Jesus to be healed. Jesus’ disciples, the account says, had been unable to heal the man’s son, but then Jesus healed him on the spot. Afterward, the disciples came to Jesus and asked why they had been unable to effect a cure, and Jesus told them just what they needed to know so that they would be able to heal effectively in the future.
The mental roadblocks that need to be overcome in order to heal as Christ Jesus did might vary, but all can be overcome.
Perhaps one reason this account was included in the Bible was to give hope to those of us who might be feeling discouraged about a problem or condition that we’ve prayed over but has not yet yielded. The disciples, after failing to heal the man’s son, could well have been tempted to throw up their hands and say, “What Jesus told us about healing isn’t true—it doesn’t work!” But Jesus’ example proved otherwise, and so the disciples wisely inquired of him the reason they had been unsuccessful. He replied, “Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (17:20 ). Having learned the root of what had been holding them back, the disciples were enabled to move forward and do many wonderful healing works.
The mental roadblocks that need to be overcome in order to heal as Christ Jesus did might vary, but all can be overcome, and an important lesson to draw from the account above is that “nothing shall be impossible unto you”—in other words, keep working, keep praying, keep listening for what God is revealing to you, and your healing is certain. As surely as flipping a light switch results in a light bulb turning on, the proper application of Christ Jesus’ teachings, as revealed in Christian Science, brings healing.
Sometimes, it’s tempting to think, “If only Jesus were here today, he could tell me what I need to know to be healed.” But Christ Jesus promised he would be with us “alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20 ). So while of course the physical Jesus is no longer with us, his “spiritual self, or Christ,” as Mary Baker Eddy put it in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p. 334 ), is always here. The comforting messages of Christ always come to thought when we turn to God for healing, and like the disciples, we’re unfailingly strengthened and uplifted to go forth as successful healers.
About the author
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