I am grateful for the many blessings I have received from the study and practice of Christian Science. One healing stands out because of the many lessons I learned and how clearly it proves the efficacy of scientific prayer. It also illustrates the vital work of Christian Science practitioners, on whom we often call to pray with us in extreme situations.

For many years I suffered from hemorrhoids. Initially this affliction involved only slight discomfort, so I ignored it. Bad idea! One summer the condition became severe. I would experience a day of extreme pain or an entire night without sleep or rest. Then the next day or that night I would have temporary relief. The condition was so overwhelming that I was unable to pray effectively for myself when in pain. As I could not read, study, or think clearly, I would spend the time listening to some of the inspiring music—mainly recordings of hymns—provided by The Christian Science Publishing Society. My main fear was that this would be an ongoing disability.

I had often felt pride in being able to handle problems—including health-care issues—through my own prayers, without needing the help of a Christian Science practitioner. Yet in the textbook of Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy warns against such thoughts: “If students do not readily heal themselves, they should early call an experienced Christian Scientist to aid them. If they are unwilling to do this for themselves, they need only to know that error cannot produce this unnatural reluctance” (p. 420).