For well over a year there had been evidence on my body of an unnatural condition, which was starting to spread. I was not worried initially because this fungal condition was not life-threatening or even obvious, so my prayers to address the situation were scarce. Of course, this is not the right criterion for when to start praying! The time to start praying is as soon as anything in our experience appears to be less than 100 percent as it should be, not letting procrastination creep in. Since God, Spirit, is perfect, and we are the spiritual image of God, we can pray with expectation of total healing. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes, “According to Christian Science, perfection is normal,—not miraculous” (Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896, p. 104).

But mortal mind—the belief of a mind apart from God, the one divine Mind—resists our natural inclination to turn to God, infinite Spirit, and find the healing truth about a situation. This materially oriented mind resists spiritualization of thought because it does not know or understand the spiritual power, glory, and activity of divine Mind. Caught up in its own narrative of physicality, mortal mind tends to be fascinated by its belief or impression of an unnatural physical condition and to dawdle there. 

Fortunately, in our actual, spiritual identity, we are not controlled by this false mentality, but are ideas of divine Mind, God, and are obedient to Him. Because of this, it’s natural for us to feel and obey the divine influence turning us away from the physical picture to find peace in divine Mind, which knows only good. And once we have established harmony in thought, we realize we have health as well, for health is “the absolute consciousness of harmony and of nothing else” (Mary Baker Eddy, Rudimental Divine Science, p. 11).