If Jeremiah (the biblical prophet) were here today, I’d email him for sure to thank him for sharing with us a precious prayer: “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise” (Jeremiah 17:14). I attribute a quick healing I had to important lessons this prayer taught me when I, too, turned to God for healing (see “Trusting God’s faithfulness,” Sentinel, September 13, 2010). 

Anyone who studies Christian Science learns quickly that God can indeed heal. God is almighty and ever present, and His love is constant, invariable, irresistible. God is the source and supplier of all good. So it’s natural to turn to Him for health as surely as it is to turn to Him for happiness, comfort, and strength—in fact, for everything. 

The words of Jeremiah’s prayer might sound like a petition, when what we feel we really need are powerful statements of Truth. And petitioning might seem like begging. But if we ponder Jeremiah’s prayer deeply, we see that it isn’t begging at all but is instead a prayer of expectancy and conviction. There is nothing in it about how dire or difficult Jeremiah’s need is, why it happened, or what God must do for him. With his whole heart, Jeremiah is turning to his God in purest love and trusting Him to be God, Spirit—ever present, all-powerful, and all good.