“Wouldn’t a medical remedy be more reliable?” “How do you even know God is there to hear your prayers?” 

These are the kinds of questions people sometimes ask when they wonder why anyone would prefer a spiritual approach—in my case, Christian Science—to solving a health problem rather than a medical intervention. One way that I find it helpful to reply is to share experiences of healing through prayer, such as one that I had about a year ago when I became aware that one side of my back was hurting. 

At first I thought to myself, “Well, you’ve done a lot of exercise lately. Maybe too much. And you often carry groceries and heavy packages for blocks before reaching home. Bad idea. Maybe you should lie down for a while, and then you’ll feel better.”