One summer, I noticed that one of my fingers was really red and itchy. After a few days, the irritation spread to the rest of my fingers. I am a student of Christian Science, so it was natural for me to pray about what was going on. From studying the Bible, I knew that God made me in His image and likeness. Since God causes only good, there’s no way for me to express anything less than perfection. That includes a healthy body. I continued to pray for a while until the irritation stopped, and I was grateful for this healing. 

But when the next summer rolled around, the irritation came back. As it persisted, I felt more and more discouraged and, frankly, very disappointed. I thought I’d prayed earnestly, but the situation had not improved. I wondered if maybe the warm weather was causing this reaction. I tried to address this in my prayers, but I couldn’t shake the fear that this was something I was going to have to deal with every summer. 

One night I woke up because the discomfort was the worst it had ever been. I was exhausted—and afraid of how long I might have to struggle with this issue. I knew something needed to change. I wholeheartedly reached out to God. Various ideas I’d prayed with before came to mind along with some new ideas. Ideas like “I’m not a material body that is subject to pain and discomfort, because God, who is Spirit, created me as wholly spiritual.” No matter what my body was doing, I knew what was true: I reflect God’s perfection, so I can expect my body to reflect this truth. I soon felt some relief and was able to go back to bed and sleep soundly. The next day, there was a lot less irritation. It was a few more weeks before the problem was completely healed, but once it was gone, it never came back. It’s been several years since this healing.