More than just a physical healing
One morning, I woke up with a strange sensation in my neck that made it incredibly painful to sit or stand up.
I tried to function, but the pain only got worse. Eventually, I couldn’t move my head at all and had to spend the rest of the day lying on the couch. I was annoyed by the pain, and I was also confused. I hadn’t done anything that could have caused an injury.
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My mom, who’s been a Christian Scientist her whole life, had immediately begun to pray as soon as I mentioned my discomfort. Together, we read that week’s Bible Lesson from the Christian Science Quarterly and a few different pages from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, looking for spiritual ideas that could help with this specific challenge.
But I couldn’t get over my exasperation. The next few days were the same: I woke up expecting the pain to be gone, only to find that nothing had improved. I had to miss my tennis and volleyball practices, and school became very challenging. But my mom and I continued to pray because we knew we could expect healing.
Looking back, I realize that the healing was not fundamentally about my neck. It was about a shift in my thoughts.
As a Christian Scientist, I’ve learned that an important part of prayer is quieting our thoughts so we can listen to God. In Science and Health, the textbook on Christian Science, it says: “To enter into the heart of prayer, the door of the erring senses must be closed. Lips must be mute and materialism silent, that man may have audience with Spirit, the divine Principle, Love, which destroys all error” (p. 15). As we silence any thoughts of doubt or fear, we can better understand our oneness with divine Love, God, which brings healing.
But in my case, I hadn’t been trying to silence anything. Instead, I kept paying attention to the thoughts that reminded me of the pain and made me annoyed and frustrated.
One day, during my all-too-familiar couch-lounging sessions, I was reading a novel when I came across one character calling another “stiff-necked.” This meant that the character was stubborn. It clicked that that’s exactly what my mindset had been—stiff. And I saw the connection between my thoughts and what I was experiencing physically.
I asked myself what I could do to fix my obstinate outlook. The answer came almost instantly: If something isn’t stiff, it’s able to bend. It yields. It embraces humility. I realized that this applied to so many different areas of my life. When playing sports, for instance, I found it hard to feel satisfied with my performance if it wasn’t absolutely perfect. I was unreceptive to tips or insights my coaches gave me because I preferred to figure everything out for myself. This definitely wasn’t embracing humility.
Immediately, my outlook changed. There’s a verse in the Bible that says, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom” (Proverbs 11:2, English Standard Version). I realized I could practice humility, regardless of the pain in my neck.
Over the next few days, I did my best to be more humble. For example, when my parents offered to help me with something, I allowed them to care for me, knowing that they were expressing divine Love.
As my outlook changed, the pain that had felt so overwhelming faded away. I was able to move my neck freely, and before long, I was back to my normal activities.
Looking back, I realize that the healing was not fundamentally about my neck. It was about a shift in my thoughts. I was healed of a rigid, self-focused mindset and gained a greater understanding of humility and my relation to God.
This experience taught me that prayer is not about asking God to remove a problem. It is about allowing God to transform our thinking to see what’s really true about us. What once appeared to be an obstacle was really an opportunity for me to grow spiritually.
It’s easy to feel frustrated when things don’t go according to plan, whether in sports, school, relationships, or everyday life. However, I have learned that true spiritual progress comes from being willing to listen, to adapt, and to trust God’s guidance. Just as a flexible branch is able to move with the wind rather than break against it, humility allows us to experience joy and freedom as we listen to God.
