Praying in a new way—and finding healing
It was Saturday evening when my friends and I decided to go hoop at the boys’ dorm basketball court at the boarding school I attend. At one point, I was heading to the basketball rim to make a layup when another player bumped into me, and I fell, landing on the outer side of my right ankle. It hurt really bad, so I left the court and limped back to my dorm room and went to bed. Fortunately, the pain receded a little, and I was able to fall asleep.
When I woke up the next morning, I wasn’t thinking about my ankle. So I stepped onto the floor, putting my full weight on my right leg. Immediately, I felt extreme pain all through that leg, especially the area around the ankle. I got back into bed and thought about what to do next.
Students: Get
JSH-Online for
$5/mo
Every recent & archive issue
Podcasts & article audio
Mary Baker Eddy bios & audio
Every recent & archive issue
Podcasts & article audio
Mary Baker Eddy bios & audio
I wasn’t very familiar with Christian Science, but I had learned that I could pray about sickness or injuries and be healed.
At this point in my life, I wasn’t very familiar with Christian Science, but I had learned that I could pray about sickness or injuries and be healed. So I decided to start praying in a way I was familiar with, which was by praying the Lord’s Prayer. I like the Lord’s Prayer because it helps me feel calm and that God is with me.
After praying this way, I went a little further by doing something new. I thought about an idea I’d heard from a few of my friends who are Christian Scientists: that expressing the qualities of God, like love and joy—which is what I’m doing when I play basketball—keeps me safe. This is true because those qualities make up what’s called our spiritual identity, and something spiritual can never be hurt; it’s always safe and unharmed.
Later that day, I called a Christian Science practitioner to pray for me. She talked to me about a similar idea: that God made us to express love. When love is filling our thoughts, there’s no room for hurt or pain. So I continued to pray with the idea that I express love, and as I did, I noticed how much my ankle had improved in just one day. The swelling was almost completely gone, and I could feel barely any pain. Also, I didn’t need the crutches that I’d been using to get around just that morning.
A day or two after this, the boys’ junior varsity tennis team, which I’m part of, had an unexpected game against one of our rivals. I was the only person scheduled to play a singles game, which I knew would require a lot of running. I was worried that I might not do very well because my ankle, while a lot better, still wasn’t back to normal.
I had an expectation that I could feel God’s presence, love, joy, and power no matter what.
But just before warm-ups, I decided to pray again. I prayed, “OK, God. You’re giving me this opportunity to express Your qualities, and I can do that regardless of what the five physical senses are telling me about how I’m feeling.” I had an expectation that I could feel God’s presence, love, joy, and power no matter what.
The game began, and I was blown away by what happened next. I was able to run around and make a lot of saves during the game. We played to the point of a tiebreaker, and though I ended up losing, I was really happy to see that I was capable of playing the game and almost winning!
My ankle was fine after that. But what I was the most grateful for was all that I learned about praying for myself. I especially like that keeping my thoughts on God and expressing His qualities meant I could play the game without limits, even though I began the game feeling skeptical about my abilities. I know I’ll be able to use what I learned from this healing the next time I need help.