How does prayer work?

"Prayer brings thought in line with the divine," says Kathy Chicoine, "and prayer opens up the heart to what divine Love has already prepared for us." She explains that prayer opens us up so we are willing to hear what God has to say. In addition to sharing a number of her own experiences, she speaks of the importance of gratitude, grace, and praise of God in healing.

Questions asked include: How do I make my prayers more effective? Why do challenges in relationships take so long to heal? As a practitioner, how do you know how long to pray? How does Christian Science prayer differ from traditional worship?

The transcribed text has been edited for clarity.

Rosalie Dunbar: Hello, everyone. Welcome to a Christian Science Sentinel live question and answer audio event. My name is Rosalie Dunbar, and I’ll be your host for the next hour. Our topic today is “How does prayer work?” and our guest is Kathleen Chicoine, a Christian Science practitioner from the Charlotte, North Carolina area. Kathy has been in the fulltime practice of Christian Science for more than a decade. Before that, she and her husband worked together as restorers of antique firearms, a business he continues today. She also worked for several years on a salmon farm where she was responsible for the care and feeding of thousands of fish being raised for market. Kathy, do you have some thoughts to get us started?

Kathy Chicoine: I do, Rosalie, thank you. I’d like to start by saying that prayer just brings out more of the divine nature in our own experience. It brings out patience, compassion, and our love for God, which naturally will extend to our love for man. This all starts with prayer. It’s a desire to know and to understand our Father-Mother, God. Prayer strengthens faith, and through this strengthening of faith, we gain an improved understanding, and we see more of man’s Godlikeness. It’s an undeniable desire to connect with God. Prayer is not just done to feel His presence, but prayer welcomes His instruction, so that we can enjoy His love. And healing is the natural effect of prayer—a natural effect of this intimate connection. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy dedicated an entire chapter on prayer. In fact, she begins with this chapter, and she writes: “What we most need is the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds” (p. 4 ). When we turn to God patiently, meekly, and lovingly, with an honest heart, he meets and greets us. And as the Bible says: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you” (James 4:8 ). So here we have one universal Father of all, loving all, and including all. And this includes each of us today—and always.

Rosalie: Well, thanks, and what you were talking about—“the prayer of fervent desire for growth in grace,” I believe Mrs. Eddy also says specifically that “Desire is prayer” (p. 1 ). But she’s talking about a slightly different kind of desire than “I desire to have a brand new computer with lots of software on it,” isn’t she?

Kathy: Yes, she does, but honestly, if there was something we needed, no matter what it is, there is a way that we can understand that that provision is possible. We just want to make sure that our desire is spiritualized, that it’s done without looking at what we need, but really looking at what God has prepared for us. What is God looking at, how is God seeing this?

Rosalie: Well, that’s great, and Julie in Bellevue is sort of carrying forward your thought about grace, because she’s saying: “What role would you say that grace plays in healing the sick and sinning through prayer?”

Kathy: Whenever the word grace is used in a Wednesday evening readings or in the Lesson there is always a flurry of really good testimonies that explain that word, grace. One of my favorites is just that: it is “the unearned love of God.” If we’re praying for grace, if we’re really praying to see that love of God, I think that we’re naturally going to express it more through our divine nature. As we grow in grace, we will also grow in our ability to express these divine qualities—patience, meekness, humility, moral courage, forgiveness, faith—all of these ways that we can see more of our own Godlikeness in ourselves and others.

Rosalie: So, by “our divine nature,” could you explain a little bit of what that is?

Kathy: Well, when I think of the divine nature, I think of Christ. We think of Jesus as the man—son of Mary, son of God—and Christ is the divine nature, his way of expressing his Godlikeness. Everything he did was loving, and calm, and pure, meek, and humble. He expressed forgiveness, he expressed faith, and he demonstrated this. He used these qualities in all of his healing work. So he was never at a loss for his expression, his divine expression.

Rosalie: And each of us follows in his footsteps by expressing these spiritual qualities and recognizing that we ourselves our spiritual?

Kathy: Correct. And by praying for that grace, what you’re really doing is you’re establishing the fact that you’re looking for these qualities in God. And naturally, the more we look to God for anything, the more we see it.

Rosalie: And then it comes out in our own lives.

Kathy: It comes out in expression, whether it’s healing, whether it’s forgiving a loved one or a stranger, it’s just recognizing that that divine nature is actually demonstrating our dominion, whether we know it or not.

Rosalie: Now, Emmanuel in, I think it’s Suka, Nigeria—and forgive me Emmanuel, if I’ve mispronounced it: “What can I do to express enough love for my wife, who studies Christian Science but cannot attend church with us and the rest of the family? This disheartens me a whole lot. I’m a class-taught Christian Scientist, and I’ve been praying about this, but haven’t seen any results. What is your prayerful advice?”

Kathy: Many, many years ago, when I was really getting grounded in Christian Science—I was raised a Christian Scientist and did not always practice it, sort of floundered in it for awhile—but as we were raising children, my husband and I had agreed I would take them to a Christian Science Sunday School, which where we were living at the time we had a nice one, when they were very young. As I grew in my love for Christian Science and in my ability to understand it and practice it and study the Lesson, I noticed there was a lot of resistance coming from the other side. And what I really think helped the most was just really recognizing that the more I loved it and lived it, the more I could let him go to God—just leave his spiritual growth in God’s hands, trust it. And as I grew, I noticed that there was a point in which he started attaching himself more to the ideas that were coming when I would pray—whether it was just taking the child in my arms and praying out loud and just not being afraid of anything around me, or whether it was realizing that maybe the marriage wasn’t going to last. I just kept turning to God to let go of any personal sense or any opinion about his spiritual growth. And over the years, it was just this natural ability to come together. There were highs and lows, but ultimately that’s what happened. I think that I can say prayerfully, was looking at this and saying, “Here, Father, this is Your child, he’s not mine.” And just being so grateful for all of the ways that he was expressing just so many wonderful qualities, and at times that he was able to support my decision for Christian Science treatment. And, at times, when maybe he wasn’t, not to resent him, to just love him, and let that love just nurture his own immortal idea. And my husband now is a class-taught Christian Scientist, and a wonderful companion and friend, and a true support in my healing practice.

Rosalie: Maylynn, who’s writing from Manchester, I believe Manchester in the United Kingdom, said: “I’ve applied for British citizenship for more than ten years, and still have no avail. I haven’t seen my father face to face for eighteen years. How would an understanding of God bring resolution to this situation?”

Kathy: Whenever I pray, I start with God, I don’t start with the problem. Here, I would say the thought is that there’s a world with borders—that we have this country and that country and very often we get into difficulties with passports and visas and citizenship and travel and all kinds of things. But when I turn to God, I think, “You know, what, Father? This earth and everyone in it is a world without borders.” It takes it to the highest possible level of just seeing that there’s no separation between man and God. Man is inseparable from God. And really trusting that God will open the way, regardless of where this is, or how this is to come about, just don’t outline it. Recognize that God is capable of uniting all of His ideas in Love. Fathers and sons, Mothers and children, friends, comrades, partners—whatever, but really turning to God and saying, “OK, Father, I’m not going to look at the problem. I’m going to look at just how powerful Your love is to unite all of us in that Love.” Not outlining it, not trying to figure out dates and schedules, and how long it’s been, but just right here, right now, knowing that there is no separation between man and God.

Rosalie: That’s a wonderful thought, and the fact that there’s only one Mind—that God is Mind, and that there is only one, would help to open the way, rather than having to deal with lots of different human minds. If he turns to just this one Mind for guidance, the answer can come in a very unexpected way, can’t it?

Kathy: It can. Years ago there was a situation—and I won’t go into all the details—but there was a man who was in a Mexican prison, and he was unjustly accused. And when I got the call from a family member, I never asked if he was guilty or innocent, because in my own prayer, I’m going to accept that man is always innocent, as God’s child. And over the course of this—it did not happen overnight—but over the course of this, he was indeed sentenced and lost his appeal. And we did not. We continued to know that there was one Mind, and that there was no country of origin because he was in the United States and wanted to come home, but he was in this Mexican prison. And one night after his appeal was lost, the judge woke up in the middle of the night with just this absolute sense that the man did not belong in jail. And within two weeks he was freed. He also, during that time in jail, developed his own faith—not as a Christian Scientist, but in everything that happened he was put in the best part of the prison, he was fed meals that only guards got to eat. However it turned out for him during that incarceration, he was learning to trust God with his freedom. And I don’t think it’s any different, whether we’re in a country that we need to leave, or a prison we need to leave, or an addiction that we’re trying to heal, we just want to be able to recognize that God is the only Mind, and that this Mind frees us from every barrier, no matter what it looks like.

Rosalie: Thank you. Now this is from Adolf, and again I need to apologize. It looks like Ostermundigen, Switzerland, and he’s asking: “How would prayer, as practiced in Christian Science, differ from traditional worship?

Kathy: Prayer in Christian Science is prayer anywhere. Prayer is prayer. And I don’t think that any of us really, who are really putting God first, all of us are praying constantly for one understanding, for one healing, for whatever—all of us are engaged in prayer. Certainly everyone listening today is dedicated in their prayer. Prayer, to me, is by definition, petition, a request. It comes through confession, it comes through praise, it comes through thanksgiving, it comes through gratitude, it comes through hymns. Worship, to me, is just the act of that, just glorifying God, putting God first, keeping God at the center of our lives. Prayer, in Christian Science, can sometimes get confused with treatment. Christian Science treatment is different. It’s an extension of prayer, but it goes deeper than that. And if you’d like, Rosalie, I’ll take this opportunity to explain that.

Rosalie: That would be great!

Kathy: The word treatment means, by definition, it’s an application of a remedy to effect a cure. In Christian Science we’re always treating thought. We’re never treating matter. We’re not treating the problem. So the application to our remedy is truth—God’s truth, what God is knowing. And I like to think of it as: Here I am, prayer is the preparation of the heart. Here I am, Father—I’m right here face to face, loving You, and listening. And it could be starting with the Lord’s Prayer, it could be a hymn, it could be any sort of a thought that really lays the groundwork for the next part. And that, to me, is the treatment, the listening. Sometimes we talk and talk and talk and we don’t remember we’re supposed to put our lips closed, and just really listen—what is God knowing here? I’ve given Him a laundry list of all the things I need, and now I’m going to listen. I’m going to listen to what He is knowing, and how He is knowing this. And I’m going to know those words that come from God, because just like it says in the Bible, they are first pure, they are easy to entreat [James 3:17 ], they’re easy to understand, they’re full of love, they’re of a good report. And when I hear these thoughts that come from God, I know to trust them, no matter what’s going on around me. So I would say that that’s probably the A and the B of Christian Science prayer is—here’s the prayer, what I need from this, and here’s what I’m listening to and trusting and believing, and, in many cases, standing with, even if I don’t see the result right away, just standing with that Truth. And then every time I pray, and I’m quiet, I’m expecting new thoughts, and fresh thoughts, and fresh ideas, and fresh inspiration. So that would be my answer for that question.

Rosalie: That’s helpful, and it ties in with Ron in Bournemouth, England, who says: “My elderly cousin was looking after her husband without help. Then she had a fall, and was in pain. I have been affirming health for her for months, but no improvement, and I’m tempted to feel discouraged. What can I do?” And the reason I think this ties in is partly because of what you’re just saying about even if you don’t get results, but there’s also—how can I put it?—there might be something about a general affirmation that he may not be invited to give her Christian Science treatment, but perhaps his prayers could still be more focused. What do you think?

Kathy: I think absolutely. Many times as a Christian Scientist, and even as a practitioner, I’m in the company of people who are not Christian Scientists, but I’m able to help them. And one of the ways that I do that is to clear my own thought—get a good sense of what I’m knowing about the situation, first. How am I praying about this in my own thought? And when it comes to people falling, one thing that I’ve found extremely helpful—and here comes the dictionary again, but Mrs. Eddy actually—Mary Baker Eddy—taught us to really look into these words that we’re using. I looked up the word gravity one time—I had a patient who had called after a fall—and one of the definitions is “to pull toward.” And I thought, from now on, when I think of that word gravity, I will never again think of being pulled down to earth, but I will always think of here’s an opportunity to be turned toward God, or pulled toward God. Not because of the fall, but because whenever I need Him, I know that He’s turning my thought toward Him. And recognizing that when we’re caring for people, or we’re in the company of others, every one of us is working out our own demonstration, whether we’re having Christian Science treatment, whether we’re in a hospital, we’re always in need of finding our own way. So the people around us that are praying, are really supporting us, kind of like in the story of Moses, when Aaron and Hur we’re holding up Moses’ arms (Ex. 17 ), while he held the staff up to heaven. It’s just really getting a sense that discouragement can often get in the way of our own healing in a situation, even when we’re taking care of others. I know in Miscellaneous Writings, I think it is, Mrs. Eddy has some advice to her primary class, and she says that just at the moment when—and I’m going to paraphrase this—just at the moment we should see fruition from our prayers, the doors of animal magnetism open wide to error, self-will, self-justification, pride, envy [pp. 280-281 ]—and I could threw things like personal sense, discouragement, in there. The idea behind Christian Science treatment is that we are trusting God implicitly—“. . . an absolute faith that all things are possible to God” (Science and Health, p. 1 ). And not being fooled by what we’re seeing going on around us, just holding to that truth that in God’s own way, He never saw a fall, He never saw anything break or dislodge, or become encumbered or limited. God’s child is always held in the palm of His hand, safely. And you can see that for your own thought, and see it for her, without ever giving her Christian Science treatment.

Rosalie: That’s really helpful. And, again, it ties in with this question from Lorraine in New York, where she says: “I’ve read many testimonies of healing where a person with little or no knowledge of Christian Science is healed simply by reading Science and Health, whereas someone who studies and prays diligently can wait a long time for healing. How does instantaneous healing occur, and how can we make it possible for ourselves?”

Kathy: I think that as we go through our healing work, one of the most helpful things I have done in my own work for myself, is to not judge the timing of a healing. Instantaneous can be something—you know we work and work and work and pray, and then instantaneously we are healed. Or it can be something where something happens, and we pray, and instantaneously we are healed. Every healing, every inspiration, is just one more way that we are growing spiritually, and I’ve found also that the best way to find healing is when we read, when we pray, when we study, let’s go out and live it. I would so dearly take five minutes of study and reading, and a day of just going out and sharing the good that I learned from those five minutes—whether it’s a smile, whether it’s helping someone, whether it’s donating to a charity, whether it’s just praising God—just live it. Go out, and live it, and realize that that’s how we let our light shine. That is the shining light within us.

Rosalie: Angela, in Ethiopia just writes: “Please pray for me.”

Kathy: Angela, there’s a wonderful—Paul says it, actually, in Romans: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”—I’m going to read this, Rosalie, if you don’t mind.

Rosalie: Of course.

Kathy: It’s from Romans: “shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35, 37-39 ). Wherever you are, whatever you are, however you are, you are never separated from that love that is God, and that Love is intelligently knowing you, intelligently meeting the needs—daily, hourly, moment by moment. So that prayer that comes from within, that wonderful understanding that that love of God is never far from you, there’s not even a line of demarcation between you and that Love—that’s my prayer, that you see that, feel that, enjoy that, taste that, and live that.

Rosalie: Thank you. Gloria in Ankara is coming back to your comments about gravity, about the influence being drawn toward—I mean, to me, it seems like this is a connection. She says: “We know that each case in Christian Science is individual. We don’t diagnose as medical doctors do according to physical symptoms, so why is there the temptation to relate to testimonies of healings of diseases that sound like something we may be suffering from?” Basically, why are we looking for a diagnosis, in a way?

Kathy: Well, as a practitioner, I don’t. When someone calls up and says, such and such and such and such and gives me the name of something, or whatever. My sense of it is what is the fear here? You don’t ever have the same treatment. If you have two people, one who lives alone and doesn’t really have a lot of contact with the outside world, and you have another person who is, say, a famous football player, and he falls. Both of them are calling for Christian Science treatment. You know, in one case you might be very alert to the idea that the football player wants to get back on the field because he misses the cheers and screams of his fans. With the other person, who has little contact with the outside world, you might be really getting a sense that they’re enjoying the attention that’s coming to them, because of what’s happened. So I don’t ever see it as treating, per se, the illness or the claim that comes, but in terms of when someone calls and says, “I fell,” or they may have some other word that they’re using, it’s also trying to get a sense of where their thought is humanly, also—to get in to behind the problem.

Rosalie: I think I may have done Gloria a slight injustice because, in a way, she seems to be saying that people may look to testimonies of healings so they can find a way to pray about what their problem is. In other words, if I have a problem, then I’ll look for a testimony of the same problem. And, in a way, what you’re saying is, you can’t really totally just match it up.

Kathy: No, no. I’d like to give you a quick example of that. Years and years ago I went through a situation where I was bleeding. For purposes of this talk, I’ll just say it was a female issue. And it didn’t stop. During the time I was praying I never was afraid. I worked and I continued to pray about it. And one day the thought came to me to just let go of any idea that I have ever had anything to do with creation. There was just nothing about my body or me that created anything. And just let go of that sense of it being my responsibility with a cause or an effect, or a latent cause or effect, and just really letting go of it. And the bleeding stopped. And this was years and years and years ago. Since that time, I’ve been extremely normal. Months later, I read an article in a Sentinel with the healing of an individual who was taking care of her mother, and she was experiencing, you know, the symptoms were very similar. But her inspiration was entirely different than mine. And I don’t remember—I think it had more to do with the kind of care she was able to give her mother, and that side of it. So I think that sometimes if we look to other healings we may find inspiration, but then we can get into formulas, and I think that can be detrimental, it can slow us down. What we really, really want to do is just turn to God and ask Him what He’s seeing, what He’s knowing. But I do agree that the idea, we don’t diagnose, we never diagnose.

Rosalie: Now, Linda in New England has sort of a—well, she’s setting something up here. She says: “Jesus said about prayer: ‘What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them’ (Mark 11:24 ). And he also said ‘. . . your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him’ (Matt. 6:8 ). I’m wondering what our prayer does then? Why do we have to pray? Or what does prayer do exactly? How does it work?”

Kathy: If I really took that, that Jesus said, and understood it completely, I may never have to pray. And yet, Jesus prayed. There were several times when he turned to God and prayed, and certainly before his crucifixion he prayed. But I feel that if we look at Mrs. Eddy’s chapter on prayer, she opens with this—the mountain can be removed, and whatsoever things ye desire. Prayer brings thought in line with the divine—it’s a human concept. But prayer opens up the heart to what divine Love has already prepared for us. In other words, maybe a good example is setting the table. We can either go to the table, and just pick at what we’ve got, and know that the food is there and enjoy it, or we can really just sit down and do it with grace, thoughtfully, and really enjoying the setting, enjoying the scenery around it. I don’t know if that’s a great analogy, but I just think that it’s so important to realize that prayer does play a part, because it does prepare our heart. It does open up that willingness to hear what God has to say.

Rosalie: Well, you were talking earlier before the chat about gratitude, and the importance that gratitude plays in one’s life. And you can see that, like Jesus thanked God before Lazarus was raised. He said I thank you because you always hear me. And in a way, prayer is kind of an affirmation of our relationship with God, isn’t it, to some extent?

Kathy: Absolutely. Many times, you know, gratitude is always a part of my healing. And recognizing that when a patient calls, or when I’m working on a healing, let’s hear the fruitage, let’s be grateful for what’s already going on. Several years ago we were given a trip to Italy by our children for an anniversary. When we got to Italy, my health declined rapidly in the time we were there, and I’m very grateful for the good that did go on there, but when I got home there was a tremendous healing that needed to take place. I don’t know what it was called, I don’t really care what the name of it was. But it was at a point where every step I took, I thanked God: “Thank you for this step. Thank you for the strength for this step,” and realizing that that gratitude was moving me forward. It was acknowledging the presence of God in every moment, instead of looking at it and saying, “I can’t walk. I can’t do this. I’m too weak. I’m too sick.” But just, “Thank you for this drink of water. Thank you for this step. Thank you for the love that’s being shown. Thank you for the beautiful sunshine that I’m sitting in.” So yes, that idea of gratitude is just absolutely important. It moves us forward. It just allows us to see how precious God is in every moment, in everything that we’re doing.

Rosalie: Jesse in North Carolina, is asking: “So, how do I make my prayers more effective? I don’t feel like they work.”

Kathy: I love to get myself out of my prayers. You know: “This is what I need. This is what I want. Hurry up, God! I’ve got ’til Tuesday”—just outlining. Just recognize that when you turn to God, we’re really looking for what He has already established. Prayer brings us into harmony with the divine plan. Prayer allows us to see what God has already established for us. And it has to be good. The more I get Kathy out of the way when I pray, the more clearly I can understand and hear what God is saying to me. And so, I would say to be more effective, take yourself out of the equation, and just really look at it as “What has God prepared for me?” Are you looking for employment, then give gratitude for all of the talents that God has already established in you. The humility in not saying, “This is how I want it, when I want it, but ‘Thy will be done.’ What is it that You have purposed for me, Father?” And that humility of just really being willing to listen to that answer, and to understand sometimes God’s answer is: “Not now.” I think that just being persistent in your prayer, not condemning it. Sometimes people will say: “I must be praying wrong, or maybe I don’t have enough of an understanding.” God knows you have enough understanding. He put it in your heart. And all prayer does is it allows us to lean on that understanding, and develop that spiritual sense—Christ, actually, that brings that understanding into our human experience.

Rosalie: This is from Keith in England, and he says: “The Gospel of Matthew includes an account of Christ Jesus’ healing a child of epilepsy. Jesus states to the disciple: “. . . this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17:21 ). In your public practice of Christian Science, how specifically do you pray for children?”

Kathy: In praying for a child, it starts with the acknowledgement that that child belongs entirely to God—this is God’s idea, this is God’s image and likeness—and taking it right to that first chapter of Genesis—Genesis 1:31 : “God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.” Again, recognizing what does the word good mean? If you look it up, it’s one of the richest words in the dictionary—healthy, sound, worthy of respect, whole, complete, entire. A parent calling me for a young child, we will often acknowledge the inseparable relationship between the parent and child—between God as Parent and child. And then, praying with the parent, to correct their thought to see their ability to recognize the divine nature in their child as immortal, sinless, knowing that God never placed such a burden on a child.

In the last year I had a woman come to me—I’d love to share the healing. She was a friend of my daughter’s, and she’d opened up a manicurist shop about 45 minutes from my house. And my daughter had told me that this little eighteen-month-old boy, who we had seen wonderful, prayerful effects—he was born four months early, and he was diagnosed with cataracts. When my daughter told me this, I just really confirmed in my own heart what I knew to be true about this child. And one morning I woke up with the inspiration to go get my nails done. And I did. I made an appointment, and I traveled up there, and I just promised myself I would not push anything on this mother, but that if there were any questions or any doors opened, I would just be so grateful to just share that with the mom. And she did. After a while she started talking about this child, and I brought up that very simple definition of the word good and just knowing that that child was made in the image and likeness of God—spiritual, whole, and complete. And I pretty much left it there until she asked me why God would do this to a child? And I shared with her the story from the Bible when the disciples—they had asked Jesus was the blind man born blind because of some sin of his own or his parents had sinned? And Jesus said, No, it wasn’t because of that. It was so that the glory of God could be made manifest in him. And we talked about the idea that every healing just glorifies God. We don’t do it for ourselves. We don’t do it to prove anything. We just bear witness to the glory of God in man and through man. At that point we talked about prayer, Mrs. Eddy’s chapter on prayer. And I did give her a Science and Health. And I went home and just really, after being given permission to pray for her, I really prayed that her eyes were opened, that she could see the child of God’s creating. And the next morning, my daughter called me to say that her friend had gone to the doctor, and she said: “Tell your mom, but she probably already knows, there’re no cataracts.” There was a follow-up visit, there was an insistence that maybe there was something that was missed, and again, the diagnosis came back that his eyes were clear. It’s as simple as knowing that what God creates, He maintains. He’s the architect, He’s the builder, He’s the creator. He is the source of everything that man is. And so, when we’re treating a child, we’re looking to the parent’s thought as well, and really looking to help them understand the perfection that’s already there.

Rosalie: Thank you, that’s a wonderful example. Louise in London—this is sort of a tricky little question—she says: “I’ve lost four teeth—one tooth cracked, and have several teeth decaying. Unfortunately, I have no financial means to amend them via dentistry. Could prayer help? How do we pray under the circumstance?”

Kathy: First of all, teeth are ideas. They’re part of a beautiful design that we see when we look at man. When man smiles, isn’t it really God’s smile? It’s that joy coming through, that beauty coming through, that sincerity coming through. Prayer, in a situation like this, can’t be outlined. I know of one individual who had prayed many years, who did not have the money to have the teeth fixed. And as a result, a family member had gone to the dentist, and found out about a program that would allow him to pay monthly for this, interest free. I’ve known of other healings, and I’ve heard of other healings where teeth were completely restored to whole. So, I think that the basis for prayer needs to be that it’s not about you. It’s not about your teeth, your smile, your money, you ability. But it’s about God’s ability to provide for His creation—seeing God as the substance of all that is, recognizing that He is fully capable of revealing this substance in whatever form we need it, and just recognizing that your ability to demonstrate is really God-given. You’ve been given the ability to listen, to see what God is offering, to see the demonstration through, not just halfway, but the whole way, not outlining it, whether it’s getting new teeth, or seeing a healing here, but just really looking to God to say, “I’m listening. What is it that You’re knowing about me? What is it that You’re seeing?” That’s probably the best basis for every prayer: What is it that You’re knowing? You’re knowing, Father, and I’m reflecting.”

Rosalie: Lisa in Alaska says: “Could you speak to how praise works when one prays? I’m really noticing how important this is in healing.”

Kathy: A lot of that goes to gratitude, too, doesn’t it? When we’re giving gratitude, we’re praising God. I love hymns. Oh my goodness, I love hymns. Hymns are the best form of praise, for me, sometimes going down the road to visit a patient, or to and from the grocery store, just that innate desire to praise God—to just sing. Whether it’s a hymn of prayer, like so many of Mrs. Eddy’s hymns are, or whether it’s an acknowledgment of God’s allness, as Hymn No. 10: “All power is given unto our Lord,” praise, I think, is a very precious part of our relation to God. When we’re praising God, when we’re singing hymns, when we’re glorifying Him, when we’re giving Him acknowledgment for all that He has already done, we’re really helping ourselves to know, but certainly we are acknowledging that God is the center of our life. He’s the center and circumference of everything we are. And I’d like to just touch on that, too, that the idea of prayer in hymns, too, if that’s OK?

Rosalie: Sure.

Kathy: Mary baker Eddy, the Discover of Christian Science, has many hymns—there’re seven, I believe, in the Christian Science Hymnal—and there’re a couple of favorites. My absolute favorite is, “O, gentle presence.” It’s Hymn No. 207-212 in the Christian Science Hymnal. And it starts out:

O gentle presence, peace and joy and power;

O Life divine, that owns each waiting hour,

Thou Love that guards the nestling’s faltering flight!

Keep Thou my child on upward wing tonight.

And there’re many verses to it, but that one part: “O Life divine, that owns each waiting hour,” just taking every one of those synonyms that we have for God: Principle, Mind, Soul, Spirit, Life, Truth, Love—any one of those synonyms. “Love owns each waiting hour,” “Soul”—all of those qualities of Soul that we’re just looking to see expressed. That, to me, is the combination of praise and prayer.

Rosalie: Now, this one is from Mark, in the United Kingdom, and he says: “Can you share some ideas on how you pray in your public practice? When you receive a call for help, do you abandon whatever you’re doing and pray silently for an hour? How do you know how long to pray?”

Kathy: When I get a call, from the moment I pick up the phone, I’m praying, because I never know what’s going to be on the other end of that phone. In fact, there’s a question I ask myself when I pick up the phone, no matter what is said to me on the other end of the line, the bottom line is, the question is: Do you believe that man is born into matter, and that man dies? And my answer to that is: “No.” I believe that whoever is on the other end of the phone is the spiritual idea of God, the perfect child of God, and that’s who I answer the phone to. And as the call progresses, there are times when someone will say, “Well, gee, thanks for talking to me. I feel great now. See ya.” And there are times when someone will say: “Will you continue to pray with me?” “Yes,” you drop what you’re doing. There is no question in my household that the practice is my first love. God is my first love. Thanksgiving dinner, Easter dinner, Mother’s Day, Christmas, middle of the night, first thing in the morning—whenever that call comes in, there is a Christ-thought that meets that telephone call. And when I hang up the phone, I know that my prayer is complete when I have that sweet sense, spiritual sense, just absolute understanding, that all is well. And then I can just let it go. And sometimes during the day I may have another thought about that individual. Well I don’t say to God: “Well, I already prayed about him, so let’s move on to the next patient.” I stop what I’m doing, and I entertain that angel thought—I listen for whatever it is. And sometimes I write it down. Sometimes I actually take a little notebook with me and just sort of write down ideas that come to me, particularly, if it’s someone I’ve been working with for a couple of days, just to really get a sense that we’re on the same page and sharing inspirations, just like they’ll share inspirations with me when they call. So I don’t think it’s a matter of praying for an hour. It’s a matter of praying until you have that sense that the work is complete. And if the healing has not come at the end of that, not to get discouraged at all, but just to continue, just pick up the work and continue to listen for those thoughts that you know are real and true, and embracing that individual in God’s love.

Rosalie: This is from Lisa in Folsom, California. She says: “My young cat has been having some health problems and I’m not sure how to pray for him. I haven’t had much experience with prayer, so I’m not sure how to go about it. I would appreciate any tips you can offer.”

Kathy: I’ve had a few calls over the years where people will ask me if I pray for cats or horses or dogs, and my answer has always been that I would be happy to take the case. In terms of the person who’s calling, that they also are praying. Not just am I praying for the animal, but I’m really praying with the owner. In much the same way that I take up the case of a child, is recognizing the completeness of the idea, the completeness of whatever that animal’s name is—horse, cat, dog—and then working with the owner, praying with the owner to see the completeness of that. In this particular case, what I would say is Mary Baker Eddy, in her book, talks about—on page 513, she says: “Spirit . . . classifies, and individualizes all thoughts.” And she’s talking about the ideas being the animals that God created in Genesis, and she says, “But their life and intelligence still reflects God.” So I would say as we’re praying about any animal, or anyone, we want to always remember that they’re spiritual in nature. And here comes that gratitude, giving gratitude for all of the qualities that you see, that you know are divine—even cats, dogs, or horses. Everything that lives on earth, that’s God-created, is expressing God in some way—beauty, grace, calm, joy, happiness, contentment, quietness, balance, harmony. That gentleness of His expression—whatever it is—giving gratitude that you can see that from Him—that’s His spiritual nature. And just let those thoughts ignite other inspirations in your thought, just holding to that basis that God created all life, and that we can expect all life to express that same good. “God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.”

Rosalie: You know, your comment about the spiritual nature of animals and that all of them expressing those different qualities, reminded me—there was a point once where I was at a cat show, and I was in a room where there must have been at least fifty cats all on display. And as I was standing there, some were bathing, some were sleeping, some were looking around, some were meowing, and I suddenly saw all these qualities of beauty, and intelligence, alertness. And I realized that that’s kind of what makes up the concept known as “cat.” I mean, not just those, but other things that you see if you look at them long enough. It kind of dematerialized them for me. It helped me to see more clearly their spiritual nature.

Kathy: I just want to share this real quickly. My husband and I both really struggled with cat allergies for a long time in our, I’d say, mid-marriage. Our daughter had gotten married, and got a cat, and we had gone down to stay with her in a very small apartment. And both of us were just miserable. We were in a little room that had probably more cat hairs in it, than it did in the cat, and we were really struggling with this, and I said to my husband, “Let’s go out for a walk.” And we really prayed to see all of the qualities, not just that the cat was expressing, but the qualities that my daughter was expressing, and how she was loving that cat, and just getting so much joy from him—it was a her, actually. And it was really interesting, because one of the things was my husband worked with, was the idea that if God created this idea then it couldn’t harm him. And what I had to heal was the anger that I felt towards my daughter for buying a cat, knowing full well that it bothered me. So, there’s a really good example, too, about two identical healings, both with a completely different premise.

Rosalie: That’s very helpful. Now, Maria in California says: “How do we get ourselves out of the way when we pray for someone, so that the sense of personal responsibility isn’t part of it?”

Kathy: One of the things that I really love to do is to just face to face: “Here I am, Father,” Principle and idea, God and His reflection, and that reflection being man. And just really acknowledging that I am not the Doer, I am not the Healer, I am not the creator, I am not any part. This healing does not succeed or fail because of anything Kathy does. And just stepping out of the way, and recognizing that God is the only Mind governing the case. Mrs. Eddy uses that actually, she says: “Mind is the only healer on the case.” So getting self out of the way is really, I would say, acknowledging more of the presence of God, more of the omnipotence of God. We’re naturally getting ourselves out of the way, we don’t have to push.

Rosalie: Now there’s a follow-up question, in a way, from Allistair, who’s in London, England, who says: “Can you discuss the prayer of defense? How do you pray to protect yourself and your practice?” And it seemed to just follow right on with what you were saying here.

Kathy: One of the things that I do, I’ve learned to do, before I do the Lesson, before I’m reading either Scriptures, Science and Health, or something, I take a few moments to just declare that there’s no resistance to the Truth that is unfolding, there is no resistance to the Love that is just pouring forth from God to this household, to this practice, to this idea. Defense is probably one of the last things I really got a grasp on as a practitioner, and I still have to be very thoughtful about defending myself daily, and protecting the practice from any sort of misgivings or misunderstanding. This sense is Christ. Christ is my defender. If I’m praying, and something’s trying to get in the way, literally I can feel the presence of the Christ turning my thought back to God. If I’m interrupted—a grandchild runs into the room—literally it is the Christ that lovingly says to the child, “How about if you go play in the other room. I’ll be right out.” It’s recognizing that nothing can come in to destroy the work of Truth. There can’t be anything out there, there’s only God. There’s only God. God is the only and all of Life, of Truth, of Love, of existence. God is the all of man. So, when we know this, and we acknowledge this, sometimes ten, twenty times a day, that’s OK, but the point is that we do. We are always acknowledging God as the All-in-all, and He is our defense.

Rosalie: Marvel in Chicago is asking: “How do we listen to God effectively, clearly, and accurately?”

Kathy: One of the things that I like to do is to just recognize that I have nowhere else to be but God today. There’s nothing else going on in my life that has a greater influence, greater importance, that demands my attention, nothing that can mesmerize me, or keep me away from the loving thoughts of God. The more that I do this, the clearer my treatments are, so the more effective my treatments are, and the happier I am when I’m working, without feeling like there’s something else tugging on me—which I’m sure we’ve all felt at some time. You sit down to pray, and there’s just something that you’ve got to do, there’s something that’s trying to make itself more important. And I can tell you that being here today, for me, in my own life’s experience is an absolute certainty that there is nothing more important than putting God first. Nothing going on around us has any voice, God is the only voice in the room—it’s clear.

Rosalie: This one’s from New York City: “Why do relationships take so long to heal or never heal? I have received such life-transforming healings and truly fiery trials, and with the help of a wonderful practitioner, even received a spiritual sense of home. But relationships with children seem very tricky.”

Kathy: My favorite healings are the ones I’ve had with relationships. My husband, my mother—and there are still human relationships that will need to heal as time goes on. There’s a part of the Lord’s Prayer that I love and I work with every day: “Give us this day our daily bread.” And Mary Baker Eddy’s spiritual sense of that, found in the Christian Science textbook: “Give us grace for to-day; feed the famished affections” (p. 17 ). That “daily bread” to me is daily inspiration, daily gratitude—whatever it is that I’m getting from God that I can spread out, share freely with the world around me. In relationships, the belief is that we’re dealing with different personalities. But when we realize that God truly is the one Mind, and as Mrs. Eddy writes, “The divine I or us, the only Ego,” we have a really good basis for healing a relationship, even when we have a sense that that relationship is healed, sometimes the other party comes at us with accusations or “Remember when you did this?” or “You’re just not forgiving,” or “You’re not loving,” what’s important is that we’re holding to that sense of Love that is higher than any human opinion, any human idea of what Love is. There’re always going to be people out there that are going to think that we don’t measure up to their standard. But as long as we know that we are living our lives according to the standard of Christ, really living what Jesus set forth as loving our neighbor, loving God, really living that, then we can let go of those human opinions. And in some cases, those relationships just dissolve and go in different directions—and it’s OK—knowing that it’s not us moving someone out of our life. God is the center of our life, and that center of our life is all-inclusive Love, it includes everyone. And I know that in my own experience there are definitely people that I’d say, Oh well, we don’t have a relationship anymore—this, that, and the other thing—but in my heart of hearts I’m not holding anything against anyone. I’ve moved on in directions that God has led me, without any sense of what other people are or aren’t doing.

Rosalie: Now we have a couple of tricky questions that have come in. This one is from Steven in London. He says: “I attempted to commit suicide as a teenager as a result of feeling abandoned by the Christian God who made my school life miserable because of my sexuality. I feel very difficult to trust God, when I pray, and sometimes seems to keep on pulling me from truly understanding God. I feel isolated and excluded from the great love you seem to experience and share. Please help me.”

Kathy: I would love to start by saying you are absolutely not excluded from that Love. I don’t think suicide ever answered anybody’s question adequately. I do know that God does not see us as sexual beings. I think that’s one of the biggest misconceptions as to some of the debates that go on about sexuality. Ultimately, all of us are spiritual beings—here and now, spiritual. Yes, God created them male and female, in quality, in character, but the idea of sexuality goes to a very mortal concept of man. I don’t really think it plays a part in whether or not God loves us. That love that God has for you is unconditional. It’s not predicated on how old you are, how tall you are, whether you’re black, white, yellow, Arab, Christian, Jewish, woman, man, homosexual—all that God knows is that love for you. And that love for you is powerful enough and strong enough and giving enough and all-inclusive enough, to give you everything that you need daily to build that faith, to feel that love, to express yourself in many ways and talents that probably these thoughts of suicide have kept you from seeing. We are so much more than sexuality. We are so much more than whether or not we’re a girl or a boy, or whether we’re rich or poor. I’m sure that you express so many wonderful, Christly qualities: compassion, kindness, thoughtfulness, forgiveness, tenderheartedness, intelligence, creativity—all of these are God-given talents, God-given qualities. And they can’t be hidden by the events of years ago, and they can’t be hidden by struggles with sexuality. You are who God has purposed you to be, because He delights in you. I think our misgivings about who we are often come from what people say around us. And I love that about Christian Science—it has taught me to turn away from what people are saying about me, or to me, and asking Him: “Father, how are you loving me today?” There was a time in my life when I struggled with that sense of identity and love. And at one point I was going through a very difficult time with a family member, and I turned to God, and I just said, “Here I am Father, here’s all of me. Just take me. Here’s all of me.” And I realized I had just told Him the biggest lie that I had ever told anybody. I didn’t want Him to take all of me. I didn’t want to give my whole self to Him, I wasn’t ready for that. And so the thought came to me to just say, “You know what, Father? Here’s some of me.” And every day I would say, “Here I am, Father. Here’s some of me.” And then I got to a point where I would say, “OK, Father, here’s more of me.” And then I just realized that today I could really turn to Him and say, “You know what, Father? Here’s all of me.” I was already in the practice. I was already devoting my life to as much as I could to openly practicing Christian Science, and doing whatever I could to help others along the way. So, what I would say is just know that that Love is there. Don’t think about what you’ve been through in the past. You know, ten years ago—you’re not that man, you’re not that person anymore. You’ve grown in other ways, and you have many talents that just shine. And praying to God, knowing that He’s loving you, He will direct those talents to the proper venues.

Rosalie: Thank you. Now there’re two questions that we have from Christian Scientists who have turned to medical assistance because they didn’t feel that they were going to be healed by prayer. The first one is someone who is facing surgery, and is asking for your thoughts. This is from Texas: “I’m a Christian Scientist and I’m having surgery tomorrow. I would so appreciate hearing your thoughts on prayer in preparation for this surgery and the recovery process that follows.”

Kathy: The first thing I would say to you is, “Be not afraid.” Nothing can separate you from the love of God through Christ—nothing. There isn’t a hospital, there isn’t a tornado, there isn’t an earthquake, there isn’t a fire, there isn’t a flood, there isn’t a disease, there isn’t a sin that can separate us from the love of God. Right where you are, right now, that Love has already prepared whatever thought you need, in whatever way you will understand it. I think one of the hardest things for a Christian Scientist, who is facing some sort of medical intervention, is that it’s so foreign to them. I know one Christian Scientist, they were asked: “What medications do you take?” And this man was in his eighties, and there was no record of any medications. He had never been to a doctor, and they marveled at that—just basing it on their statistics of how much medication goes into people every day, and how much intervention there is medically. So, when a Christian Scientist is faced with that, it can seem like a very daunting thing. The truth of it is—and you’re letting me know that you’re a Christian Scientist—the truth of it is, is that there’s nothing ever going on with man but God. All action, all impulse, everything going on with man, begins with God. And we never lose that, because we’re never separated from Him. So, no matter where you’re going tomorrow, if you’re going into surgery, or going into your job to do what you do every day, just know that there is absolutely nothing changed, or going on with you. God knows you, God loves you, and God is supporting you. And you have done nothing to violate that faith that you have. You’ve done nothing to harm yourself in any way. You just know that God loves you, and that Love will see you through everything. I love that God is not judgmental. Because if He was, I wouldn’t be sitting here today! So, you just really take that with you.

Rosalie: And this one’s from New York: “How would you pray for someone who had had a practitioner working on a claim” (meaning an illness or something) “but the pain became so severe that medical attention was sought? Now there has been a diagnosis, and it’s hard not to think about it, having now been given a name and a particular cause and everything that goes with that. The practitioner is not praying now because of the medication being used”—the person isn’t getting Christian Science treatment I should say, because medication is being used for the pain.

Kathy: Every case is different and I think that Mrs. Eddy in Science and Health does allow for the idea of a pain killer, so that the patient can treat themselves, can pray for themselves.

Rosalie: That’s right.

Kathy: The important thing to realize with a practitioner—it’s very important—you turn to God before you ever dial the practitioner’s number. All that the practitioner is doing is supporting your understanding of the Christ. Some call it being a transparency for the Christ. But there’s nothing coming to the practitioner’s thought that’s not coming to your thought. There’s one voice in the room, and it’s God’s. So, even when a practitioner is not praying, or even when I’m no longer on a case, I never leave the patient feeling like they’re bobbing up and down all by themselves in the middle of the ocean. They have exactly what I was sharing with them. The Christ is here, present. And in the demonstration that you’re making, you are still engaged with the Christ in that demonstration. So what I would say is, let’s get rid of the fear or any sense of there being doom and gloom now that you’ve gone the medical route. As you continue to pray, know that that healing is still part of this equation. Just because someone turns to medicine, does not mean that the healing is doomed. There are always ways that God will renew, restore, regenerate our thinking, and put us on a path that allows that healing to take place. Do you say to the person who’s not a Christian Scientist, who’s taking medicine, “Don’t bother praying because you’re taking medicine, there’s probably nothing they can do. The truth of it is, even statistically, there are many, many instances where people have had very severe cases of something, and they prayed—who were not Christian Scientists—but their faith led them to that healing. So don’t ever lose your sense of faith and your understanding that the divine Mind does heal, irregardless of who you are or where you are. That healing effect is still divine law in action. And you’re still worthy of that healing. So don’t ever stop praying, but also don’t ever feel that a practitioner can give you more than God has already given you. You have everything that you need to meet this, make this demonstration.

Rosalie: Now our friend in New York who asked about tricky relationships with children, has questioned again, saying that they didn’t think that we really responded to that. I think what happened was we got involved in relationships, and then didn’t get back to the specific, tricky relationships with children.

Kathy: OK, so I’m taking it in terms of parent and child, that there’s a difficulty in a relationship there?

Rosalie: Well, it sounds like it, yeah.

Kathy: In the answer that I gave, I apologize if I didn’t make that clear, specifically to this one question, but it really isn’t different if you take the personal part of it out of it. Children, neighbors, friends, husbands, wives—we are all equal in God’s love. And so when we have these problems in our relationships, and we take it back to God, and say, “OK, Father, this is Your child. It’s not my child, it’s not my son, my daughter, step-son—whatever, and what I’m looking for here is to see more of what You’re seeing in them. If You’re seeing lovingkindness, if You’re seeing obedience, and if You’re seeing joy, and if You’re seeing forgiveness, if You’re seeing patience, if You’re seeing loyalty, then I know that I’m seeing that too, that I’m capable of seeing what You’re seeing in them.” But it’s always—whether it’s a family member or not—just getting that sense of the personal relationship out of the way, and just recognizing that what God is seeing in that individual, you’re designed to see, too—and vice versa. Being grateful that you can see these qualities or know that these qualities are present in that individual, whether you’re seeing them or not, also allows you to say: “OK, Father, and I understand now, if I’m able to recognize and give gratitude for these spiritual qualities that they reflect, then I know that they’re capable of seeing that in me.” And it brings that unity of thought into the household—even if the household is in two different houses in two different cities.

Rosalie: Yeah, that’s very helpful because sometimes parents feel really frustrated because the child is doing something that they really want them to stop doing, but because the child is feeling willful, or whatever, they will not stop. And as they get older and can go out, you suddenly feel very powerless.

Kathy: That’s right. And I think that if we recognize that God is the only power, we don’t have to be empowered. We really just want to know that the only influence on that child is always God. And they’re designed to hear that influence. They’re designed to respond to it. And I hope I’m not digressing for this question again, but I remember one time being at a birthday party, and the mother of the little boy was very upset because a couple of cousins were coming, and they had the worst behaved children—they were just the worst. And she went down this list of all of these things that they always did wrong. And I said to her: “Instead of seeing that—she was not a Christian Scientist—I said why don’t we take the benefit of the doubt and say, ‘OK, let’s see what God is seeing in them. Let’s just know that the only children that are going to come through that door, are God’s children, and we’re going to expect to see joy and. . . .” I can’t remember all of the qualities now, but just really they were little children, and just expecting to see the good, the ability to share, to be obedient. And when they came that day, after they left, the mother came to me and she said, “I wouldn’t have believed it was the same kids.” And what we were talking about is expectation. If we expect something to be wrong, we’re probably going to see the wrong side of something, because we’re expecting it, we’re looking for it. But if we’re looking for the good, if we’re looking for qualities that come from God, we’re going to see those. And every one, no matter how small or minute it is, give gratitude. Gratitude moves us forward. It builds on that. And we can always recognize that because we can see it in them, they can see it in us. We can expect that healing, we can expect that unity.

Rosalie: And, what about things like discipline. I mean, for example as a child gets older, sometimes it’s very hard to know how to either try to talk things through. Should you say something to them? Should you ignore it, hoping they get it in a different way? How do you make those kinds of determinations?

Kathy: I don’t ever think we should ignore anything. In praying about something—you know, there were many times, as a teenager, when I would come home late and sort of stumble through the doors, and my parents would just sort of look at me. And I remember a few times my dad was sitting there, just doing the Lesson. Then I thought I was being ignored, and I realize now, he was praying hard. He was not ignoring me, and I think there’s a huge difference between disciplining someone, prayerfully, keeping those qualities of discipline—order, honesty, integrity, moral courage, and strength—those are God-given qualities. And as we’re praying to see more of those brought out in man, there’re also going to come through us also. We’re not going to see in someone else, what we’re not willing to see in ourselves. Every healing is really, I think, an open door for us to grow more spiritually. So, it isn’t ignoring, it’s praying through it. Disciplining in other ways, I don’t have an opinion on that, because I feel like every household is different. And sometimes it’s a matter of moving from one sense of how we discipline, to another. It may be that the child was grounded for a week every time he came home late, and now, through prayer, the sense is to be able to give them more freedom, and see how they do with more freedom. So, I think the bottom line is just really look for those wonderful qualities that we know that God has given each one of us, and be willing to see those wonderful, moral qualities expressed more in your own thought for yourself. And they would have to be seen both ways.

Rosalie: I was just thinking—we talked way long ago now, about the one Mind, and that there isn’t really a frustrated parent mind, trying to get inside the head of a mischievous child mind. However difficult the situation may be, that oneness of Mind can really help to lead to a solution. Can’t it?

Kathy: Absolutely. And it’s realizing that if we can acknowledge that in Mind there is only peace. Sometimes when I’m praying I think, let’s start with this moment. In this moment, there is only peace. And let that unfold into the next moment, giving gratitude for that peace that is already present. And I do that a lot in praying about the world. Right here in this moment. Right now, there is only peace. And let that moment unfold into the next. I think it’s the same with family harmony. When you look around your house and you realize that right now in that moment, there’s no dissenting adult or child, that there is only that sense of God’s love and quietness. No matter what else is going on in a home, you feel or recognize that sense of peace. Acknowledge it—right here in this moment, there is only peace, and just cherishing that peace, being so grateful for that peace.

Rosalie: Well, Kathy, you’ve just been wonderful, and I’m so grateful for the outpouring of wonderful ideas that you’ve provided. Now we’ve come to the end, and I wonder if you have any final thoughts you’d like to share?

Kathy: The only thing that I can really come to think of is just that, as I’ve grown in my, really, love for God, and as I’ve grown in my practice, I’ve naturally been able to get a lot of fear out of the way, things that I was afraid of—simple things—what people thought of me, where my next mortgage payment was going to come? Or just really realizing that that daily bread that comes from God, it’s meant to be shared, so when we have a situation we’re praying about, and we want to see the fruition from that, don’t be afraid to share the good that’s coming into your life. Don’t be afraid to just let it go, and just replace it with that love for God—“Perfect love casteth out fear.” I think that’s probably the most I can say, just loving God so much, and loving the opportunity to share whatever I can that He shares with me, just takes everything else out of the equation.

Rosalie: Great, well thank you very, very much.

Kathy: Thank you.

Rosalie: Today’s topic was “How does prayer work?” and our guest was Kathleen Chicoine, a Christian Science practitioner from the Charlotte, North Carolina area.