God shows us how!

It was the middle of the night. I had a high fever and felt extremely uncomfortable. My thoughts seemed to be going around in endless circles: How will I heal this, when I can’t keep my thoughts straight? How will I take care of my work and home duties, when I can’t move? How will I pray for others, when I can’t even pray for myself? How will I get some peace and rest? 

I had been praying all day and didn’t understand why I still felt unwell. But then I remembered—God gives us beautiful, healing ideas through the study of Christian Science, but doesn’t just leave us there. God shows us how to apply these ideas effectively in our experience. With this realization, I knew it wasn’t up to me to figure things out, and that God would direct me. 

At that moment, the phrase “ABC prayer” came to my thought. I pulled out my tablet and began typing out what came to me:

A: God is the Always Available Authority. 

B: I am Buoyant—able or apt to stay afloat or rise, cheerful.

C: God Cares for me and for everyone, and we are always loved and protected, untouched by anything unlike God.

While prayer in Christian Science is never a formula, this was a simple, helpful guide for me at that time. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, writes, “When the illusion of sickness or sin tempts you, cling steadfastly to God and His idea” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 495). That’s exactly what this prayer did. I gave my attention totally to God and to realizing God’s unbreakable relation to His idea, man, His spiritual expression. I fell asleep for a few minutes, and when I woke up, I felt the fever draining from me.

Our prayers don’t need to be wordy or complicated, or even verbal.

What moved me most about this healing was the simplicity of prayer and the power behind it. Although I may or may not refer again to this “ABC” way of praying, this idea was there at the moment I needed it, and I found healing.

Although prayer is deep and powerful, there is also a simplicity to it. Our prayers don’t need to be wordy or complicated, or even verbal. When we humbly allow God to show us how to pray, it brings results, as I discovered that night when I let go of trying to figure things out for myself and turned my thinking entirely to God. Yielding to God’s direction enables us to let go of fear that any problem could be bigger than God, or that it is up to us alone to find a solution.

I’ve found these words of Christ Jesus helpful: “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:4). It makes prayer simple to pray with childlike qualities such as trust, sincerity, receptiveness, hope, joy, and innocence. These innately belong to all of God’s children. While it may take persistence, we can trust God completely, with deep sincerity, and let God carry us forward. Then, we feel the joy that comes with childlike receptivity and humility, no matter what it is that needs our prayer.

The way in which prayer unfolds to each person will always be unique, just as God guided my prayers in that specific moment. When we let God show us how, we learn how simple and effective prayer can be.