"The power of the Word"
Have you considered how many different kinds of power there appear to be? Military, monetary, governmental, social, and political power. There are debates over the merits of atomic versus solar power, while industries associated with other forms of energy compete for public consumption. Both the lack and surplus of manpower and womanpower are familiar topics of concern.
Then consider the often overlooked, although far more significant, power of God's holy Word. This power is superior to any use or abuse of the expressions of material might. Having more than the literal meaning of "Holy Writ," the term God's Word refers to the revelation of divine ideas, which is accompanied by what the Scriptures call "signs following" (see Mark 16:20).
Early in his career, Christ Jesus astounded the people in his local synagogue when he read the prophetic words from the book of Isaiah about the promised Messiah and then declared that the day of fulfillment for that prophecy was at hand (see Luke 4:16–21). Later, in Capernaum, his listeners "were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power" (Luke 4:32), and he gave evidence of that power in accomplishing healing works. Today, many people familiar with the Scriptures recognize and appreciate their beauty, but are we also willing to concede just how encompassing their spiritual impact can be, that it extends to physical as well as moral healing? An attempt to interpret the Scriptures materially misses the significance of God's declaration of universal freedom and salvation from sickness, sin, and mortality. The result can be an intellectual skepticism about the all-embracing presence and power of God. It is as fruitless as trying to comprehend the essence of Jesus' mission merely by acknowledging his existence as a historical figure.
"The one important interpretation of Scripture is the spiritual," writes Mary Baker Eddy in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (p. 320). And elsewhere in the same book she states, "It is this spiritual perception of Scripture, which lifts humanity out of disease and death and inspires faith" (p. 547). To grasp "this spiritual perception of Scripture," however, necessitates both a willingness to listen for God's voice and an acceptance of the ability of God's Word to bless and heal mankind. This allows us to see that the power of divine Truth coincides with its presence. An understanding of the inspired message cannot be divorced from its healing effect on our lives.
This change in outlook was a turning point in my approach to prayer and in my healing. In a few days I was walking normally.
Listening for God's voice may not always seem easy. The physical senses are so insistent that they are the only reliable source of information as they shout their message of pain and suffering and limitation. But the Word of God contradicts these false arguments, touches the human heart through spiritual sense, dispels misconceptions of intelligence in matter, and reveals spiritual reality as the only actuality. In times of distress, we need to be more persistent and more vigilant in rejecting the assumption that anything evil can silence God's voice. The reward of such persistence is the capacity to hear and understand that which God is always revealing to us of man's inviolate status as His spiritual image and likeness, His beloved child.
Spiritual ideas bless and sustain and uphold us. And they appear to us in many ways—such as a new insight into a familiar Biblical passage, or a new view from Science and Health. Often something we read in the Christian Science periodicals will point us in the right direction. But unless we are willing to put aside resistance to spiritual fact and expect that God's Word will be confirmed with evidence of the power and presence of spiritual reality, the Word can seem to be only beautiful poetry. The acknowledgment of Truth's unerring effect, coupled with an expectancy of healing, brings the corrective power of divine Truth to bear upon whatever is discordant.
An experience I had illustrates these facts. Over a period of several months I found that I was losing the use of one leg. The problem was exacerbated when one day I tripped, landing full force on both knees. Thereafter, even getting up from a chair was a painful challenge. As a student of Christian Science, I recognized that this supposed loss of control could be corrected by spiritual means—by a recognition and understanding of the spiritual truths revealed in the Bible. And I did work to understand more of these truths. When, however, evidence continued to mount of further deterioration, I realized one Sunday morning that my thought had been filled only with the hope instead of the expectancy of healing. The questions in Mrs. Eddy's poem "Communion Hymn" spoke directly to me: "Saw ye my Saviour? Heard ye the glad sound?/Felt ye the power of the Word?" (Poems, p. 75).
I resolved, therefore, when I went to church that morning, to think of each statement read from the Bible and Science and Health in the church service as a specific law applicable to my difficulty, filled with the all-embracing and healing power of Truth. This change in outlook was a turning point in my approach to prayer and in my healing. In a few days I was walking normally. I went to church on Wednesday evening feeling very much like the lame man who was healed by Peter and who entered "into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God" (Acts 3:8).
Healings of this sort do not belong to the distant past. They are evidence here and now that God's Word, spiritually understood and cherished in consciousness, is imbued with the power to heal. We must never think of that Word as mere poetry or philosophy, because each statement of divine Truth is empowered by God and bears fruit. Viewed in this light, therefore, each challenge we face, physical or mental, is but an opportunity to see, to hear, to feel, more of "the power of the Word."
