I have had many healings that have shown me the power of prayer to meet any challenge. While I was in college, I worked during vacations in a restaurant. On one particular evening, after closing, as I was cleaning one of the sinks, the drain backed up. I poured some drain opener in without reading the warning label. As soon as the acidic drain opener mixed with the detergent-laden water, a quick and powerful chemical reaction occurred, splashing the solution into my face and eyes. The pain was immediate, and I became consumed with fear that I would be disfigured and lose my eyesight.

I went to another sink to wash my eyes and face, and to put this fear out of my mind. As I was doing this, I repeated to myself "the scientific statement of being," given in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy (see p. 468). Soon, fear was replaced with the calm realization that I, as God's child, was perfect and whole, and that no accident or chemical reaction could harm me. The stinging and burning sensation subsided, and I assured my co-workers that I was fine.

In accordance with emergency procedures at the restaurant, a co-worker had called the paramedics. By the time they arrived and examined me, there was no sign whatsoever that anything had happened to me. The healing was complete, and I have experienced no further effects from this incident.

More recently, I was spending a long weekend camping with some friends. I woke one morning with a noticeable loss of hearing in one ear. Believing it to be merely a side effect from swimming the day before, I went about the day's activities without giving much thought to the situation.

After several days, however, my hearing did not clear up. I asked for the help of a Christian Science practitioner. He reminded me that I needed to listen to Truth and reject error, and to be careful of what I was hearing. He gave me some ideas to think about from the Bible. In Mark, Christ Jesus states, "If any man have ears to hear, let him hear." In the next two verses, he goes on to say: "Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath" (4:23–25). I struggled to understand these verses for quite some time, and did not immediately realize what application they had to my experience. Another idea I prayed with was a favorite line from Science and Health: "A spiritual idea has not a single element of error, and this truth removes properly whatever is offensive" (p. 463). I needed to perceive that my hearing was not dependent on material sense, but was God-given, and therefore it could not be diminished.

More than a month passed and still I felt no relief. I began to be frustrated and discouraged. Gradually I stopped praying specifically about the situation. Eventually, I became so used to the loss of hearing that I didn't notice it as much.

Not too long before I experienced this hearing loss, I had left a job where I had felt overstressed and underappreciated. Even though I left the company on good terms, I harbored a great deal of bitterness and resentment about my experience there. As time passed, these negative feelings gradually subsided, and I began to consider the idea of returning to this company. I inquired about the possibility of returning, and found that the managers were very positive about hiring me back. I accepted the job offer gratefully. I was able to leave my other job on good terms, as well.

When I began my first day back, however, I was dismayed to find that a lot of the negative attitude I had experienced previously was still present, and even more intense. Right away, I refused to accept these false concepts. I was not going to listen to error: I had to watch what I was hearing. At this point I began to realize what Jesus was saying in those Bible verses. If what I listened to was error, then that was what I would experience. If I listened only to truth, then I could expect only good. The effects of this change in perception were immediate.

On my second day back, as I left the office late in the evening, I suddenly became aware that everything around me sounded different, and somewhat strange. I quickly realized that I had regained full hearing in my ear. The joy and gratitude I felt as I drove home that evening were immeasurable!

I am happy to report that after one minor relapse, there has been no recurrence of this hearing loss. With my physical healing, there has also come a healing in my workplace, and I find myself looking forward to going to work each day.

Jeremy Bowers
Bellevue, Washington