WHEN I WAS Midwifery Sister in Guy's Hospital London, I never believed there could be any viable way to heal physical conditions except through conventional medication. Even childbirth was considered not natural, and in my book, it, too, had to have medical intervention. I was a total skeptic of any alternative healthcare.

Happily, the world is more open-minded today. Even in the National Health System in the UK, things are changing. Mind/body approaches to medical care have gained increasing acceptance. And that includes a revaluing of spirituality as a positive component in treatment. Clearly, recognition is growing in the healthcare professions that caring for the spiritual needs of a patient is vital to the whole recovery process and a person's ongoing good health. In just one example of this shift in thinking, in May 2004, the UK National Health Service published a policy document titled, "Caring for the Spirit."

According to the www.healingtherapies.info/prayer_and_healing.htm, one "alternative" treatment, prayer, is making a healthcare comeback—researchers say 94 percent of Americans believe in God or a higher power. Given that statistic, it isn't surprising that 75 percent of patients believe that their physician should address spiritual issues as part of medical treatment. Further, 40 percent want their physicians to actively discuss religious issues with them, and nearly 50 percent want their physicians to pray not just for them but with them. And the same poll reports a growing trend (43 percent) of American physicians who privately pray for their patients. These indicators show that the barriers between spirituality and healthcare seem to be diminishing.

In the past, I had always taken my exceptional good health for granted. I never imagined I would need to pray for any cures. If I became Ill, I would rely entirely on medical treatment. However, prayer for healing began to take on significant meaning to me when my health failed and I could not find a cure, even after surgery. I was feeling insecure and frightened.

For many people who find that the medical world has no further avenues for a cure, prayer might be the last resort. But when I became ill and could find no medical cure, I began to look into other methods of healing. And I discovered that for some people, prayer is the first port of call for healing.

Someone told me about a system of healing founded in the 19th century by Mary Baker Eddy. She had taught this system, which she called Christian Science, to hundreds of women and men, who in turn established their own successful healing practices. I bought the book Science and Health, that explains this healing method. When I read the last 100 pages, where people tell of being healed just by reading this book, it was a total mind-blowing experience. I was definitely interested in finding out more about spiritual healing!

Apparently I haven't been alone in that search. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2002 National Health Interview survey found that 36 percent of adults 18 years and over use some form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), which includes a variety of medical and healthcare systems and practices. Globally, CAM has always been part of healthcare, but it has become a new paradigm in the Western hemisphere. One definition of alternative medicine is: "The practice of medicine without the use of drugs; may involve self-awareness." To Christian Scientists, probably the most significant statistics in this survey are those that include prayer used specifically for healthcare. When this type of healthcare is included, the number of US adults using some form of CAM rises to 62 percent. To me, and to generations of Christian Scientists who have been relying exclusively on prayer for well over 125 years, these numbers are encouraging.