PRAYER, MOTIVATED AND INSPIRED by divine Love, cannot fail to bless and heal. I witnessed this years ago when I was living in Kenya.

It was on a Monday afternoon that an office security guard delivered a message to me from an Indian friend of mine who was a fellow Christian Science church member in Nairobi. The message was scrawled on a small piece of paper. It read: "Pamela, my friend's son is dying. Please come and heal him tonight. I will come by for you at 6 p.m."

At first I thought, "I'm not up to this. I can't do this." But on the other hand, how could I refuse such a direct and imploring request? And the very expectation of my friend was sweetly encouraging. He had no doubt that this boy could be restored through prayer—through divine Love's healing power.

I also thought of the great spiritual inspiration I'd found over the weekend that had just passed. I'd spent the entire two days in deep spiritual study. One of the truths that I had pondered was a statement in Science and Health that clearly defines God's being. It says, "God's being is infinity, freedom, harmony, and boundless bliss" (p. 481). In another place in that book Mary Baker Eddy wrote, "Man is the expression of God's being" (p. 470). So, I reasoned, if God's being is freedom and harmony, then man also has to express that same freedom and harmony. This is the condition of man made in God's image, formed by Spirit.

I also thought of the printed text of a Christian Science lectureThis was not a Christian Science lecture, but a talk. that I'd read and prayed with over that weekend, titled "Wonderful things are happening," by Dorothy Rieke. The spiritual premise of her lecture was that we can actually refuse to be concerned, worried, or fearful about anything that comes into our experience that appears to be deeply challenging, even catastrophic, because in truth—that is, in the spiritual reality that God creates and maintains—wonderful things are happening. Why? Because God, supreme good, is always actively expressing Himself, and we are the very outcome of that expression, that supreme good.

Then I had a bit of a laugh. I realized that this opportunity had come to me because I was prepared. I had this fresh and joyous feeling that nothing could separate man from God, and nothing could thwart anyone from actively reflecting God and expressing His love for all that He created.

My friend picked me up as promised and drove me to a part of Nairobi I was quite unfamiliar with. He also told me on the way that the doctors who'd been treating this boy had said they could do no more for him. We parked, and he led me through a dimly lit courtyard and hallway to a little flat. Inside he introduced me to the boy's mother and father. I could tell at once by their dress that they were Muslims, which my friend later confirmed. Fear and anxiety were etched on their faces.

I greeted them and asked, "You believe in God, don't you?" "Yes," they replied, "Of course." "Well," I continued, "The very God you love and worship is the source of your son's life, and God is the preserver of life. Don't be afraid." I then told them I'd like to go into their bedroom and pray alone with their son. They agreed.

As I entered his room, the young boy appeared to be very thin and almost lifeless. I took his hand and said very quietly to him, "You know, God loves you very, very much. He's holding you very tight, and He's never going to let you go." And then I told him I was going to pray quietly for a while.

I sat on the bed next to this little fellow and thought, "All right, God, You're in charge here, and I'm just going to bear witness to what is already true about You and Your creation. You have given this boy Your life, and You are always actively expressing Yourself, and nothing can interfere with this active expression of Life—no human diagnosis or prognosis." I was clear and certain that nothing could sever the perfect unity of God and His spiritual expression, man.

One of the truths that came strongly to me as I prayed was a passage from Science and Health that speaks to this unity: "As a drop of water is one with the ocean, a ray of light one with the sun, even so God and man, Father and son, are one in being" (p. 361). One in being—this dear little fellow was "one in being" with his Father-Mother God, and nothing could change that fact. Life was his eternal and present condition.

I prayed until I had a sweet sense of peace, about 25 minutes. And then I walked out and said goodbye to the parents and could confidently tell them, "All is well. Trust God!"

I didn't see my church friend again until the following Sunday, and I asked him, "How's our little friend doing?" He seemed a bit surprised that I'd even asked him, but he smiled broadly and said, "Oh, he's up and playing and eating normally and doing fine!"

I felt very privileged to have witnessed this healing, which so clearly proved the immediate power of the Christ—God's healing Truth—to restore health. It was also humbling to me because it was such a clear example that, as Peter tells us, "God is no respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34). God doesn't know if we're black, white, or brown; what country we're from; or if we're Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, or Jew. God is Love, universal divine Love, and this Love cherishes and holds blameless the identity and life of each one that God created.

css