Many years ago I struggled with migraine headaches. They were debilitating and often left me unable to meet daily demands. These headaches had gone on for several decades.

As I prayed for myself daily, I learned to stop and focus on God’s view of me, His beloved daughter. As Mary Baker Eddy wrote, “Now is the time for so-called material pains and material pleasures to pass away, for both are unreal, because impossible in Science” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 39). Mrs. Eddy’s use of the phrase “in Science” became an important part of my study. I found that I often needed to evaluate my thoughts to determine whether I was thinking about things “in Science” or “in matter.” I gained a great deal of encouragement from this spiritual discipline, and I knew that pain was simply not possible in Science.

A turning point came when I began to include in my prayers others who might be suffering from the same challenge. As I prayed for relief, I knew I could find my freedom as a beloved child of God. God could never create a debilitating problem for any of His creation. This meant that not only could I be free from the headaches, but everyone could be free.

When thinking about spiritual inspiration, I like to consider a flowing river. What flows in must flow out in order to maintain a healthy and productive ecosystem. Under normal conditions, fish thrive, plants grow, and the water is fresh. On the other hand, a body of water that has no flow becomes polluted. The water’s natural course is interrupted, and the river no longer functions the way it should.

The Dead Sea, which borders Israel and Jordan, has fresh water flowing into it but nothing flows out of it. The minerals begin to collect, and water starts to evaporate in the hot sun. Consequently, the Dead Sea’s water is concentrated with minerals and animal life cannot flourish there. I visited both the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee last spring, and the difference in atmosphere was extreme. The Dead Sea was surrounded by desert, whereas the Sea of Galilee was full of fresh water and productive. It is still fished daily, and the lake is surrounded by towns. One could imagine that the sunrise across the lake was the same that Jesus and his disciples saw.

From this example, I learned that the impulse to keep good things flowing is natural. In our own lives, fresh, active thinking supports spiritual growth and productivity. Knowing and loving God and cherishing all that He does for us is important, but I saw that we can’t hold on to this inspiration just for ourselves. We must let this great love for God flow out to others.

As I prayed for humanity broadly, my thinking was lifted, and I started to see that there wasn’t anything personal about the claim of headaches. This was the beginning of the end of that problem. I really dug into the Bible and Science and Health to find new inspiration. Mary Baker Eddy wrote that “error has no creator” (p. 277), which means that headaches can have no creator. I enjoyed having the opportunity each day to push forward with new inspiration, and not to just rely on what I learned yesterday.

The headaches stopped, and I can now testify that it’s been many years since I’ve suffered from a migraine. Furthermore, when I recognized the value of praying for others, my prayer for freedom began to be full of joy and no longer a burden.

Praying for the world is an essential part of the great opportunity Mrs. Eddy gave us when she introduced Christian Science to the world. In the “Daily Prayer” given in the Manual of The Mother Church, she writes: “... may Thy Word enrich the affections of all mankind, and govern them!” (p. 41). I love that my prayers can embrace everyone, bringing the precious recognition of God’s care.

Katherine Hoyt
Highlands Ranch, Colorado, US