Finding your Prayer MOJO - Prayer heals - Michelle Boccanfuso Nanouche, CSB Christian Science Practitioner & Teacher

3/29/2012

Finding your Prayer MOJO - Prayer heals

Christ Jesus gave the command to heal the sick. To me, that implies that healing is a completely reasonable outcome of prayer.

Mary Baker Eddy wrote, “Spirit is omnipotent; hence a more spiritual Christianity will be one having more power, having perfected in Science that most important of all arts, — healing.” (Miscellaneous Writings, 232 )

She also explained, “Healing physical sickness is the smallest part of Christian Science. It is only the bugle-call to thought and action, in the higher range of infinite goodness.” (Rudimental Divine Science, 2)

How can healing the sick be the most important and the smallest part at the same time? I think it comes down to the motive of our prayers.

Dessert please?

Two recent posts addressed expectation in prayer. And expectation of healing is important. I believe one has the right to expect to be healed of sickness and sin through prayer. In fact, healing is a normal outcome. But praying with a focus only on the physical or mental transformation that occurs in healing, is like responding to a dinner invitation at someone’s home and demanding dessert first. Dessert is included! But it is not the point of accepting the invitation!

As one who LOVES dessert, I can say from experience that putting it first can distract attention away from the main course, and from the opportunity to engage with the great conversation going on at the table. In healing prayer, the main event is the unfolding conversation with the Christ, the divine message of good from God and man.

The subject of healing prayer is neither sin nor sickness. Neither is it healing, really. It is perfect God and His creation, perfect man. Health is a natural effect of spiritual understanding. Obtain the understanding of God and man and you obtain health, because health is the natural state of man as God’s child.

Do you want some Prayer MOJO today?

Prayer that centers on the one God, as the only and supreme power – the divine Good that doesn’t share control with anything else – heals.
Prayer that opens us to see and love what is spiritual and true in ourselves and others – leading us to “love our neighbor as ourselves” – heals.
Prayer that sees man as the expression of God – the “image and likeness” who is as as one with God as wet is to water, as hot is to fire, and as cold is to ice – heals.
Prayer that starts with perfect Cause to determine all effect – heals.
Prayer that wraps itself around the Christ-message of God and man as perfect, immortal, unfallen – heals.

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Denise

3/29/2012 08:09:29 am

I love thinking of healing as the dessert! What a great way to put it. You have a really unique and understandable way of expressing things. Thanks!

Michelle Nanouche link

3/29/2012 08:50:40 am

An angel delivered that analogy. I never thought of it that way before. So glad you wrote in. THANKS!

Kim

3/29/2012 09:12:49 am

Hi Michelle! What attracted me to CS was not the healing aspect, but the aspect of a one on one relationship with God in a metaphysical way. It was something that I had always believed in but never found a "place to put it" until I found CS. I recently read where MBE said that Christian Science is 1/3 wisdom and 2/3 love. She was so wise! There certainly is the tangible feeling of Love and love that is most evident when I walk into my branch church. To me, everything else proceeds from there. That said, there is certainly an emphasis on the healing aspect in whatever venue you encounter on CS, especially the periodicals (not the Monitor :)). I know that Mrs. Eddy deemed that healing was extremely important as a demonstration of the power of Mind, however, I think that it in today's world it may turn some people away who might otherwise be attracted to CS for the initial reasons that I was. I was doubtful about the healing bit, but not about the direct connection to God. As time went on and I studied more, I learned that the connection to God that I believed so strongly in led to a faith that He was capable of anything! So for me, the healing is has become a wonderful by-product of Divine Love and something that I have experienced several times and am always learning about little by little. It has been an "acquired taste."

Michelle Nanouche link

3/29/2012 09:33:35 am

I get that, and I bet others do, too.

Taking that dessert=healing analogy a bit further, I used to make decisions about my main course based on what I wanted off the dessert menu in restaurants! So I perfectly understand that seekers of healing, who aren't finding answers in the health care model that works out from problems and symptoms, will appreciate knowing the benefits of the spirituality taught in Christian Science.

But as you have seen, the magnificent desserts, as wonderful as they are, are nothing compared to the main course experience of knowing God and finding your true self.

I bet your words will resonate with many! Thanks, Kim!

Kim

3/29/2012 09:46:01 am

Michelle - I had to laugh. When I was a kid all I wanted was the dessert and couldn't wait to get to it!

Michelle Nanouche link

3/29/2012 09:57:17 am

There you go! And mom said, "Enjoy your dinner! Of course there will be dessert!"

Kim

3/29/2012 12:17:38 pm

Pretty much, although it was more like, if you don't eat your dinner there will be NO dessert! I think that kind of applies too, don't you?

Sue

3/29/2012 01:04:40 pm

Just to add a view about the Monitor following Kim's comment! I used to feel like that about the Monitor and stopped subscribing for a while. Then when I started again I saw what tremendous journalism it is compared with all the other newpapers in circulation. It usually finds a healing ,positive element to the bleakest of stories with which to help us focus on our part - to heal those world situations. The Journals and Sentinels are our healing tools allowing us to go out and heal the world problems as presented by the Monitor. They work together and we will be blessed and healed in return.

Kim

3/29/2012 02:37:34 pm

Sue! What an excellent way to look at those periodicals. Thank you!

Michelle Nanouche

3/31/2012 12:40:55 pm

love that, Sue!

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