2/21/2012 It is not too late to stop this diseaseFeeling cornered? Is the enemy advancing? Is doubt or fear niggling at you, wearing away your confidence in being healthy again? Take a lesson from Isaiah's playbook. Called by Hezekiah when an enemy army was advancing with intent to decimate a city, Isaiah prayed a prayer so significant, so powerful, that it merited two accounts in separate books of the Bible - II Kings and Isaiah - and with results so effective that they received a third mention in II Chronicles, chapter 32. Prayer stopped the deadly enemy cold. At the crescendo of Isaiah's prayer was this thundering finale: "Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord. For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake." (II Kings 19:32-34, Isaiah 37:33-35) Let me break this down. In its spiritual signification we can look at the king of Assyria not as a particular person in history, but as any thought or condition that bullies or threatens to wipe us out. Point by point Isaiah explains divine Love's protective power against four specific tactics of the enemy: It shall not:
The enemy king sent a messenger to announce his plans to destroy the city. The intent was, of course, to undermine Hezekiah's confidence and increase his fear. Hezekiah was feeling defeated before the actual battle had begun. So when Isaiah came to his side and declared that God wouldn't allow it - that evil would not take the city - his message was like a good rain to thirsty soil. The results of his prayer were immediately evident. And graphic. "And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses." Undeniably effective outcome. I learned about Isaiah's prayer when I was suffering from a case of pneumonia that was taking me down fast. I felt invaded and pervaded by disease. The fact that I had been praying for healing for a considerable time and yet the symptoms worsened, was eating away at my spiritual resolve. I didn't understand this resistance to healing and the persistence of my suffering. When I came across Isaiah's prayer, it almost seemed to arrive too late. The disease had already gotten in. The enemy was well entrenched. Or so I thought. The following explanations from pages 426 and 427 of Mary Baker Eddy's Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, were significant to my identifying the real enemy and understanding how to apply Isaiah's prayer to the case. Eddy wrote, "When it is learned that disease cannot destroy life, and that mortals are not saved from sin or sickness by death, this understanding will quicken into newness of life. It will master either a desire to die or a dread of the grave, and thus destroy the great fear that besets mortal existence... [Emphasis added] "The human concepts named matter, death, disease, sickness, and sin are all that can be destroyed... "Death is but another phase of the dream that existence can be material. Nothing can interfere with the harmony of being nor end the existence of man in Science." I realized that the disease symptoms were nothing more than the messages being sent ahead by the enemy, trying to intimidate me and wear down my confidence in God and my spiritual resolve. Neither my body, nor pneumonia were the enemy. Even death wasn't the actual enemy because it would eventually be proved that man doesn't live or die in matter. No. The enemy bearing down on me was the fear of death. And that I could do something about. It wasn't too late to work with Isaiah's prayer. Here is a look into some of my reasoning.
The pneumonia was stopped dead in its tracks. The black cloud of fear that had threatened me with aggressive symptoms dissipated completely. I was well. Don't be fooled into fighting an unreal enemy. The culprit is not disease. Your body doesn't hate you.The great enemy is always fear. It's never too late - NEVER TOO LATE - to stop fear and disease cold. If you wish to subscribe to this daily blog, simply scroll up and submit your email above in the sidebar.
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Diane
2/20/2012 04:51:19 am
This post with the related links is outstanding. The links are "must reads" not to be missed. Thank you for this inspired and inspiring piece, Michelle! 2/20/2012 05:21:29 am
You are welcome. Sometimes the Christ message is just so clear that it has to be written down and shared (even if it is 1:30 in the morning when the message comes)!
Amy Duncan
2/20/2012 05:43:46 am
Wow, this is just excellent! I copied your "list" into a file so I can read it daily. Love the pic of the woman crawling the walls, too! :D 2/20/2012 07:19:26 am
That is a cool pic, huh? Be sure that the list is only a springboard for your inspiration and not a formula to follow! :)
Amy Duncan
2/20/2012 10:06:04 am
Oh, absolutely...I use these tings to build on.
Amy
2/20/2012 06:25:09 am
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Tamara
2/20/2012 06:29:16 am
Thank you for another inspired blog! I once heard a practitioner saying that persistence is a divine quality, not a quality of matter, or an attribute of the disease. I thought that this idea is related to what you wrote here.
Kim
2/20/2012 09:32:38 am
I did what Diane suggested and in addition to reading your blog read each of the links. It took awhile, but was worth every minute. Being new to CS I am going through so much of what is written here and in all of those articles. This was such a source of inspiration and strength for me. Thank you Michelle. 2/20/2012 09:35:44 am
Good for you, Kim. You made an investment of time and energy - spiritual energy - in yourself and your own spiritual growth. We all need to do that for ourselves. And often! You are so welcome.
Tawny
2/20/2012 12:13:37 pm
Thanks so much for sharing your inspiration and growth Michelle. I feel like we are kindred spirits. I read your blogs and smile and laugh and Amen. I had a great Sunday School class using your MOJO article last week and talking about honesty and prayer. You are dear to take the time to share, links and all. 2/20/2012 12:34:15 pm
Hi Tawny! So glad to hear from you, and really glad the MOJO article was a good conversation starter in your Sunday School class! It is a joy to listen and share. Thanks so much for commenting!
Kathleen
2/20/2012 12:29:24 pm
Thank you, Michelle. I really needed the healing ideas given in the linked articles. I am still reading, still praying.The more I pray, the more I come to see that there is no where else I want to be but in this state of spiritual consciousness with God. Thank you. 2/20/2012 12:31:58 pm
I know. They are really, really good. So glad you are taking the time to really go through them. You are welcome!
Kathleen
2/20/2012 12:43:18 pm
I love two thoughts you presented in the article you wrote, Flying in the Face of Fear: that fear has no power if I don't give it my consent; and that even if a suggestion says that I can't heal myself, this does not mean I can't heal others. Both of these ideas are very powerful.
Kate Dearborn
4/15/2012 12:02:34 pm
Michelle: Comments are closed.
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Find me on YouTube I have practiced Christian Science professionally in some form since 1979. But my journey with Christian Science started in a Sunday school where as a young child I was taught the Scriptures and some simple basics of Jesus' method of scientific Christian healing. A significant experience at the age of twelve opened my eyes to the great potential of this practice. After impaling my foot on a nail, I prayed the way I had learned in Sunday school. Within moments the pain stopped and healing began. By the next morning the wound had disappeared completely. Having experienced the great potential of Christian Science, there would be no turning back. |
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