Prayer that heals

The Bible says that God is almighty (Gen 17:1), and that He fills all space (Jer 23:24).  The First Commandment (Ex. 20:3) states that worshiping only the one God is to be law abiding.  Prayer that affirms this view of God – of His all-power and all presence – heals!

Evan Mehlenbacher has devoted his life to proving this fact.  His prayers to God have consistently restored health, prosperity, well-being, and even life!  You can hear him explain how he prays – and how you can pray too in this same effective way.

If you’re reading this blog, it means you have a computer.  You can see Evan’s original discussion by going to this link to view a replay of the event.

No matter where you are in the world, no matter how much – or how little – you know about healing prayer, you can learn something about God’s ever present help.  Hope you’ll join us!

VIEW THE WEBINAR REPLAY AT THIS LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_0BFHub4a4&feature=youtu.be

Melissa Hayden is a Christian Science practitioner in Salem, OR. You can find more information and additional articles at this link.  If you like what you’re reading, click the “add me” button.

Moral Courage

Religious pioneer Mary Baker Eddy once wrote, “Moral courage is requisite to meet the wrong and to proclaim the right.”  (Science and Health page 327)  That deep discernment is needed now more than ever.  Stories in the news tell of bad choices, dangerous choices, harmful choices that endanger and condemn, threatening peace and safety, even life.

Moral courage helps us to break habits of thought and action – our own and others – that would repeat mistakes and justify them.  Moral courage is necessary to point out harm and reform the behavior behind it.  Moral courage is that which doesn’t back away from the long term solution in place of the quick fix.

That doesn’t mean that moral courage is slow to act, nor that its results take time.  Because moral courage is a spiritual quality, an inherent part of the divine nature made manifest in God’s dear children.  It overthrows the “eye for an eye” mentality that seeks revenge.  It dismantles the “but that’s the way it’s always been” outlook that keeps us locked in generational abuse.  It stops us from throwing up our hands and saying “what can I do?”

Moses had moral courage.  He held his ground against Pharaoh, eventually gaining the release of the Children of Israel.  And when those same Children complained endlessly about conditions in the wilderness, he didn’t abandon them to their own petulant willfulness.  Moses was so confident that his God-impelled work to free them from the slavery of Egypt was right, that he patiently and persistently saw to it that they were provided for, through deep and conscientious prayer to God.  He perceived the Ten Commandments that established a consistent standard of behavior for all time.  And all of this, even though his own past was blemished with violence and failure.

Jesus, especially – and more than all others, stood up for the rights of his fellow man.  Not just the judicial or religious rights but the rights to health, happiness, and holiness – even the right to eternal life.  He knew that his heavenly Father loved and cared for every individual.  That law of Love enabled him to heal everything from sin to sickness to death, including his own.

The Master’s example is the ultimate of moral courage. It was shown in such diverse ways as preventing the stoning of a woman taken in adultery – even though the law allowed it – by causing the lawmakers to examine their own consciences.  (John 8:1-11) It was shown in redeeming and reforming a tax collector to uphold not just the letter but the spirit of the law.  (Luke 19:1-9)  It was shown in speaking not a word in self-defense when he was being condemned to death.  (Matt. 27:14)  But Jesus even overcame that last injustice for himself and for all of us, showing that trust in God and faith in right ultimately prevails, here and now.

The Bible is full of stories of moral courage, inspiring and educating us today.  You and I can impact our communities and our world, now, by standing together for good, for peace, for right.  Even if we’re few in number, that’s better than none at all.  And as the Bible shows, even just one is enough.

Who do you know that is a standard of moral courage?  Learn from their actions and prayerfully reproduce them in your own life.  The tide must turn.  And we must be prepared to turn it.

Melissa Hayden is a Christian Science practitioner in Salem, OR. You can find more information and additional articles at this link.  If you like what you’re reading, click the “add me” button.

Whack-a-mole

You know the arcade game, where mechanical moles pop their heads out of a number of different openings.  The object of the game is to whack as many of them as you can before they disappear back into their holes.  The bobbing insectivores increase their tempo as the game proceeds, all but making it impossible to succeed.

Does it sometimes feel like you’re playing Whack-a-mole with all the problems in your life, and there’s just no way to keep up?  No matter how many you whack, there are more and more waiting right behind?

I don’t think Jesus played Whack-a-mole.  And it’s not because he didn’t have a lot going on.  There was always a need to be met: healing, saving, feeding, raising the dead, teaching, preaching.  Day in and day out.  But he was the epitome of grace and truth.  He even said to his followers to “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  (Matt. 11:28)  How was he able to be so productive, so compassionate, so effective under all that pressure?

Jesus explained it this way: “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.”  (John 5:19)  He knew that his heavenly Father was the do-er.

Do you have that view of your relationship with God?  Is He the chief do-er and you are His obedient and humble servant?  Do you do only as He does?

In the first chapter of Genesis, we are told that God created His children in His image, as His likeness.  Jesus knew that, and he mirrored forth God’s power and presence in all ways.  He was so convinced that he could only do what His heavenly Father did, that he said “I and my Father are one.”  (John 10:30)

This revolutionary view of his relationship with God was not just for his own benefit however.  He proclaimed, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do.”  (John 14:12)  Jesus knew that his followers were one with God, just as he was.  And he told them so: “as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.”  (John 17:21)

That oneness is right at hand, already operating.  Your relationship with God is intact, and He is ready and willing to do what needs to be done, no matter how long the list is.  As soon as you give up the false responsibility of having to do it yourself, that list begins to evaporate.  God’s will is done, His kingdom come, as Jesus promised.  (Matt. 6:10)  This is what Immanuel is – God with us, here and now.

So, no more Whack-a-mole.  You and your Father are one.

Melissa Hayden is a Christian Science practitioner in Salem, OR. You can find more information and additional articles at this link.  If you like what you’re reading, click the “add me” button.