Turning to God

TURNING to God for healing and guidance is something that all of us can do. Even if we haven't prayed in a long time, God is still God. He is still ``our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.''1 God isn't outdated or uncaring or impractical. God is timeless and loving and powerful. We may at first, when facing intimidating troubles, feel unsure about turning wholeheartedly to God. But as we study the Bible and pray more consistently, learn to commune with our creator and listen for His guidance, we realize that this is indeed the path marked out for us by Christ Jesus.

Jesus demonstrated the complete practicality and wisdom of turning for healing to the love and goodness of God. Far from ignoring problems or simply looking on ``the bright side,'' Jesus proved that turning fully to God and to the truth of His loving jurisdiction over man is the most realistic -- and effective -- thing we can do in the face of sin or sickness.

Step by step we can master the fear that would have us believe that God can't really help us or that we are too evil to experience His love. We can turn to God and receive the blessings this brings while continuing to put off whatever materialistic elements of thought would blind us to His almighty care.

When we turn to God in prayer, we're able to sense the reality of His love. We discover that in spite of appearances we have not been cut off from Him. We glimpse something of our eternal, spiritual identity as His loved sons and daughters.

Looking to our creator for healing helps us to shed the mistaken belief that we are apart from Him in the first place. Turning to God doesn't activate our perfect relationship to Him; it helps awaken us to this reality. And this awakening brings progress and healing.

For example, while I was running across a lawn in the early evening, a large nail penetrated deeply into my foot. There was considerable pain as I removed the nail and went up to our front porch.

For several minutes I struggled to turn honestly to God, to feel His presence, and not just to repeat prayerful-sounding words. The more I turned to God, the more I realized that His presence outweighed the hurt. I began to sense that my recourse to God was sure and a real help. This glimpse of God's reality brought peace, and soon I was walking and attending to my evening responsibilities. The wound had closed, and by the next day I was walking and working without restriction.

If we hold firmly to a view of life that believes man is cut off from God, then of course the uninterrupted spiritual unity of God and man will seem abstract and impotent theory. But the more we look to our creator and trust His love, even when it seems distant, the more we prove that love and come to understand our true, immortal being.

Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science and founder of this newspaper, says in the Christian Science textbook, ``To be immortal, we must forsake the mortal sense of things, turn from the lie of false belief to Truth, and gather the facts of being from the divine Mind.''2

Turning ``from the lie of false belief to Truth,'' to God Himself, is natural, and opens the way to healing, whatever the need may be.

1Psalms 46:1. 2Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 370.

The Christian Science Sentinel, a weekly magazine, contains more articles about God's power to heal.