Do you expect error to go away when you pray to God for healing?
In Christian Science, error is a term used to signify any quality, condition or circumstance that is contrary to the presence of God. Disease, pain, lack, conflict, and any other type of suffering, is called “error.” Truth is error’s antidote, and the purpose of prayer is to understand the spiritual truth that makes error go away.
When we pray, its important that we expect results from our prayer. It’s important that we expect the error to go away as spiritual truth dawns upon our thought and is understood better than before.
When a budding pianist sits down at the piano to learn a new piece of music, his first attempts to play the music may be riddled with errors. Because he is unfamiliar with the notes, he may misplay several of them. As he persists in practicing the music over again, he starts to learn the piece correctly. He plays more notes correctly and fewer notes incorrectly. Eventually, with persistence, perseverance and patience, he learns the music perfectly and plays it error-free.
Life is that way. We all have much to learn about spiritual life and how to live it perfectly. Our attempts to “get it right,” may be marked with errors in judgements and decision-making now and then, but as we persist in understanding spiritual truth, we make fewer errors, and get more of it correct. Like the pianist persisting in learning his music, as we persist in learning the music of Life, we get it right. There is less error and more truth expressed.
When we pray with sincerity and integrity, our prayers will sort out error from truth. We will see truth better, and willingly part with the error. The effect is less error and more Truth expressed in our life. It’s a given that this will happen. There is no doubt about it. Progress will occur. Guaranteed!
So, when you pray, expect error to go away. Have no doubt about it. Your prayers will reveal more of Truth to you, which in turn dispels error, and brings healing. There is nothing iffy or uncertain about the outcome. Truth always gains the upper hand, and error yields. Success is guaranteed.
As Jesus Christ promised, “Know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32, NLT.) And that means error-free!
Evan I am so grateful for this very encouraging message today. I love the analogy of the pianist which is very clear that we must not give up but keep working at it. Thank you.
Thxs. Great message!
This helps dispel discouragement. How often error wants us to give up, so this really inspired me. Expectancy is vital. Thank you Evan
Thank you Evan,
This is such a helpful message as we pray and may not see the physical evidence yield right away. Persistence is needed and an abiding conviction that Truth does make us free from all error.
The just-right message for me today. Thanks.
Thank you Evan. Wonderful way to start the week.
I was sent a wonderful article yesterday titled “Expectancy” by Sylvia Messner, July 31, 1989, issue CS Sentinel. It goes right along with what you mentioned Cynthia. Expectancy is vital.
Yes. Jesus spoke with authority.
Sincerity and integrity.
Truth is a name for God, good, the all-present and all-powerful ALL.
We can never say error, evil, is true, has presence or power or history, because that would make a god –a truth– out of error.
It must forever be an illusion without any truth, any presence, any power, any identity in anyone, ever.
Though it takes patient practice, understanding this brings God’s power and presence into our thoughts, revealing all that has ever been, ever will be true,– health, holiness, happiness — right here, right now, for everyone.
God also must be in the concept of perfect timing” as this message is exactly what I need this morning. When spending yesterday “giving up”— today I will keep on “trying” to practice the music of my life, newly begun in another city, another state, now on my own.
Dear Judith God’s Love is always with you-you’re never “on your own”. You’re always held in Love! Blessings on your new adventure❤️
Thank you Evan, for this encouraging message —
that we can and do experience greater success as we keep practicing, whether it is music or healing!
And not give up or yield to discouragement!
We can;
* expect our prayers to be effective
*expect error to go away
* expect to make fewer mistakes, and get more of it right
*expect to heal and be healed
* expect Jesus’ promise to be felt in our experience — “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free”
Thank you Evan. I love this analogy. What struck me is that nobody learning to play a song looks at the piano to see if they are playing the song correctly. They know from their thinking how many wrong notes they still need to correct. Similarly, in our healing work we don’t need to look at matter to determine anything about us, we just need to keep playing the right spiritual thoughts in our thinking until doing so becomes automatic. Thanks again!!
Thank you dear Evan for your post today This has been very helpful for me today, a New Day, filled with All we need, whatever that may be. God is so good, knows our needs before we do and opens our eyes to see His bounty, laid out for us as a never ending banquet of all His qualities which He so lovingly gives us all. Whatever the need is we can be sure we already have it and it lasts Forever!!! Thank you, caydee
Practice makes perfect and patience must have her perfect work.
David C. Kennedy has an amazing article, “Pursue healing patiently” which I have found extremely helpful when feeling discouraged. He relates in it to the parable of the tares and the wheat. He states, “Working metaphysically, remaining receptive to and grateful for Truth, we are letting the Christ nurture the “wheat” in consciousness. Our conviction of God’s allness and man’s consequent perfection and safety as His child, or expression, is developing. As we persist patiently, our understanding matures, while the obstructive material beliefs are destroyed. The healing comes naturally and irresistibly.” This is from the Sentinel, February 26, 1979, and was referenced in the Bible Lens of October 2-8, 2017.
I just love the idea that when physical evidence of healing doesn’t appear, the wheat is growing and the tares will be destroyed. Then the healing will be instantaneous!
correction: it should be “Then healing comes” not The. Sorry.
Very encouraging message. Thanks all.
Thank you Evan, for this SpiritView of hope, conviction and comfortness, that we will reach our goal certainly with God, if we express persistance, perseverance and patience. I am grateful that God enables us to express all His qualities, so as we need them!
This morning I could not find my fulltext lesson at home, so that I could not read the lesson. As I wanted to go out for a nice excursion, I studied some pages in Science and Health and then prayed the Lord`s prayer very heartfelt, so that at the end I knew for sure that God will guide me. I made the excursion but not as I intended, but at the end I drove to my church, where I looked and found my fulltext lesson book which I left there yesterday by mistake. I thanked God and quickly drove home and read then the full lesson of this week. I am grateful that we can lean on God to guide us!
Thank you all for your inspired comments!
Evan, what a clearly written message. Diane, Brian, Lori also added such clear thinking on this subject of error, spirit, truth & prayer. Prayer is not begging God for something, it is our clear recognizing that truth & good are present in our lives, always. Oh how difficult while in pain.
Very grateful! This comes in a timely manner.
Thanks for another great blog and to everyone who contributed. I also loved the analogy of the pianist.
After reading a second time, the word ‘consistent’ came to mind when thinking of the pianist who needs to be consistent with practising to improve his ability playing the new piece of music.
Why should the correct answer to 2×2=4, be any more “liberating” than the correct Spiritual answer applied to any human problem! That is…IF, the correct Spiritual answer (Truth) is applied!
Like practicing piano, (believe me, I kow) it takes hours to perfect your understanding of an unfamiliar piece. So too…it takes “practice,” “repetition”,
of even a “word” of Scripture before the Truth of that “word” dawns on your consciousness…and “you know that you know, that you know”.Jesus said it most siscinctely….”Know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free”..free from the ignorance that “binds you”.
Thank you, Evan…and all the “great ones” whose shoulders I’ve stood on to gain a clearer view of this “Precious Truth”.
This piece reminded me of Lona Ingwerson’s poem in the Sentinel of 21st May 1979
“ON EXPECTANCY
“I pray and pray,
and the darkness goes away,”
said my child.
A childlike thought –
that darkness flees after prayer.
It says so much of trust,
of faith, of expectancy.
When you pray,
do you KNOW
the darkness will go away?”