Have you ever faced a laundry list of issues that need healing in your life? Did you ever wonder which problem to pray about first?

Since I’m in the business of responding to people’s calls of distress, I hear a lot of problems listed off during any particular day. And often a new patient mentions several problems they’re facing, and then end their summary of troubles with, “Which problem should we pray about first?”

It’s a good question for those who want to be efficient with their prayers and deal with the most pressing issue.

But the problem is not always what the problem appears to be.

It takes a discerning mind and listening to heart to hear the issue behind the issues.

One example I use to illustrate how a laundry list of problems may only be symptomatic of one deeper sin or error that needs to be eradicated is the example of a man who can’t control his anger. He is constantly getting into relationship trouble because he is short with his wife, disrespectful to his boss, impatient with his kids, and fuming at his co-worker. In his mind there may be four different problems in his life—a wife, a boss, the kids and a co-worker. But in truth, there is only one issue, his anger.

The same lesson often applies to bodily ailments. A patient may complain that their big toe hurts, their heart skips beats, migraines are a problem, and black spots float before their eyes. In their mind, they may see four different problems, but in truth, there is likely one issue, and it will have something to do with understanding true health from a spiritual point of view better, a truth that benefits the whole body and heals all the ailments at once.

This happened to me years ago when I was unhappy on the family farm. I was in huge mental strife about where to go with my career and different physical ailments started popping up along the way. They increased as time went on. Once I got my career direction resolved and made the needed change, all the physical ailments vanished overnight, every single one of them.

So, don’t get mesmerized into thinking your troubles are physical. They are not. There’s an underlying spiritual lesson that needs to be learned, which when fully embraced, will likely solve the outward symptoms in one fell swoop. This is a very neat benefit of Christian Science!