The phone rang. Should I answer? I wasn’t sure.
People call me asking for spiritual help every day, and I don’t hesitate to answer their calls, for I love to pray with them for healing. But this day was different.
Soon after arriving at my office, I fell ill. Overwhelmed by a splitting headache, upset stomach and other painful symptoms, I was not in good shape to help others out of distress. Driving home to recuperate in bed sounded more reasonable. But a strong sense of duty kept me at my desk.
As the phone rang, I knew someone on the other end needed help.
“I can’t help them, I’m sick” I thought. “But they need help. You should answer their call,” a gentle voice encouraged me from within.
As I prayed for direction, an irresistible desire to help took over. I couldn’t sit there and do nothing. God would help us both, I decided. I had to respond.
On the other end of the line was a man pleading for help. He was sick, in pain, and desperate for relief. He asked me to pray for him.
I felt as sick as he did, but at this point, a mini miracle occurred. I forgot about myself.
“With God, all things are possible” (Mark 10:27), I remembered from the teachings of Jesus Christ. I knew healing was possible for this man. Rather than nurse worry about myself, I chose to pray for his recovery.
As I prayed to hear healing truths coming from God, inspiration came to share with this man.
I reminded my caller that he had a spiritual individuality with God, in spirit, that is never touched by disease; that the sensations of pain and disease were temporal phenomena that could be dissolved with an understanding of his spiritual reality with God. He didn’t have to fear; that he could let the comforting love of God wash through consciousness, dissolve any sense of suffering, and restore health to mind and body.
The man calmed while I spoke to him. The tension and fear in his voice vanished as he felt his spiritual connection to God. He was on his way to healing, I could tell.
After I hung up the phone, my thought returned to me sitting at my desk. To my utter delight, I felt well. All pain, nausea, and sickness were gone. I was buoyant, happy, and feeling my best. I had been instantaneously healed of my illness when I responded to this man’s call for help.
Soon, the man I prayed for reported good health too.
My quick recovery from illness when praying for a neighbor in need taught me a valuable spiritual lesson. The act of praying for another does not put a burden on us. It liberates us from burdens. It gets our thought out of self, into a consciousness of God’s truth and love where pain and sorrow melt away, and heavenly harmony takes over.
When we love another through prayer, we can trust that the same help we see coming from God to our neighbor is coming our way too. What blesses one, blesses both.
God helps us when we help others.
This story was originally published June 25, 2023 5:00 AM.