THE SONG OF PRAYER

Prayer, Forgiveness, Healing

I. The Cause of Sickness

1.Do not mistake effect for cause, nor think that sickness is apart and separate from what its cause must be. Sickness is but a sign, a shadow of an unforgiving thought that seems to have reality and to be just, according to the image of the world. It is considered to be external proof of inner ”sins,” and it witnesses to unforgiving thoughts that appear to injure and hurt the Son of God.

Healing the body is impossible, and this is shown by the brief nature of the “cure.” Healing may appear to take place with one malady, only to be replaced by the next, and the next. The body will be left behind, and so its healing but delays its turning back to dust, where it appeared to be born and is to return.

Does this paint a bleak picture of the ego’s idea of the Son of God as a body, instead of Spirit in the state of grace forever? It does.

2.The body’s cause is unforgiveness of the Son of God. The body has been chosen by the ego as its home, and it has not left its source, and in its pain and aging and the mark of death upon it, this is clearly shown.

The body seems to be fearful and frail to those who think their life is tied to its command and linked to its unstable, tiny breath. "Death" stares at them as every moment goes irrevocably past their grasping hands, which cannot hold time back. And they feel fear as bodies change and sicken. For they sense the heavy scent of "death" upon their hearts. This is yet another bleak idea of ego.

3.Yet the body can be healed as an effect of true forgiveness. Only that can give remembrance of immortality, which is the gift of holiness and love. Forgiveness must be given by a mind which understands that it must overlook all shadows on the holy face of Christ, among which sickness should be seen as only one of the shadows. Nothing but that; the sign of judgment made by brother upon brother, and by the Son of God upon himself. Unforgiveness has declared his body to be his prison, and he forgot that it is he who gave this role to it.

4.What he has done now must God’s Son UNDO. But NOT ALONE. For he has thrown away the prison’s key; his holy sinlessness and the remembrance of his Father’s Love. To find this key he will need help. Yet help is given to him in the Voice his Father placed in him.

This key is forgiveness, and the Voice for God will teach you to remember it. He will remind you of Who you really are, of the peace that was given you in your creation, of your brothers who are one with you, and of your purpose here – which is the healing of the Son of God. He will remind you to look only upon the Face of Christ (see Terms), to overlook the small, insignificant things the ego directs your brother to say and to do, to look past them to the light of truth in your brother, the reflection of the light of truth in yourself.

The power to heal is now his Father’s gift, for through His Voice He still can reach His Son, reminding him the body may become his chosen home, but it will never be his home in truth.

5.The world of illusions and of opposites is healing’s place, for what in Heaven could there be to heal? Distinctions therefore must be made between true healing, and its faulty counterpart in the illusory world.

Just as prayer within the world can ask amiss, and just as forgiveness can be wrongly used to destroy rather than for salvation, so healing can be false as well as true in this world of opposites. Healing can be a witness to the power of the world or to the everlasting love of God. To learn the difference, then, is important to our salvation. The Holy Spirit will teach you this as you turn to Him for guidance on your journey through the darkness to the light. Listen to His Voce only.

Father, may we always join with you in prayers of love and thanksgiving. May we always forgive rightly, for salvation. And may our healing be a witness only to the everlasting Love of God.  Amen​