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 Healing For Loved Ones
and For You

Dedication 4
Jesus Heals and Doctors Heal 5
Jesus Heals the Sick 7
Jesus Heals Today 11
Scripture for Healing 14
Healing Insights 19
The Healing Power of Right Thinking 23
Healing Affirmations 26
What Has This Booklet Said? 33
 Dedication
This booklet is dedicated
to our doctors, nurses, and pastors
who help us experience
the healing power of God.
 5

Healing For Loved Ones and For You

Jesus Heals and Doctors Heal

THERE IS healing going on around us all the time. It is a constant
process.
This healing often comes about through the agency of doctors,
surgeons, and nurses. Sometimes it comes through the spiritual work
of ministers and priests. It has also been accomplished through the
prayers and the faith of simple believers. And in not a few instances, it
results from the joint application of scientific medicine and religious
faith.
On one occasion, I was a speaker on the convention program of the
American Medical Association. The vast hall was filled with doctors
from across the nation. Over the platform stretched a large banner
with these words, “Medicine’s Proclamation of Faith.”
More than 5000 leading medical professionals applauded their
association president, a highly respected physician, as he stressed
the relation­ship between faith and the science of medicine. They
supported his further assertions that, when a person is sick, he
should see his doctor, but he should also see his pastor. Obviously, the
physicians present shared their association president’s belief that God
is vital in the healing process, or, as a famous doctor once put it, “I treat
the patient; God heals him.”
The high place of the doctor in God’s healing ministry is indicated
in Ecclesiasticus (Apocrypha, NEW ENGLISH BIBLE) 38:1-10:
Honour the doctor for his services, for the Lord created him.
His skill comes from the Most High, and he is rewarded by kings.
The doctor’s knowledge gives him high standing and wins him
 6

Healing For Loved Ones and For You

the admiration of the great. The Lord has created medicines

from the earth, and a sensible man will not disparage them.
The Lord has imparted knowledge to men, that by their use
of His marvels He may win praise; by using them the doctor
relieves pain and from them the pharmacist makes up his
mixture. There is no end to the works of the Lord, who spreads
health over the whole world. My son, if you have an illness,
do not neglect it, but pray to the Lord, and He will heal you.
Renounce your faults, amend your ways, and cleanse your heart
from all sin.

Dear Lord, in my illness I know how important my doctor is to me.

Thank You for him, for his kindly spirit and his competence.
Do not let him become tired and worn by his many responsibili­ties.
Grant to him the grace to heal me and all of his patients.
Keep our good doctor in Your loving care. Amen.
 7

Healing For Loved Ones and For You

Jesus Heals the Sick

THE PERSON of faith who believes in the Holy Bible, God’s Word,
is bound to believe in the power of Jesus to heal. And that Jesus
heals today is underscored by the statement, “Jesus Christ the same
yesterday, and today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Jesus has not
changed; He healed then and He heals now.
The American Bible Society published a booklet entitled To Heal as
Jesus Did.* With permission, I quote from this booklet to show how the
Master healed both the physical body and the tortured mind. And, of
course, much body sickness results from ill health in mind or soul, or in
both.

Jesus Heals Many People

Matthew 8:14-17

Jesus went to Peter’s home, and there he saw Peter’s mother-

in-law sick in bed with a fever. He touched her hand; the fever
left her, and she got up and began to wait on Him.
When evening came, people brought to Jesus many who had
demons in them. Jesus drove out the evil spirits with a word and
healed all who were sick. He did this to make come true what
the prophet Isaiah had said, “He himself took our sickness and
carried away our diseases.”

*Reprinted by permission of American Bible Society, New York, N.Y.

Scriptures quoted are from Good News for Modern Man,
the New Testament in Today’s English Version.
 8

Healing For Loved Ones and For You

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

Matthew 9:1-8

Jesus got into the boat and went back across the lake to His
own town, where some people brought to Him a paralyzed
man, lying on a bed. When Jesus saw how much faith they had,
He said to the paralyzed man, “Courage, my son! Your sins are
forgiven.”
Then some teachers of the Law said to themselves, “This man
is speaking blasphemy!”
Jesus perceived what they were thinking, and so He said,
“Why are you thinking such evil things? Is it easier to say, ‘Your
sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? I will prove to you,
then, that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.”
So He said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your bed, and
go home!”
The man got up and went home. When the people saw it, they
were afraid, and praised God for giving such authority to men.

Jesus Heals Ten Men

Luke 17:11-19

Jesus made his way to Jerusalem, going along the border

between Samaria and Galilee. He entered a village and was
met by ten men suffering from a dreaded skin disease. From a
distance they shouted, “Jesus! Master! Have pity on us!”
Jesus saw them and said to them, “Go and let the priests
examine you.”On the way they were made clean. When one of
 9

Healing For Loved Ones and For You

them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a

loud voice. He threw himself to the ground at Jesus’ feet and
thanked Him. The man was a Samaritan. Jesus spoke up, “There
were ten men who were healed; where are the other nine? Why
is this foreigner the only one who came back to give thanks
to God?” And Jesus said to him, “Get up and go; your faith has
made you well.”

Jesus Heals a Blind Man at Bethsaida

Mark 8:22-26

They came to Bethsaida, where some people brought a blind

man to Jesus and begged Him to touch him. Jesus took the blind
man by the hand and led him out of the village. After spitting on
the man’s eyes, Jesus placed His hands on him and asked him,
“Can you see anything?”
The man looked up and said, “Yes, I can see people, but they
look like trees walking around.”
Jesus again placed His hands on the man’s eyes. This time
the man looked intently, his eyesight returned, and he saw
everything clearly. Jesus then sent him home with the order,
“Don’t go back into the village.”

The fact of healing was so important to Jesus that if all references

to the healing ministry were clipped from the pages of the New
Testament, it would severely emasculate the Holy Book.
My friend Rev. Dr. Laurence H. Blackburn, in his book God Wants You
to Be Well, points out that one out of every seven verses in the Gospels
 10

Healing For Loved Ones and For You

refers to healing in one way or another. He also stresses that there are
48 instances in the Gospels where Jesus healed people individually and
18 where He healed en masse. The Gospel is indeed good news about
healing for you and those dear to you.

Dear God our Father, through Your loving kind­ness I affirm, in faith,
that You are now placing Your hand of healing upon our loved one.
You know our concern. Know also of our love for You and
our faith that You will grant restoration and recovery to this one
who is so dear to us. In Christ’s name. Amen.
 11

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Jesus Heals Today

IN MY talk at the American Medical Association mentioned earlier, I
told of a healing experience in which I participated some years ago as
a pastor. I was serving a church in Syracuse, N.Y., and was awakened
one night by the persistent ringing of the telephone. Snapping on the
light, I noted that my bedside clock registered 3 a.m. It was the voice of
a friend and associate, a prominent doctor, that came through to me.
“I am with a patient, Mrs. . You know her, of course. She is
very ill.” He described the medical situation, stating that he had taken
all the prescribed steps that the condition indicated.
“Even so,” he continued, “she does not respond. While treating
her medically, I have also been seeking help and guidance in prayer.
I feel guided to ask you to come to my patient’s home and join me in
applying faith to this critical situation.”
This doctor, I may add, was one of the most highly respected men
in his specialty, a scientist of impeccable qualifications. He was also a
man of profound faith, a believer in every sense of that term.
Joining the doctor in the sick room, I found the patient, who had
been in a coma for many hours. The doctor suggested, “Let us try to
reach her at a deep level of consciousness, and stimulate in her the
desire to live. This, together with the medical steps I have taken, may
perhaps bring about a healing.”
The doctor sat at one side of her bed, I at the other, and the nurse,
who happened to be a member of my church, stood at the foot. We all
prayed silently, then aloud. This was interrupted only by necessary
medical and nursing procedures.
 12

Healing For Loved Ones and For You

Then something extraordinary occurred. The doctor quoted several

Scripture passages directed, he said, to the patient’s subconscious
mind. He nodded to me, “You quote some Scripture aloud.” When I
ceased, he resumed. Then I took over, suddenly realizing that I was
quoting passages almost verbatim that I really did not know all that
well. It was amazing.
Then the doctor said, “I can’t understand it, for Scripture is coming
to my mind that I’m sure I never committed to memory.” Both of us
had, of course, read and heard them often.
This spiritual treatment continued for three hours. At daybreak, the
patient suddenly stirred, looked at us, and a faint smile passed over her
face. She closed her eyes and began breathing normally.
“She has come out of the coma,” said the doctor. “She is sleeping
peacefully.” He took her blood pressure and listened to her heart. “All
the signs are good,” he said wonderingly, “indeed, very good.”
Later on, my friend was obviously deeply moved. He said, “I will
never forget this, nor will you.” Then he added, “God has been here
tonight.”
The woman was healed and Dr. Gordon Hoople was right: I never
forgot what happened and I never forgot him, either. He was a doctor,
and there are many of them, who knew that all medi­cine is God’s
medicine. Some of it is in pills, some in liquid. Some is taken by mouth,
some by in­jection. Some healing is by surgery. Some, by prayer, faith,
and affirmation.
 13

Healing For Loved Ones and For You

Heavenly Father, as I lie here in my sick bed, the days go by slowly,

but the nights seem endless. How I long for a good sound sleep.
Please help me to relax and to be calm. Touch my eyelids with Your
kindly sleepiness. Grant to me the deep rest that will help me to get well. I
claim the promise, “He giveth his beloved sleep” (Psalm 127:2)
Thank You, dear Lord. Amen.
 14

Healing For Loved Ones and For You

Scripture for Healing

I WAS so intent upon the healing episode just described, while it was
in process, that I did not make notes of the Scripture passages used by
the doctor and by me. But shortly afterward, I did, I believe, recapture
most of them. Though it has been more than 40 years since this
incident occurred, I’ve recalled some of them and listed them in this
booklet.
In cases of sickness of yourself, of loved ones, or of friends, I
earnestly suggest that you carefully use these powerful healing words,
for they may indeed prove to be God’s medicine for you, as they were
for that desperately ill woman of whom I wrote.
If you will faithfully memorize each of the following vitality-
producing Scripture passages, allowing each to seep into your
conscious mind and from there into the deep unconscious, you will
have released within yourself an amazing healing force.

Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou
disquieted within me? Hope in God: for I shall yet praise Him,
who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
—Psalm 43:5
My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
—Exodus 33:14
The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the
everlasting arms. —Deuteronomy 33:27
 15

Healing For Loved Ones and For You

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me

to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still
waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou
art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. Thou
preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I
will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. —Psalm 23

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who
forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases.
—Psalm 103:2,3
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on
Thee: because he trusteth in Thee. —Isaiah 26:3

Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall

strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. —Psalm 27:14

What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee. —Psalm 56:3

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might

He increaseth strength. But they that wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not
faint. —Isaiah 40:29,31
 16

Healing For Loved Ones and For You

For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy
wounds, saith the Lord. —Jeremiah 30:17

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock,
and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh
receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh
it shall be opened. —Matthew 7:7,8

According to your faith be it unto you. —Matthew 9:29

Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. —Matthew 11:28

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing,

ye shall receive. —Matthew 21:22

If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that

believeth. —Mark 9:23

But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is
impossible; but with God all things are possible.
—Matthew 19:26
What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye
receive them, and ye shall have them. —Mark 11:24
 17

Healing For Loved Ones and For You

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have
it more abundantly. —John 10:10

If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask

what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. —John 15:7

If God be for us, who can be against us? —Romans 8:31

For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels,

nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to
come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able
to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord. —Romans 8:38, 39

My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made

perfect in weakness. —2 Corinthians 12:9

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall

keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
—Philippians 4:7
Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them
that love Him. —1 Corinthians 2:9

And as many as touched Him were made whole.

—Mark 6:56
 18

Healing For Loved Ones and For You

Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the
church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil
in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the
sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed
sins, they shall be forgiven…. The effectual fervent prayer of a
righteous man availeth much. —James 5:14-16

Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.
—1 Peter 5:7

Dear Lord, thank You for my nurses. No matter how much they do,
they do not seem to get annoyed or irritable. Grant them strength
for their work, and bless them, dear Father, with Your loving care.
May they realize that they are Your loving servants. Amen.
 19

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Healing Insights
ONE OF the truly God-touched men whom I have known was a
Canadian scientist, Dr. Albert E. Cliffe. For years, he taught the largest
Bible class in Canada. Dr. Cliffe became ill, indeed sick unto death. His
doctors exhausted all medical means to save him. One of them said, “It
is now up to God, and this man has great faith.”
Lying alone in his hospital room, Dr. Cliffe calmly committed
himself to God. “If Your will is to take me home, Father, so be it, but
if Your will is for me to live, I will serve You to the best of my ability,
for as long a time as You may grant to me.” Peace came to his mind
followed by an overwhelming sense of being loved. Then came a
feeling of profound joy, followed by a surge of new strength.
Joyously he realized that healing was taking place. In time, he
recovered his health and ever thereafter witnessed to the fact that all
medicine is God’s medicine; some administered by doctors, some by
spiritual therapy, in a unity of health and healing.
I have great respect for Dr. Cliffe’s insights and quote some of them
in the following paragraphs.*

The Ministry of Healing

Jesus healed all the sick who came to Him in faith, believing;
and as He is the same today and forever, that healing power is
still available to those who will believe. There is no doubt but
that this is simple Christian teaching….

*From the book Lessons in Successful Living by Albert E. Cliffe.

No longer in print.
 20

Healing For Loved Ones and For You

This power of healing is being demonstrated every day and

can be proved by any Christian who will believe. The doctor says
nature heals the wounds of the body—restores new cells, builds
new blood, etc., and this healing depends upon your nervous
system, the seat of which is the brain—the mind.
There is no doubt whatsoever but that the mind controls
the body—in fact, your mind controls your life. Therefore the
Christian believes that the spirit of God uses the natural agents
in the body to bring about healings of all kinds. The faith of the
patient in the doctor has a great deal to do with the rapidity of
the healing, and those who have studied the mind say that the
power of a patient to get well depends on his positive thoughts.
Nothing is impossible with God. Sometimes we get cases of
really religious people who are unable to get a healing regardless
of their prayers, and this is due often to the unbelief of those
around them. Jesus Himself could do no mighty works when
the people did not believe and, for this reason, He told certain
persons to tell no man of their healings.
God is the fountainhead of healing love—Jesus Christ as the
administrator of the healing Grace, and the Holy Spirit as the
power of God manifesting in our bodies and filling us with the
life of Christ.
God-divine mind is everywhere; and whenever we tune in
with this mind—in faith—praying, believing that we are now
receiving—we get the most wonderful results. Distance makes
no difference to God’s power.
In sickness, keep on thanking God for the healing which is
now taking place. The greater your faith—the greater your
 21

Healing For Loved Ones and For You

positive approach to it—the greater your measure of the healing.

If a specialist tells you that you are suffering from an
incurable disease, his verdict is a terrible one to you at that time.
Your mind is filled with fears and will become fixed therein until
it can be overcome with an idea of greater power. The promises
of Jesus have greater power. We are taught that Jesus bore our
burden on the Cross—the burden of your incurable condition;
therefore it has no right to defile your body, the temple of God.
But this depends upon a personal experience with Jesus Christ.
It is most essential to have this personal experience with the
Living Christ.
No matter how well you live up to the law of your religious
life, if you have not learned to know Christ through the power
of the indwelling Spirit—your faith will break down. You must
be instinctively conscious of His presence at all times—so that
you can act with assurance that He will take care of all your
problems and ailments.
I was fully convinced of my religious faith all my life; but not
until I really opened my heart to God did I know God as I know
Him now.
Faith is within the reach of all men, and it is His spirit which
gives us the awareness of the reality of the unseen.
Health is the law of God’s kingdom and depends upon
the observance of His commands entirely—therefore the
maintenance of health means a strict obedience to God. To
receive divinely given health, we must be determined to live
each day dependent upon God and content to leave for tomorrow
the problems of that day. Live a day at a time.
 22

Healing For Loved Ones and For You

God is always glorified by healing—we must be most grateful

to Him for such—and must repay in service to God and to our
fellowman when we have been healed of sin and sickness. It is
but human nature for people to want to be healed from their
pain, so that they may go about their daily work. We must be
willing to accept the fact that we are healed for God’s greater
glory, not just our personal desires.
Healing through the Grace of God is not too hard to believe—
but you must be willing to get right with God first. It is the will
of God to deliver His children from all evil in soul and body—He
is the fountain and Jesus Christ is the channel through which
the healing love flows to us. Christ—the Christ in you—and
your faith in Him alone enable you to receive the healing.

Dear Father, I earnestly commit my life to You. I put myself

completely into Your loving hands, with faith and without fear.
No harm can ever come to me from You. Whatever Your
will may be for me, help me to practice acceptance. I pray for
renewed health and for longer life, and if such be Your will for me,
I will be humbly grateful. And for this divine and gracious
favor, I will rejoice to serve You to the end of my days. Amen.
 23

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The Healing Power of Right

Thinking
ONE OF the best curative forces of all is that of a healthy mind. When
the mind produces “sick” thoughts, the very real danger is that such
thoughts will externalize themselves in bodily reactions. The mind
has an extraordinarily powerful influence on physical states. The
effort should then be to have a normal, healthy mental attitude toward
yourself.
Ralph Waldo Trine, in a well-known book,* gives some helpful
insights:
Full, rich, and abounding health is the normal and natural
condition of life. In the degree that we live in harmony with the
higher laws of our being, and so, in the degree that we become
better acquainted with the powers of the mind and spirit,
we will give less attention to the body—no less care, but less
attention.
In your thoughts and in your conversation, never dwell on
the negative side. Don’t talk of sickness and disease. By talking
of these, you do yourself harm and you do harm to those who
listen to you. Talk of those things that will make people the
better for listening to you. Thus, you will infect them with
health and strength and not with weakness and disease.
Never dwell on the negative. To dwell on the negative side
is always destructive. This is true of the body the same as it is
*In Tune With the Infinite, published
by the Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.
 24

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true of all other things. The following words from one whose
thorough training as a physician has been supplemented by
extensive study and observations along the lines of the powers
of the interior forces, are of special significance and value in this
connection:
“We can never gain health by contemplating disease,
any more than we can reach perfection by dwelling upon
imperfection, or harmony through discord. We should keep a
high ideal of health and harmony constantly before the mind.
“Never affirm or repeat about your health what you do not
wish to be true. Do not dwell upon your ailments, nor study your
symptoms. Never allow yourself to be convinced that you are
not complete master of yourself. Stoutly affirm your superiority
over bodily ills, and do not acknowledge yourself the slave of any
inferior power.
“Like produces like the universe through. Hatred, envy,
malice, jealousy, and revenge all have children. Every bad
thought breeds others, and each of these goes on and on,
ever reproducing itself, until our world is peopled with their
offspring. The true physician of the future will not medicate
the body with drugs so much as the mind with principles. The
coming physician will teach the people to cultivate cheerfulness,
good will, and noble deeds for a health tonic as well as a heart
tonic; and that a merry heart doeth good like a medicine”
(Proverbs 17:22).
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The health of your body, the same as the health and strength
of your mind, depends on what you relate yourself with. This
Infinite Spirit of Life, this Source of all Life can, from its very
nature, admit of no weakness, no disease. Come, then, into full,
conscious, vital realization of your oneness with this Infinite
Life, open yourself to its more abundant entrance, and full and
ever­-renewing bodily health and strength will be yours.
The whole matter may be summed up in the one sentence,
“God is well and so are you.” You must awaken to the knowledge
of your real being. When this awakening comes, you will have the
power to determine what conditions are externalized in your
body. You must recognize, you must realize yourself, as one with
Infinite Spirit. God’s will is then your will; your will is God’s will,
and “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).

Dear Father, sometimes unreasoning fear and panic paralyze my spirit.

But You have said, “Fear not.” Help me to trust myself
completely to Your healing hands, and to rest in Your great love. Amen.
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Healing Affirmations
AN IMPORTANT method for keeping the mind healthy that will have
residual healthy effects upon the body is the practice of affirmation.
What you affirm continuously and with faith tends to be accepted
in consciousness first by the conscious mind. If the affirmation is
persistent, the idea will pass into the unconscious, where it will give
direction to the entire personality, including the body. As the late Dr.
Smiley Blanton, a famous psychiatrist, used to say, “God presides in
the subconscious.” Therefore, an affirmation, being a positive form of
prayer to God, stimulates power in the inward state that is manifested
in the outward state to produce well-being.
An impressive example of the health and healing power of
affirmation was that of Lawrence Townsend, who lived a vigorous,
healthy, and happy life to age 94. He had a distinguished career in the
foreign diplomatic service of the United States. The last post he held
was Ambassador to Austria. And he really looked like an ambassador.
He often came to my church: stately, erect, vigorous, healthy.
He had a home in Florida, and I went to see him there one time and
had lunch with him. I asked, “Lawrence, how come, at your age, you
are so healthy and vital and your mind is so sharp? You are a happy
man. What makes you this way?”
“Every day of my life,” he explained, “I renew the life-force within
me. I turn to the great God who created me and I ask Him to re-create
me. And then I go out to commune with the sun, with the sea, with the
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rain, with the snow, or with the wind. I am a child of earth, and a child
of God. Come out back with me.”
That day, the sun was intermittent and it was rather cold. He took
me to a shelter he had built in his garden. It had no top, but was closed
on four sides. He took me inside and said, “Strip to the waist.” I did
as directed, and he did likewise. Then he said, “Stand tall. Stand as
though you were against a wall trying to touch it at as many points as
possible.” I discovered that, by so doing, every organ seems to fall into
place.
So standing tall, he said aloud, “Heavenly Father, dear Jesus, we are
now dropping from our minds every unworthy thought, every sinful
idea, every dark and unlovely thing. We are now filling our minds with
the glory of God, with the love of Jesus, with the love of man, with
faith and hope and courage. The life-force is now coursing through
body, mind, and soul. And we are strong, happy, healthy sons of God!”
It is the truth, a great truth—that the life-force is within you, and it
can cleanse and heal you. As I saw Lawrence standing there that day in
positive affirmation, I said, “I feel great!”
“Of course,” he said. “And if you keep this affirma­tion going, you
will feel great every day of your life.”
Think health; pray health; affirm health; practice health; believe
health—as a child of God, created by the heavenly Father and re-
created by Him also. “I will restore health to you, and your wounds I
will heal” (Jeremiah 30:17, RSV), whether of the body or of the mind or
of the soul. So says the Lord God Almighty who created you and the
Lord Jesus Christ who heals you. So in His name now, receive healing.
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Heavenly Father, You are the Creator and You are the Re-Creator,
as well. Please re-create in me the health, the strength and the energy
You gave me when You created me. Give me the healing
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and make me well again. Amen.

Dr. Riley’s Affirmation

A particularly helpful affirmation of health and healing was taught
to me by Dr. John Riley, who was reputed to be the oldest practicing
physician in New York State. Dr. Riley, a member of my church,
maintained vigorous health well into his 90s. In fact, he never was ill.
He went to sleep one night and, during the night, God took him home.
His morning ritual was to stand, as he put it, “reaching for the
ceiling with the top of my head,” meanwhile breathing deeply of
the fresh air, the windows being fully raised no matter how low the
temperature. He would then praise and admonish his bodily organs,
for all of which, he declared, he had the deepest respect. He would
affirm, “I praise you, O Lord, for my wonderful heart, strong and
sturdy, that regularly beats rhythmically at normal rate. And you, O
heart, never forget God made you and He made you good, so go on
doing your job as your Maker intended.”
He would then speak to each organ of the body, affirming that each
was performing efficiently. He saw himself as a well man. He pictured
or imaged health. John Riley was a lovable, loving, believing child of
God, a man who believed that his body was a fine instrument made by
God and, therefore, perfect. He constantly affirmed that perfection.
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The Imaging Prayer

There is a deep tendency in human nature to become what we
habitually imagine or image ourselves as being. The mental image
persistently held in the conscious mind will presently, by a process
of intellectual and spiritual osmosis, sink into the deep unconscious.
Affirmation deeply believed and regularly performed strongly tends to
produce the health condition that is imaged.
There is a divine power that directs the cells and functions of the
body and heals and renews every element that needs healing. This
divine power is God at work, maintaining and sustaining life and
strength in the body. As St. Paul says in Acts 17:28, “In him we live, and
move and have our being.”
I knew of a man who was terribly wounded in the war. Indeed,
he could not walk and the general supposition was that he would be
incapacitated the rest of his life. But his mind was not wounded. It was
strong and his faith was vital. He began to image or picture himself
as a whole person, as he was before he received his battle wounds. He
never saw himself as in his present state. When the nurses were not
with him, he would slide from his bed to the floor, attempting to stand,
only to fall on his face.
As a former champion basketball player, he remem­bered how to
visualize a shot going directly into the basket, how unerringly he
could make nine out of ten perfect baskets. Why would not the same
visualizations of a perfect body invoke God’s healing! He imaged
physical perfection. His mind never deviated from the picture of
himself as a whole man once again.
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He struggled for two years but, ultimately, the power of the

affirmative and imaging prayer produced the strongly visualized
result. There is immense power in affirmation, imaging, and spiritual
visualization.

Suggested Affirmations
A leaflet entitled The Art Of Healing Prayer* has been a blessing to
me. Three principles are involved in healing: (1) Positive Thinking (2)
Speaking the Word (3) Behold­ing Health.

Positive Thinking
Positive Thinking is a definite step toward healing. God
has given man the power to think, and his thoughts can either
hinder or put him on the for­ward path. If you have let your
thoughts dwell on sickness and ill health, it is important to
change the pattern of your thinking. You must refuse to let
thoughts of inharmony and negation enter your mind. Center
your thoughts on God; think about God and His healing,
cleansing, vitalizing life flowing in and through you. Let go
anxious, fearful thoughts, for they keep you from thinking about
wholeness and perfection. Remember that God created you in
His image and likeness. His life and health fill every part of your
being. Every cell is alive with energy and vitality. Remember
that the organs and functions of your body were created to work
together in order and harmony. These are the kinds of thoughts
that comprise “positive thinking.”

*Issued by Unity School of Christianity, Unity Village, Mo.

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Speaking the Word

Speaking positive, faith-filled words helps to establish you in the
consciousness of the healing life of God mighty within you, mighty
within every person. If you are praying for your own healing, you may
wish to take the word life and repeat it over and over. Say to your body:
“Life, life, life.” Say this until you actually feel it!
Then take the word strength, and repeat it over and over in the same
way. Say this until you actually feel new strength filling your whole
being. Then go on to such words as health, wholeness, and perfection.
Direct these words to the part of your body that needs healing. As you
speak positive words over and over, you will find yourself looking for
good results, and you will also find yourself having faith in the words
you speak.
Affirmative prayer calls for more than just repeating words of life,
strength, and healing. You must believe in the power of the spoken
word, and you must pray until you feel an inner quickening; a stirring
up of the life that is within you.
A short prayer statement can be helpful, because it can be quickly
called to mind. Choose one such as: “The healing life of God is mighty
in the midst of me,” or, “The life of God within me renews and heals
my body,” or, “I am restored by the healing life of God flowing in and
through my body.” Speaking positive words and affir­mations helps
you to center your thoughts in God, and to become steadfast in the
realization that the healing work is being done.
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Beholding Health
As you pray for health, behold God’s perfect manifestation of life
and health. Instead of focusing your attention on the condition as it
appears, try to keep your thoughts centered in God. Trust Him and
know that His will is life, health, and strength. Look for evidence of His
will being made manifest in mind and body.
After you have followed the prayer steps outlined, take time to feel
the power of God stirring within you; know that this same power is
within every person. Believe that God is doing His healing work now.
Feel God’s presence within you, lifting you up, and filling your heart
with the deep and abiding assurance that all is well.
Prayer takes practice. Establish a routine of following the steps of
positive thinking, speaking the word, beholding healing. This means
watching your thoughts constantly. Do not think about the condition
that needs healing. Think about God and His power to heal. Then
speak the healing word. Affirm over and over words of life, health, and
strength. Then follow through by visualizing health. See the one who
needs healing as being filled with life, energy, and vitality. See him
whole and perfect. Steadfast prayer and faith in God are sure to bring
results.

Concluding Affirmation
By positive thinking and by positive faith, I stir up the healing, re-
energizing power of God in me, and health begins to fill my mind, my
spirit, and my body, and to make my loved ones whole. Praise the Lord.
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What Has This Booklet Said?

THE BASIC thoughts of this booklet, and we believe in them with
certain faith, are as follows:

1.  od gives life and God sustains life.

G
2. God heals body, mind, and spirit.
3. God is the Creator. God is also the Re-Creator.
4. God’s medicine is administered by His servants, physicians and
surgeons, through scientific know­ledge.
5. God’s medicine is administered spiritually through His
servants, pastors, and deeply spiritual men and women.
6. Scripture held in mind has healing power.
7. God wants you to be well.
8. To be well, keep in harmony with God, for in Him we have our
being.
9. A lways take a positive view of yourself as healthy, vital,
vigorous; the power of the healing God working in you.
10. Think health, pray health, talk health, believe health, praise
God for health and healing.
11. Let positive affirmations bring healing for your loved ones and
for you.