Living Prayer
When I was in my early twenties, before my time with a spiritual teacher, Dr. Thomas Hora, I happily belonged to a Catholic Charismatic group. I lived in two of its communal houses and embraced community life with great enthusiasm. Such Pentecostal groups view the miraculous as common and healing as the reachable result of sincere and dedicated prayer.
Faith was alive. Prayer was common. Dedication was the norm.
All expected their lives to improve and whole-heartedly dedicated their days to God, in much the same way as many religious orders do. It was also fun and full of laughter from so many young people who were drawn to the lively community. It was, indeed, a wonderful time. I felt very fortunate to find a religious group that was alive, vibrant, and flourishing. I was able to live like a member of a religious order while being a layperson. I would say that the short-coming of such groups is the vulnerability to fundamentalist thinking and its associated problems.
Miracles
Kathleen Evans had a healing of lung and brain cancer in 1993. The events which led to the healing are in line with what one would consider ripe grounds for a natural healing. That is not to say it was not miraculous but that the miraculous would be far more commonplace if there was a greater understanding of the Divine. When the higher laws of spiritual existence are more fully comprehended, healing often becomes the inevitable and gratefully accepted consequence of aligning oneself with a more spiritual position.
After a normal life with all its ups and downs, Kathleen had two unexpected spiritual experiences. Once, she was sitting in the backyard smoking, and she heard an inner voice that told her to stop smoking. For some reason which she didn’t understand, she obeyed the voice.
She threw out her cigarettes and never smoked again.
A little while later, again in a quiet place, she heard an even more surprising voice asking her if she would give her life to God. She said yes but knew not why. Nor, I think, did she realise the enormity of that commitment. Her response was instinctive. Not long after this, Kathleen noticed that she was not well. Eventually, she went to the doctor to be told, at the age of forty-nine, that she had incurable advanced cancer which was too progressed to benefit from treatment and that she should put her affairs in order. She did, amidst the expected fear and grieving. She was very worried about her family members, particularly, her thirteen-year-old boy.
What happened next is most interesting. Kathleen became very accepting of her forthcoming death. She sincerely surrendered her life to God. She became peaceful, happy, joyous, and loving. She was still very ill and bed-ridden. This continued for many months. Every day she had visitors bringing flowers, prayers, and good wishes. Her grown-up children said that when they visited her, there was always a line of people to see her. People loved to be in that peaceful, happy, beautiful, and blessed environment. After some months, Kathleen began to spend short periods in the living room. These became longer until she started to feel well again. She went back to the doctor expecting him to say that the cancer had shrunk. The doctor, in amazement, told her it had completely disappeared.
Healing
Healing is the natural result of raising the level of our consciousness so that it is more closely aligned with spiritual reality. By accepting her supposed upcoming death, Kathleen was able to lift herself to a calm and peaceful spiritual state. This allowed the healing to occur. She became sincerely accepting and happy, genuinely surrendering her life to God without reservation.
Kathleen’s story is a beautiful example of humility and surrender and the resulting healing that spontaneously occurred. God does not want us to suffer. So much of our suffering is self-imposed; brought on by fear, repressed hatred, blame, selfishness, and the great downfall of mankind – ignorance. With devotion and introspection, we can not only understand ourselves and life so much more but we can be spared many of its pitfalls. We accept those that still come our way with as much grace as possible. After all, to know that we are loved by God brings great comfort and makes life a pleasure and a joy.
This previously unpublished article is from The Love of Devotion.
