Does time play a factor in healing?  To popular belief, yes, as in the old saying that time heals.

However, to Christian Science the answer is no.  Healing is the spiritualization of
thought.  It is a revelation.  In fact healing is just the side effect of some new discovery about the spiritual facts of our being and existence.  It is God understood in a new way and/or a clearer understanding of who or what man is and our unchanging, permanent relationship or oneness to God.

In a Bible study workshop we had to clarify the meaning of healing.  One person used great and useful catch phrases: instead of healing, it’s revealing / not recovery but discovery.  This is so true and important in the expectation of healing.  If we start with matter that is in pain, uncomfortable, not working properly, than we are starting from the wrong premise and it makes the spiritual “work” laborious and unfruitful.

The Christian Science textbook teaches,

“Metaphysics is above physics, and matter does not enter into metaphysical
premises or conclusions. The categories of metaphysics rest on one basis, the divine Mind.  Metaphysics resolves things into thoughts, and exchanges the objects of sense for the ideas of Soul.” (Pg 269)

Therefore, our starting point is divine Mind.  What is divine Mind seeing and knowing?  Of course it is only perfection and good, joy and freedom since God is the only creator.  So how do we see and know this substance of being more clearly?

The textbook continues to instruct:

“The starting-point of divine Science is that God, Spirit, is All-in-all, and that there is no other might nor Mind, — that God is Love, and therefore He is divine Principle.” (Pg. 275)

As we begin from this starting point, that is when revelation or understanding happens.  And healing occurs.  In most Christian Science testimonies you will here the person say they are grateful for their physical problem being resolved but they are even more grateful for the spiritual truth that they have learned; for the piece of eternity and the spiritual fact of our existence they have gleaned.  This new idea or understanding carries over into all aspects of their life instead of just the
one physical challenge.  It gives them a sense of permanent security and oneness of God that affects all areas of life and being.

Some healings may appear to take longer.  Christian Science isn’t a quick fix for our material problems, or to make our material lives more comfy.  Lots of healings do happen very quickly, faster even than is predicted by standard care.

Why?  What is the seeming element of time?  Well, time isn’t a factor at all actually.  It is the spiritualization of thought, the light of the Christ that shines into our consciousness that does the healing work.  “It is a spiritual idea that lights our path” (Angels, Miscellaneous Writings, p. 306) There is no separation between us and God which is why healing can happen instantaneously.  But I began thinking of the terms instantaneously and immediately a little differently and not in terms of time.

I heard a great audio chat on spirituality.com where the speaker, Bruce Fitzwater, CSB referred to ‘immediately’ not being a time reference but instead that there is
no middle-man (media referring to medium) between us and God.  God’s information or truth or healing light isn’t passing through something or someone to get to us, but is in fact at one with us all the time.

And instantaneous is the same way.  To me it signifies no separation between God and His ideas, divine Mind and His ideas.  God is being conscious of Himself always and this consciousness is at one with His reflection, man.  Therefore, God’s thoughts or angel messages are being communicated all the time and there is no separation or distance this needs to travel.

I enjoyed getting this clearer sense of how time (being material) has no relation to
healing.  So what about healings that seem to take a bit longer?  Well, healing is the spiritualization of thought so we can set our focus on that – the spiritual lessons we are learning; the spiritual joy we are finding; the security we are feeling from learning about our spiritual identity and of God’s unchanging, perfect love – instead of focusing on matter or time.  And that makes prayer and spiritual
healing happy and uplifting – when we start with Spirit/God as all that there
is then we are on the joyous discovery of our eternal substance, nature and
being.

PS – Eternity referring to an absence of time and not a really long time.