One of the laws that most newcomers find most difficult to grasp is that there is no matter. What we think of as matter is purely a creation of our mortal mind. Since it is a projection of our thought, it can change instantly when our thought changes, and what seemed material and solid changes instantly. I have seen this happen numerous times.

I once accidentally crushed a hornet’s nest and was swarmed with many bites. I realized I couldn’t outrun them so I closed my eyes and began to pray. In about a minute I opened my eyes and saw the hornets crawling around on their ruined nest, completely ignoring me. I resumed walking and praying and within five minutes all evidence of the bites was gone, as well as the pain. The bites had swollen and were very painful before my prayer removed them from my experience.

A major law is the law of creational perfection. God did create everything in the universe, and his creation is perfect. That perfection is the underlying truth, which can be obscured by human thought. By aligning ourselves with God, we can see perfection expressed in place of any seeming problem.

Christian Science Silent Prayer doesn’t ask God to set aside his laws and grant the supplicant a special favor, it is an attempt to align our thought with God and know that the appearance of a problem can’t be the truth.

Mary Baker Eddy, the discoverer of Christian Science, specifically forbade formulas. She believed they would lead to ritualism and prevent people from actually finding a link to God. She set out her ideas in the Christian Science Textbook, Science and Health With Key To The Scriptures.

This is the source book that everyone who wants to know more should read. IMO, the best book ABOUT Christian Science is Spiritual Healing In A Scientific Age by Peel. For a quick take, read from page 16 to the end of the chapter and then read the material starting on page 54.

And how is “Christian Science prayer” different from “what most people think of as prayer”?

I began studying Christian Science as a result of that experience, and have since used it to heal a broken foot with no medical involvement of any kind, allergies, work injuries, and many other conditions. My retirement project is a shrub and tree nursery, and I do hard physical work every day. At age 69 I am in perfect health and doing things easily that I could not have done at all at age 55.

Christian Science Prayer is different in several subtle ways from what most people think of as prayer.

Christian Science taps natural laws that are as real as Ohm’s law. Just because most people are not aware of them doesn’t mean they are not present and active.

Christian Science is the best kept secret of the age. It really works.

Insurance works best when it covers only catastrophic costs anyway. Our health care system wouldn’t cost half as much if we didn’t file reimbursement forms for every $20 to $40 cost we incurred. If you want to go pay to have someone pray for you, or stick needles in you, or manipulate your back, or give you a pill, then do it. But don’t ask others to reimburse you for it. And don’t waste the time of our government by whining about how these types of things should be covered. Man up!

Some desperate people might pay for “spiritual healing”, but any one who would charge for such services is akin to Simon the Sorcerer.