Have you ever received a gift you didn’t initially want or one that made you question what you would do with it? Often once we unwrap those strange gifts, we can pry our thoughts open to new possibilities. Whether it is our first bike, microwave, computer, laptop, blackberry, iPhone or iPad, often receiving a new item requires a learning curve. Should we open it, and open ourselves to new possibilities?

Dr. James Gordon and Deepak Chopra think so. In an online video they note that, “We’re the ones who know for the most part what’s best for us.” They add that having the opportunity to take care of ourselves is a “revolutionary idea” that can seem very threatening to our chronic sense of dependency on authorities. They conclude that if we have the opportunity to take care of ourselves we worry that we are wrong, that it won’t work and that maybe they’re right.

One aspect of this new direction of taking care of ourselves is to build confidence in our own health decisions. Choosing Wisely, an initiative of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation, helps providers and patients engage in conversations to reduce overuse of tests and procedures, and support patients in their efforts to make smart and effective care choices. The Choosing Wisely site reports that a 2014 survey funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that nearly 75 percent of physicians say the frequency of unnecessary medical tests and procedures is a serious problem. The foundation campaigns for leading medical specialty societies and other non-physician organizations to identify commonly used tests or procedures whose necessity “should be questioned and discussed.” Their resulting lists of Things Providers and Patients Should Question are “intended to spark discussion about the need—or lack thereof—for many frequently ordered tests or treatments.”

Prayer can be a gift for those wanting to question and yearning to listen to what some may call intuition or grace from above. Contrary to what some believe, prayer is not an absence of treatment, but a different way of actively challenging ill health. Physical transformation by focusing on and living the word of a higher being than yourself was first written about several thousand years ago. For instance, the book of Proverbs tells us, “My son, attend to my words; ...keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh.”

The gift of having confidence in our own healthcare decisions may seem remarkable at first. But perhaps we too might eventually find it to be truly indispensable. Prayer assists us and guides us in the journey.

Linda Ross is a self-syndicated columnist writing on the relationship between thought, spirituality and health as well as trends in that field. She is also the media and legislative liaison for Christian Science in Connecticut, advocating for spiritual care and treatment. Connect with her at linkd.in/1p5UyZw or 203-866-1200.