From Life's Window



Praying with Non-Christians
By Helen Crawford

Not many Christian articles I read leave me with a permanent life change-this one did. Bernie May, a Wycliffe editor, was relating how he made it a point to pray with non-Christians. As he would converse with them and pick up a point of need, he would ask if he could pray with them about that. Always given a "yes," he would right there, wherever they were, simply ask God for their needed help.

This being fresh on my mind, my first experience practicing this was when I attended a conference at Asilomar in California. The conference admitting office was right off a main street. As I was coming into the ladies' restroom, I saw a woman's face behind me in the mirror. It was black and blue and taped up. Her words of horror upon seeing herself were, "Oh my God!" The Holy Spirit prompted me to put my arm around her and say, "But God spared your life; may I thank Him for you?" She nodded yes and I gave a short prayer of thanks as we both cried.

Another beneficial encounter occurred with our new neighbor. One Sunday after jogging, I chatted with her in her driveway. Her oldest daughter was wheelchair-bound, the second in first grade, and the third now two years old. She was concerned about finding a new caregiver for her invalid daughter. I asked if I could pray with her for this, and holding hands asked God to provide for her.

About four months later, I heard she was dealing with a divorce. Soon after that she called me, hysterical-repeating things over and over-had she done the right thing? How was she going to take care of the girls, etc.? After an hour I asked if I could come to her house across the street and talk. She welcomed this and, through prayer and looking up Scriptures, she became calm. She then shared she had phoned me because, as she was on her knees crying out to God, my face came before her very clearly.

Our friendship continued to deepen, we shared and read the Bible, and we prayed together. Several years have now passed. We have the deepest friendship in Christ. Her Christian growth has been phenomenal. Her second husband separated from her, but she has clung to God's promises. Her life is totally changed-on top of all the marriage stress, she has gone through a total mastectomy. She has real friends who support her in love and prayer. Her life has become a beautiful expression of His grace, mercy, and power. After 16 months of separation from her husband, God brought them back together. He is actively reading his Bible and attending Sunday services with his family.

And God gave me a part through applying a new principle of reaching out.
Helen Crawford met The Navigators at Wheaton College in 1951. She served as Lila Trotman's helper at the Pasadena home ('509') and at the Pink House at Glen Eyrie. She married her husband, John, at Glen Eyrie and together they served with The Navigators in a variety of locations, including New Zealand, San Diego, and Oklahoma. They have two married children and seven grandchildren.