Recently, you told someone in your column to pray for a friend of theirs who claimed to be an atheist. Well, I don't believe in God either and I don't want anyone praying for me. I'm happy just the way I am, and I don't need some holier-than-thou Christian acting like he's better than me. — H.M.

Let me ask you a question: What would you do if you discovered a cure for cancer—especially if you had been healed yourself? Would you forget about it, or decide you'd only tell a few friends about it? Or would you decide to make as much money as you could from it, and only let a very few wealthy people have access to it?

I hope not. I hope instead that you would do everything you could to tell others about it, and to make the cure available to as many people as possible. Not everyone would believe you, and not everyone would even admit they had cancer (if they did). But you would keep trying—not because you thought you were better than people who still had cancer, but because you cared.

And that's why Christians pray for people who don't believe in Christ—not because they feel superior, but because they care. They know the peace and joy Christ gives to those who know Him, and they know too that eternal issues are at stake. They know also from personal experience that Jesus' words are true: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you" (John 14:27).

I invite you to look honestly and with an open mind at Jesus Christ. The greatest discovery you can ever make is not only that God exists, but that He loves you and you can know Him personally by giving your life to Christ.