In her work as a member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship, XOLISWA APRIL travels widely throughout Africa, giving talks on ways in which people can rely on prayer, based on God's love and supremacy, to overcome "lurking evil" in their communities. One of her talks is titled "Comfort in trying times."

In her home country of South Africa, where violent city crime often dominates the headlines, Xoliswa has had to pray her way through many tough situations, especially during a time when she worked in a soup kitchen serving homeless people from nearby squatter camps. She lives in the Nyanga district of Cape Town, notorious for violent robberies, but has never felt compelled to move to a safer area. She feels that her place is right where she can do most to help her neighbors, in the Biblical sense of that word.

We invited her to share just one of her recent experiences.

ONE SUNDAY EVENING I was sitting quietly at home with my husband when the phone rang. It was my sister's daughter, who was with some of her teenage friends on a weekend retreat arranged by their church. She was calling to ask us to come and pick them up.

She felt they were in danger. They were in a remote area, far from any houses, and completely without light. Their transport had not arrived, and the buildings at the retreat site had been locked. I assured my niece we'd soon be on our way to pick them up and suggested she pray with me to know that God was right there with them and that they could feel safe.

As my husband and I set out on the half-hour drive to fetch them, I prayed with the words of the 91st Psalm: "He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shall thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shall not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; ... A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee" (Ps. 91:4, 5, 7).

Then I thought about a passage from Mary Baker Eddy's writings, which I've always felt complements that Psalm: "Remember, thou canst be brought into no condition, be it ever so severe, where Love has not been before thee and where its tender lesson is not awaiting thee" (The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, pp. 149-150). Soon I felt completely at peace about the young people. I knew that they, like us, could never be outside of God's watchful, tender care.

On our way to the campsite we had to negotiate a four-way stop on a major road. It had recently been the scene of many car hijackings and robberies, especially at that time of night, and for a moment or two we felt intimidated. But I continued to pray.

As we came to a halt, I noticed four young men standing at the corner, checking each car as it approached. One of them had a hand in one pocket, and I could clearly see the shape of a gun there. His eyes shifted restlessly, and then fastened on us. I looked straight at him, declaring quietly to myself: "You are a child of God, made just like Him. Your nature comes from Him. He loves you, whether you realize it or not. And I love you, too."

I clung to the thought that God's answers to any call for help are always available, and I nodded to my husband to drive on. We crossed safely through that intersection and gratefully drove on our way again.

A few minutes later my cellphone rang. It was my niece calling to say that the official transport had arrived at last, and they were on their way home. So we changed direction and drove instead to my sister's house.

Within an hour, my niece was dropped off, and our family was reunited. My niece admitted to me that she'd felt confused and scared while they were waiting in the dark, but that she'd been helped by the prayers we'd shared. She also told me she'd comforted herself by repeating the Lord's Prayer over and over.

That was a happy time for all of us, with its reassurance of God's unfailing protection at all times and in all circumstances—even in the face of lurking danger. We agreed that in God's presence we are always safe from accident, disease, or evil influence. This is further confirmed by another passage in the Bible, which has seen me through many challenging experiences in South Africa: "In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death" (Prov. 14:26, 27).

Isn't that all that any of us needs to know?

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