During my long (2 years plus) serious and life-threatening illness, the nicest thing anyone said to me, the most uplifting words I heard, was "I'm praying for you". Even as a (then) non-Christian, I took great heart and comfort from those four simple words, especially when they came from people around the world whom I'd never met (some of them Mudcatters, some of them fellow-folkies, some of them employees of the company I work for).

They didn't ask my permission, they didn't need to. And even though I wasn't at that time a Believer, the simple fact of their faith made a huge difference to me and the way I dealt with my illness.

They changed my life. Thanks to every one of them.