A Christian social media influencer recently shared a video of his encounter with a Satanist and his prayer for the man that has since gone viral. Bryce Crawford, a young evangelist with an Instagram following of around 686,000 followers, posted a video of himself praying for a satanist with whom he engages in conversation. The video has been viewed more than 138,000 times as of Aug. 5.
Uploaded to Instagram last week, the video shows a self-identified satanist saying that he would have set Jesus on fire rather than crucifying Him “because he’s a witch.” Crawford, known among Christian influencers on Instagram, approaches the conversation with empathy and curiosity, asking the man about his experiences since he began worshiping Satan.
“So you said ever since you started worshiping Satan your life has been better?” Crawford asked.
“Yeah, it actually has been better for me,” the man, who looked sad, claimed.
In response, Crawford said although worshiping Satan might lead to earthly pleasures, there is more hope in following Jesus. “Yeah, I believe it, like in the physical. I believe that Satan would give me the things I want. You know, and there’s a lot of things that I want. And there’s been times that I’ve prayed to God and asked God for things that I wanted, but that’s not what I needed,” Crawford told the satanist.
“I feel like, as a Christian, when I ask Jesus for stuff when I pray, Jesus protects me from certain stuff because He knows what would harm me and steer me away from Him. It makes total sense that by worshiping Satan your life feels better, and it feels better in the natural right at this life. But to me, I was tormented by mental struggles and mental health issues and not having hope for myself. Jesus gave me that hope.”
Crawford then asked the avowed satanist if he could pray for him right there on the street, and the satanist allowed him to do so. The heartfelt moment captured the attention of many, shedding light on the contrasting beliefs and the meaning of being a satanist.
In a separate Instagram video, Crawford shares how, at one point in his life, he was on the edge of taking his own life but ended up giving his life to Jesus instead. He said the Lord led him into full-time ministry, and now he considers himself to be a missionary, participating in speaking engagements, especially in the Los Angeles area.
Crawford is affiliated with EquipNet, a nonprofit that aims to connect resources to well-vetted Christian leaders, organizations, and projects around the world to bring the love of Jesus, innovation, and Christian transformation to people in various formative spheres of society. He also runs a website called Jesus In The Street, where he shares his “passion for people to know who they are in Christ” and creates T-shirts designed to be “walking conversation starters for the Gospel.” Additionally, Crawford helps out at a house church that meets every Sunday night and has pioneered a Wednesday night gathering aimed at helping people deepen their relationship with Christ. He also hosts a podcast where he discusses different Christian topics, further establishing his influence among Christian influencers.
