May 14, 2014
A Praying Mom Who Didn’t Give Up
Sharon Jaynes
Today’s Truth
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe(Ephesians 1:18-19, NIV).
Friend to Friend
Is there someone who you are praying for, and honestly, you are questioning whether or not it is doing any good? Oh friend, let me encourage you, don’t give up.
Monica saw the fruits of not giving up on her son. From the time he was born, she prayed he would surrender his life to Christ and impact the world for God. However, Augustine’s pagan father was just as zealous to lead the young man into sin as his mother was to introduce him to Christ.
Augustine himself said that from the time he was born, he was “sealed with Christ’s cross.” However, he sidestepped God with the determination of a prizefighter.
In his early heathen years, Augustine attended the University of Carthage and received an excellent education in grammar, logic, literature, language, and oratory. During his years of higher education, he also experienced heavy doses of corruption, brothels, and friends in low places.
He graduated into a lifestyle of immorality, alcohol, and sexual promiscuity, living with one woman for 15 years and fathering a child with her. However, they never married. Eventually, he joined what could be compared to a modern-day cult.
Even though Augustine was living in apparent destitution of the soul, his mother continued to pray for him. Her light burned brightly with rays of hope, forever pointing him back to Christ. Twice a day she went to church and cried out to the Lord on Augustine’s behalf.
One day Monica approached a bishop who was bold in confronting others about their relationship to God and their need for salvation. She begged him to talk to Augustine, but he refused, saying that her son was “unteachable.” Still, as the bishop walked away, he replied, ”It cannot be that the son of these tears should perish.”
Shortly afterwards, Monica sensed that Augustine was planning to leave Carthage on a ship to Rome. When she confronted him at the dock, he denied it and said that he was only there to bid a friend farewell. However, the next morning, she discovered that her son had lied. He had set sail for Rome and escaped her influence–or so it seemed. What she did not realize was that as her wayward son turned his eyes toward the shores of home, he pictured in his mind’s eye that faithful beacon, pointing him to the safety of Christ’s harbor and the one true God.
Monica’s prayers followed her son to Rome and God continued to put people in his path to point him to the Savior. One day, while Augustine read one of Paul’s letters in the Bible, the Holy Spirit touched his heart and opened his eyes. He knew those letters were written to him, and he committed his life to Jesus Christ.
Augustine went on to write more than 100 books and 1000 sermons. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes him as “the dominant personality of the Western Church of his time…generally recognized as having been the greatest thinker of Christian antiquity.” His books, City of God and Confessions are classics still read today. Sixteen hundred years later, the church still reaps the benefits of this praying mother.
Shortly after Augustine became a Christian; his mother said that she felt her work on earth was accomplished. One week later, at the age of 56, she died.
In one of his prayers Augustine wrote the following about his mother: “She poured out her tears and her prayers all the more fervently, begging You [God] to speed Your help and give me light in my darkness.”
Another entry reads, “My mother, Your faithful servant, wept to You for me, shedding more tears for my spiritual death than other mothers shed for the bodily death of a son. For in her faith and in the spirit which she had from You she looked down on me as dead. You heard her and did not despise the tears which streamed down and watered the earth in every place where she bowed her head in prayer.“
Monica remained a beacon of light, a visible sentinel pointing her son to the safe harbor of Christ’s arms. Augustine, indebted to his mother for unceasing intercession,rose up and called her blessed.
The Beacon
Her love is like an island
In life’s ocean, vast and wide.
A peaceful quiet shelter
From the wind, and rain, and tide.
‘Tis bound on the north by Hope,
By Patience on the west.
By tender Counsel on the south,
And on the east by rest.
Above is like a beacon light,
Shining Faith, and Truth, and Prayer;
And through the changing scenes of life,
I find a haven there.
Author Unknown
Let’s Pray
Dear Lord, there have been many people who have prayed for me all through my life. I am so glad they never gave up on me. Help me to never tire when it come to praying for those I love, but press on, continue on, pray on. Help me to be persistent and consistent in praying for others to come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
What does Monica’s story tell you about the importance of persistence in prayer?
Is there someone that you have been praying for many years?
What does Jesus tell us about persistency in prayer in Luke 18:1-8?
Want to join me in being a diligent prayer warrior who does not defeat in battle, but presses forward with resolve? Click on my Facebook page and say, “I will not give up!”
More from the Girlfriends
If you are a mom who needs some encouragement today, you’ll want to read my book, Being a Great Mom-Raising Great Kids. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. And you will know that you have one of the most important jobs on earth! And if you’re a wife, come and join us at Facebook.com/ThePrayingWivesClub.
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Originally published Wednesday, 14 May 2014.
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