Today, we’re looking at the power of prayer and how it can change lives. I share a true story about a mother's unwavering faith and prayers for her son, who strayed far from the path she hoped for him. Through her persistence, we see how prayer can guide and transform even the most challenging situations. I hope it inspires you to pray for those you care about and reminds you that change is always possible.
Takeaways:
The importance of prayer is emphasized, especially for loved ones.
The mother in this story's unwavering prayer life illustrates how persistence in prayer can lead to miraculous outcomes.
The episode encourages listeners to trust in God's goodness.
Welcome to the Ministry Miscellaney Podcast A collection of tools, strategy and challenges for Bible Teachers from me, Yvon Prehn, someone who's been teaching the Bible ever since as a third grader, I started to teach the kindergartners at my church about Jesus.
I've never quit doing that, and along the way I've picked up some practices, strategies and resources that might be useful to you. Our topic for today is One of.
Speaker B:
Our topic for today is one of the most important things we can do is to pray for one another and the story in the handout that I'm going to read to you is one of the most significant prayers in the history of the church. You can Download pre printed PDFs of it. Share them however you want to at the Link on the Bible805.com website.
This brief piece has probably been reprinted and shared more than anything that I've written and I've written for a long time and a lot of stuff. It first appeared in today's Christian Woman magazine and it was then reprinted in their 10 years, their best of 10 years of writing.
And it has been actually used and reprinted all over the world. I've even got a copy of a German magazine that featured it. But all that's not really critical, but let me just read it to you.
One Mother's Prayer her worst fears had come true. Her son had become One Mother's Prayer her worst fears had come true. Her son had become involved in a strange, mystical religion.
She'd had such high hopes for him since his infancy. She prayed God would touch his life. Her husband wasn't a Christian, and sometimes in a temper would taunt her praying. But she kept on.
Her son grew up in a small town. The family owned their home, but they weren't wealthy.
Determined their son would have a good education, they scrimped and saved to send him to school. Somehow his brother and sister didn't receive the same attention or prayers. He did extremely well in school.
People began to notice his brilliant mind. A prominent citizen of the town set up a scholarship for his son's graduate studies. She was so proud.
Her joy diminished, though, with worries about his spiritual health. He attended church some, but he refused baptism, and there were little incidents, stealing things like that. She worried and she prayed.
He excelled in graduate school and finished with high expectations. But his religion, his letters contained long explanations of finding true reality and speculation how reality divided into darkness and light.
Jesus was not truly God incarnate, he said, but an example of pure light entrapped and suffering in matters. He'd always been good with words. But these words wounded her. She decided to visit him. She thought her heart could stand no more pain.
But she was wrong. He was living with a girl and they weren't married. They had a son. She was a grandmother, but she couldn't be proud of it.
In desperation, she explained the situation to her minister. He told her that the son of so many tears could never come to destruction. Somehow the message seemed from God. The years passed.
Her son was unhappy with his job. He was often ill. He left the girl, but kept the son. Finally, he became disillusioned with his mystical religion and began to question her about God.
He started to go to church again. There he found Christian friends and questioned them. He began to read the Bible. Her prayers increased.
Her husband died, but he'd become a Christian in his final illness. She too grew weaker, older. She feared she would die before the prayers for her son were answered.
Her grandson was a teenager now, and she went to visit. A changed son met her. A son hungry to know about God. Asking questions, requesting prayer.
A son who would one day rush to tell her he'd given his life to God by trusting Jesus as his personal Savior. At Easter, her son and grandson were baptized. Their times together now were so precious. Talking about the Lord and praying together.
Her prayers overflowed with thanks. But still she desired much more for her son. She knew her son as a Christian.
Less than a year in the August after his Easter baptism, she breathed her last and went home to the Saviour, to whom she spent so much of her life talking. She never saw with earthly eyes the great man of God her son became.
She never heard his great sermons or read writings that determined much of Christian theology. She never knew her son's insights would jog Martin Luther into seeing that one is justified by faith alone.
She would never hear her son's words that caused so many hearts to consider Jesus as Savior. Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in thee. Every part of this story is true.
The mother who prayed was Monica, the mother of St. Augustine. I hope this story has been an encouragement to you.
Every time I read it or reread it, I want to just rush home and start praying for friends that I know really need to get their life maybe more organized and more centered on Jesus. But regardless of who this might inspire you to pray for, there are copies that you can download and print out again@bible805.com website.
And I pray that this will be an encouragement and useful to you.
Speaker A:
I trust you found the content in this episode of Ministry Miscellaney useful.
For links to any resources mentioned and lots of free material to help you know, trust, apply and teach the Bible, go to www.bible805.com Let me close now with a reminder from the book of Daniel 12:3 where it says, those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars, forever and ever. That's you, someone who leads many to righteousness.
And in doing that, may you be ever growing in your reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit, in the deepening of your friendship with Jesus, and in your trust in the goodness of God the Father, never forgetting in all the hard work you do, that you have a glorious heritage where you will shine like the stars forever and ever.
