I’ve prayed for my children since before they were born. I’ve prayed for all aspects of their life: physical health and development, emotional growth and maturity, behavioral challenges and struggles, and most importantly, their spiritual life. I’ve prayed they would never know a day in their life that they did not know who God is and what he has done for them in Christ. I’ve prayed they would love God’s word and seek to grow in their faith. I’ve prayed he would protect their minds and hearts from evil. I’ve prayed the Lord would prepare and equip them for how he will use them in his Kingdom.
I’ve prayed these prayers over and over. I’ve persisted in these prayers. God has answered some and I see his continued work in others. I continue to pray for them as they grow into godly young men.
I was recently struck by the persistent prayer of another mother, one who lived long ago. This summer, I am taking a church history course with RTS where I enjoy learning about the early church and how God protected and preserved her. Out of all the writings I’ve read of the church fathers, I’ve most enjoyed reading about St. Augustine. While many church fathers wrote extensively on the Christian faith, matters of doctrine, and issues of the day, Augustine is unique because he wrote an intensely personal autobiography, titled Confessions.
Augustine wrote Confessions following his conversion to Christ where he looked back on his life before faith. It is a conversation, a prayer from Augustine to God, confessing his sin and wayward heart. In writing Confessions, Augustine opened the door to his heart so we can see inside. We see how God worked in his life, bringing him on a journey through false religion, idolatry, loss, and hardship to see his great need for the grace of Christ. We see him wrestle with the doctrines of the faith. We see him try to find life and hope outside of God. We see him brought to his knees and there receive the gift of grace. It’s an amazing story, one which mirrors our own.
One of the most influential people in Augustine’s life was his mother, Monica. She was a pious Christian woman, married to a pagan. In the ancient world, male children would follow the religion of their father, so Monica could not automatically pass on her faith to Augustine; she could not have him baptized. However, she did bring him to church and teach him about the faith. He was enrolled as a “catechumen,” what we would think of today as Sunday school. Growing up, Augustine heard his mother sing hymns and pray for him to come to faith. Later in life, he would look back on her dedication to pray for him with gratitude and thanksgiving.
Augustine reflects on his mother’s prayers for his soul in Confessions: “You sent your hand from above, and raised my soul out of that depth of darkness because of my mother, Your faithful one, wept to You for me more bitterly than mothers weep for the bodily deaths of their children.”
He was entrenched in false religions and his mother desperately wanted him to embrace the truth of Christianity. She went to Italy where he was living and he told her he had left the religious group, but still did not embrace Christianity. Augustine recounts his mother’s response to this news, saying that with full confidence she told him she knew before she died he would come to faith. While visiting him in Italy, his mother sought the help of the bishop, Ambrose, asking him to speak to Augustine and show him the truth of Christianity. Ambrose told her Augustine simply wasn’t ready yet to learn the truth and told her to wait, saying “as sure as you live, it is impossible that the son of these tears should perish.”
After years of searching and trying out different religions and beliefs, Augustine finally came to saving faith in Christ. He told his mother of his conversion who rejoiced over this good news. Not long later, she came down with a fever and died.
Monica died having seen the fruit of all her prayers for her son. But she didn’t see what God would do next with Augustine. She didn’t see him become the bishop of Hippo. She didn’t see all the tracts, treatises, and books he wrote. She didn’t hear the sermons he preached. And of course, she did not know the lasting impact his work would have on the church. Augustine’s writings played an important role in the Reformation and continues to instruct and encourage believers today.
This testimony of one mother’s persistent prayer reminds me that God does far more than we can imagine with our prayers. Monica’s prayer was for her son’s salvation. God answered that prayer but did far more than that in the life and legacy of Augustine. As a praying mom, this encourages me all the more to pray for the heart’s of my children. It encourages me in my prayers for all those I long to see God save. It encourages me as I pray for the spiritual health and growth of others, including my own heart.
What an amazing thing to consider! God commands us to pray and uses those faithful prayers to carry out his will. He doesn’t need to, but he chooses to. However, our imaginations are limited. Our prayers are myopic. They aren’t creative. We put limitations on what we think God can do. Yet despite these weaknesses— despite our nearsightedness— God uses our prayers in ways we cannot fathom.
I can’t help but think of the early church praying for Peter in prison (Acts 9). They prayed God would release him, but when Peter came knocking on the door where the church was gathered, still in fervent prayer, they did not believe it was him. Some thought it was his ghost, as though he had died in prison. Yet, God answered their prayers and brought Peter safely to them. What a testimony of God’s grace in nearsighted prayer!
Dear praying moms, keep praying for the hearts of your children. Persist in prayer. Be creative in prayer. Know God can do far beyond what you can even imagine. And while you may not see all the ways God uses your prayers in this life, trust and know you will see the ripple effects of those prayers in eternity.
