This week, I was reminded once again to never give up praying for loved ones.
I was sitting with our grandchildren watching a video about Augustine, the great early Christian writer and leader. A key figure in his story was his mother Monica who prayed for him for years even though his case seemed hopeless.
Augustine was a brilliant young man from North Africa who seemed destined for a great career in Rome as a speaker and philosopher. He loved his mother but rejected Christianity.
But his questing mind was dissatisfied with the other philosophies popular in imperial Rome. And he found himself giving his life to Jesus while sitting on a bench and hearing a boy's voice call out: "Take up and read." He had the scriptures in his lap and read a verse from Romans which opened his heart to the Lord.
Yesterday, I was assisting in a junior youth class and watching as several boys in a small group showed no interest in the Bible and one, in particular, was distracting. They were typical boys - full of energy and high spirits.
I recalled a similar group of teenaged boys I taught years ago at a previous church. One of the more disruptive boys is now a dedicated minister - he is the fruit of many prayers by his parents.
In his book Don't Just Stand There: Pray Something, Ronald Dunn asks how often have we fallen short of God's blessing because we have stopped praying. That applies to anything that is close to our heart.
He mentions the story of Jacob who wrestled with an angel (Genesis 32:24-32). Jacob was desperately afraid of his brother Esau whom he was about to meet again after years apart.
The wrestling continued all night until the angel asked Jacob to let him go. But Jacob says: "I will not let you go unless you bless me." And the angel blessed him.
"Do you believe Jacob was so strong he could pin down an angel?" asks Dunn. "That fight was fixed. I believe that while the angel was saying, 'Let me go,' he was whispering under his breath, 'but I hope you don't. Hang on a little longer and you will get the blessing.'"
He quotes famed evangelist Vance Havner as saying: "The problem is that the situation is desperate but we're not."
The lesson for me is that I must pray stubbornly and urgently for others. God wants people with a caring heart like his.
I was sitting with our grandchildren watching a video about Augustine, the great early Christian writer and leader. A key figure in his story was his mother Monica who prayed for him for years even though his case seemed hopeless.
Augustine was a brilliant young man from North Africa who seemed destined for a great career in Rome as a speaker and philosopher. He loved his mother but rejected Christianity.
But his questing mind was dissatisfied with the other philosophies popular in imperial Rome. And he found himself giving his life to Jesus while sitting on a bench and hearing a boy's voice call out: "Take up and read." He had the scriptures in his lap and read a verse from Romans which opened his heart to the Lord.
Yesterday, I was assisting in a junior youth class and watching as several boys in a small group showed no interest in the Bible and one, in particular, was distracting. They were typical boys - full of energy and high spirits.
I recalled a similar group of teenaged boys I taught years ago at a previous church. One of the more disruptive boys is now a dedicated minister - he is the fruit of many prayers by his parents.
In his book Don't Just Stand There: Pray Something, Ronald Dunn asks how often have we fallen short of God's blessing because we have stopped praying. That applies to anything that is close to our heart.
He mentions the story of Jacob who wrestled with an angel (Genesis 32:24-32). Jacob was desperately afraid of his brother Esau whom he was about to meet again after years apart.
The wrestling continued all night until the angel asked Jacob to let him go. But Jacob says: "I will not let you go unless you bless me." And the angel blessed him.
"Do you believe Jacob was so strong he could pin down an angel?" asks Dunn. "That fight was fixed. I believe that while the angel was saying, 'Let me go,' he was whispering under his breath, 'but I hope you don't. Hang on a little longer and you will get the blessing.'"
He quotes famed evangelist Vance Havner as saying: "The problem is that the situation is desperate but we're not."
The lesson for me is that I must pray stubbornly and urgently for others. God wants people with a caring heart like his.
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