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Talk with him at any time about anything. On Encouraging Prayer, Dr. James Banks, author of the bestselling Prayers for Prodigals and many other books on prayer, provides weekly biblical insight to help you learn to love to pray. And now, here's James. So today is a special Mother's Day edition of Encouraging Prayer. We're going to talk about praying moms.
I sure have one. And James, I know you did too. So tell me a little bit about her.
Thanks, Robbie. Well, when I think about my mom, I sometimes wonder about the things that might have happened to me if she hadn't been praying. You ever think about that?
Oh, wow. Yeah, because she prayed a lot, and her prayers kept me out of a lot of trouble. And not only did she pray, in many ways she taught me to pray, because she would frequently have me pray for friends and family members, especially if they were far from God. And it was such a natural part of her life. I didn't make much of it at the time, but looking back, my gosh, her impact on my life was huge. And nothing mattered more to her than knowing Jesus. And she helped me to see his hand in my life and to want to know him as well in so many ways. But how about your mom?
Yeah, there's no doubt. It was a huge impact on my life, because I didn't come to Christ until I was in my late 30s. And my mom, I'm pretty sure I was her hairdresser. Those prayers, and I know after I came to understand when I came to Christ that part of her everyday routine, no doubt, was to sit down actually with my stepdad, and they prayed and prayed and prayed up until her last days. Because who can pray for you like a mom? I think there's something about a mom bringing us out of her body that has a lot to do with prayer. You're a part of her, and after you're born she still carries you in her heart, or close to your heart. And the cries of the heart for a mom, for her kids, is a force to be reckoned with.
Oh, you got that right. I mean, especially when you think about Samuel and his mother Hannah, how she prayed and prayed for a baby, and then she was given one when she devoted him to God. And he became this incredible prophet and a man of integrity and a leader in this country. I mean, he literally changed history, anointed David. Yeah, he did.
He did, yeah. And all throughout history, you see the prayers of moms and their impact. Think about Monica, the mother of Augustine. She's famous for praying for him. When he was running from God and going down this road of sleeping around and living for himself, and even when he deceived her, she kept on praying and just pleading with God. And God used those prayers to bring him to Jesus, and of course he becomes one of the most influential Christian thinkers in history.
You know, it's an incredible story. And I remember a story you told in your book, Prayers for Prodigals, about another mom who prayed for her son, and she loved him to God. And he was a medical doctor, right? Yeah, yeah, he was at first, but when he was younger, before he was, his mother was praying for him, and one of the last things she did before she died, and she died when he was very young, well, fairly young, was she gives him this Bible. And when he gets into medical school, he sells the Bible, and then years later he's working in the hospital as a physician when a man's brought in who's injured on the job, and it's clear the man's going to die from his injuries. But before he dies, he asks for his landlady so he can pay his rent, and he asks for her to bring what he called the book with him. So the landlady brings in this old Bible, and this injured man reads it, and when he's too weak to read it anymore, he holds it close to his heart under his covers until he dies. And so it's this poignant thing, and later the nurse is going through the room cleaning out the man's things. When the doctor, our doctor walks by, you know, and she holds up the Bible, and this nurse, and says to this doctor, well, what should we do with this? And I love this part. He takes the Bible, and he opens it, and he sees his name written in, you know, in his mother's hand. So this day laborer had bought the Bible used, and it was his old Bible, and God used that to bring him to Christ. Wow.
I mean, how can you not love that? And he left medicine, right? Right, right. He did. And he became, of all things, a Presbyterian minister, and he later would write the hymn, Revive Us Again, and he becomes a real force for Jesus. Yeah, you can't underestimate, you know, the rule of a mom's prayers. You know, I think it's so funny, a lot of moms would pray for their sons to become doctors, but this one, you know, just wanted them to know Jesus, and God answered her prayers for, you know, years after she left the earth.
Amazing. And I know your wife Carrie also saw God do some special things in your own son's life, right? You want to tell us about that?
Yeah, yeah. Well, when our son Jeff was going down a rough road with heroin addiction, and it seemed like everything was falling apart, God gives my wife this gift. Sometimes she'd come to me and say, well, I don't know why, but I really think God is going to use Jeff in ministry someday.
And I'm like, I can't see it. You know, I didn't really say that. The amazing thing is that that's what Jeff does today. You know, God set him free, and he's serving him, and it's a beautiful thing. Yeah, God is, you know, reaching him to reach, you know, hundreds of kids today, right? I think the only reason why his mom got that idea about him being in ministry is because she was praying for him.
I mean, we haven't talked about that when he was growing up, about him becoming a pastor or anything remotely like that, because of the choices he was making. So God gives this to her. She prays. It gives her a glimpse of something he's working on years down the road. All right, well, we've got time for one more praying home story, if you can fit it in.
Oh, yeah, yeah. Okay, so this one's about a woman named Barbara who's with the Lord today, but she was a member of our church. And years ago, she had a son who was also making bad choices.
He was actually dealing and running drugs. And one day he's driving down the highway with a load and he gets pulled over and everything's found. And Barbara knew something was wrong, but she had no idea until this happened, you know, and she's praying hard for him. And as she does, he has this change of heart. And of course, the circumstances are huge wake up call and ends up turning to Jesus and his life is transformed.
And later, the case is dismissed on a technicality and they both can't believe it. But fast forward several decades to Barbara's 81st birthday party. And I was there that day and the kids are gathered around. And some of the family has no idea about what happened in her son's life up to this day.
But all the kids are giving this tribute to their mom. You know, they stand up and say something. And the son stands up. And I knew the story because Barbara had told me and he changes.
He says this old poem and he changes two words in it. And I'd like us to just wrap up with this. This is what he said. You may have tangible wealth untold, caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I, you could never be. I had a mother who prayed for me. Wow. I love that. You couldn't help but love that. Thank God for praying moms. So as a matter of fact, we probably ought to do that right now. Jesus, thank you for praying moms. And Lord, I just thank you for all those right now listening. And I pray that you would encourage them to keep on doing it.
Lord, it's something we get to do forever. Lord, thank you for praying moms and help honor them this Mother's Day. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. You can hear more from Pastor James by visiting his website, jamesbanks.org. Or by visiting Peace Church in Durham, North Carolina. And may God bless you and encourage you as you pray.
