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I am currently listening to Confessions, by Saint Augustine. I had heard about his mother's tearful prayers for him. She followed him from country to country around the Mediterranean Sea weeping and praying for him.
She was so afraid that his going to Rome, the capital of all worldliness, would ruin him that she begged him not to go. Augustine had to deceive her and sneak off in the night.
It was in Rome that Augustine came to faith.
Something new I learned. Monica's greatest desire was that Augustine become a Christian. At one point, she was determined that the way to make this happen was to get him a Christian wife. It seemed she thought this would make Augustine send away the woman he had been living with unmarried, cure his sexual lusts, and bring him closer to the church. Only the first happened. Broken hearted, Augustine sent the mother of his son away, but soon took on another mistress and continued to struggle with lust. He never married the young woman whith whom Monica had arranged an engagement. God did save Augustine. Monica lived to know it. But it didn't happen the way she planned.
Dear mother, wife or sister who is praying for someone you love who has not known God's grace: Pray, and do not fear. Pray, but do not scheme.
It was God's design that Augustine not be saved until he was 32. The struggles of his life molded his teaching. He would go on to rebuke false teaching regarding man's ability to save himself or add to his salvation. He knew from experience - and could show from the word of God - that salvation was and had to be totally God's work, not ours.
Journal Resource: Thoughts on Prayers for Unbelievers
https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/.../KD-2012-Fall-Profile...