"For God says, 'In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.' I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:2Last week I experienced one of the best days of my life. No matter how amazing that moment will be when I walk down the isle, arm in arm with my God fearing father and say "I do," no matter how amazing the moment will be when I have my first baby,
There is nothing like the moment I watched my very mother surrender her heart to the Lord Jesus Christ. That moment meant that I would get to spend eternity with her in heaven, that I would have someone in my home on my moms side to talk about God with. It meant she would get to experience the love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, furiousness (and everything in between) of God.
It meant that she would get to know God.
I've been praying for her salvation for years and God has shown me his faithfulness. There were countless days that my mom came to church with me. While I thought it meant nothing to her, God was doing something in her heart.
God did something amazing that night. Instead of sitting in the back (like I normally do), we were led to the very first row by a friend of mine. I listened to the message, but I also prayed. Not knowing if that would be the night, but hoping- always hoping.
And on the night of September 16th, 2012, I felt all my built up tension and fear leave my body in one sigh as I watched my precious mother step forward.
Part of me was afraid she was upset that I didn't go with her for support, but the other part of me- the stronger part- knew she had to do this alone, the way Jesus Christ walked to his crucifixion alone.
God is faithful and just to answer our prayers. They say there are three answers that God will give you: yes, no, and wait. But I think there is one more:
Maybe.
Because the thing is, not only can I not make my mom get saved, but neither can God. Well, He can, but he won't. That's the beauty of it. My mom had to decide if she wanted the gift of His free love and sacrifice. A real love wouldn't force you to love back, because that wouldn't be love at all.
So God might answer maybe. Maybe they will run to me, maybe they will run away. I will reveal myself in ways that they can decide and choose, but I will not force them to come to me.
You can ask God to show himself to the people - to soften their hearts (and I think he will) but the final decision lies in the hands of those individual lives. Pray that the enemy would be reduced and they would hear God and listen to His call. Pray that there would be no distractions. Pray that you are able to be a better example for the sake of God and the sake of their salvation. And remember too that you're not the only one who's praying for them, but the savior of this world, Jesus Christ is praying for them also.
And I must say, He's a good prayer partner.
Never give up on your loved ones, because Jesus never gave up on you.
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9
