Over the years, one of my areas of giftedness has been in the area of sleeping. So, when my children were teenagers and came home at night, they could ring the doorbell, could stomp upstairs or even over our bed, and I would probably barely stir. Oh, but not my wife. I think there's something about the way many mothers are wired. They sleep real light - if at all - until everyone's home safe. It's a mother thing. They just can't rest until all their children are in.

 

Even though you're all grown up now, your mother might still be like that today. Or you had a mother who was like that. See, you may have been blessed with a praying mother, who wanted or who wants more than anything else for her children to "be in" - in God's family... including you.

 

In Luke 7:12-15, Jesus had an encounter with a hurting mother. It's about the miracle He did for her. "As Jesus approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out - the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, 'Don't cry.' Then He went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, 'Young man, I say to you, get up!' The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his Mother." What great words!

 

And He's still doing that today. Jesus is doing something supernatural to give a son or a daughter back to a mother, not with a physical resurrection, but with a spiritual rescue. In fact, it may be that the prayers of your mother for you have kept God in pursuit of you all these years. More than anything else on earth, she has wanted for you to know the Savior whose love changed her life.

 

My wife's grandfather, Bill Hadley, was a great guy with a deadly weakness - he was an alcoholic. Alcohol cost him his job, his family, his freedom, and his hope. One night he was making his way down State Street in Chicago to end his life in Lake Michigan. We learned at one point about the prayers that saved him that night.

 

We found an old photograph of the man his mother called Will. And on the back is this inscription in her handwriting: "This new year 1908. Oh, God, bring him back into the fold. Oh, Will, every night when I read my Bible, I look at your picture and ask God to give you grace to keep you from falling and to fill your heart with His love. You may see this after I am gone from this world and know that I never ceased to pray for you, Mother."

 

Will never did see that inscription until after his mother was gone. But the power of her prayer reached beyond her grave. The night he was going to end his life, he walked by an old rescue mission and heard a song his mother used to sing. He wandered in and ended up giving his broken life to Jesus Christ. He never touched alcohol again, and he spent the rest of his life living for that Savior who had meant so much to his mother.

 

There may be - or there may have been - a dear mother who never gave up praying for you to know Jesus as your Savior. He died for every sin you've ever committed. He waits to forgive you and give you eternal life in heaven. Isn't it finally time for you to open your heart to Jesus?

 

Let the battle be over right now. As John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace prayed, "My Mother's God saved me." Interested in this relationship with God? You can check out ANewStory.com for more.

 

This is all about a mother who prayed for you. But it's more importantly about a Savior who died for you. It will be your mother's question in heaven someday, "Are the children all in?" I hope you will be.

 

Check out more from Ron Hutchcraft @Hutchcraft.com