A Mother's Prayer
I left my office to get some lunch that hot July day. As I approached the intersection, a young woman walked across the street in front of me. She was headed east. I turned west in the opposite direction and prayed that the Lord would bless her. After I drove about three blocks, I knew in the depths of my being I was supposed to help her. I turned the car around and caught up to her, pulled over and picked her up. It was 100 degrees on my exterior temperature gauge; she was perspiring profusely and her whole body shook. I asked where she was going and she directed me to a house a few miles out of town. She said she had a key but might not be able to get into the house since her ex-husband could have locked her out.
Oh, Lord, what have you gotten me into?
We arrived and she went to the door. It opened with her key, and she waved goodbye to me. I realized I hadn’t spoken to her about Christ, but assumed I was only supposed to help her home.
As I continued my lunch drive, I reached the intersection where I had picked her up, and heard my heavenly Father speak clearly and quietly to my heart.
“You didn’t tell her about My son, Jesus.”
"No, Lord, I didn’t, but I certainly will."
I had asked her whether or not she had eaten that day. She said no but assured me there was food at the house. I went ahead and picked up some lunch for us both. I ate mine while I drove back to the house where I left her. By the time I arrived, there was a car in the driveway. I went to the door and gave her the lunch; she was very surprised. She invited me in, and I spoke to her and the young lady that was with her about Jesus Christ and the blood that He shed on Calvary for our sin. She said I sounded just like her mother.
She did not appear to be under conviction. Before I left, I simply asked her to consider what we had discussed and to pray and ask Jesus to save her whenever it was that He convicted her heart. I left but didn’t get very far. Before I got out of the neighborhood, the Lord stopped me in my tracks prompting me to return once more.
I turned the car around again. A truck was now in the driveway. I went to the door and a man invited me in without a single question. He and the young woman stepped outside and spoke in the yard while I sat with her friend in the house. She identified herself as a caseworker. After a few moments, the young woman re-entered the house both crying and distraught. We both tried to comfort her. I asked her if she had a place to stay for the night. She said her mother was coming to get her. When her mother drove up, I took it as my cue to leave. As I crossed the front porch, her mother introduced herself and asked who I was and who I worked for. When I gave my name and employer, she looked perplexed.
“All I did was pick her up,” I said.
Surprised, she replied, "May the Lord bless you. Normally she goes off for days at a time, but she was only gone last night. I’ve been praying all night the Lord would send someone to help her.”
All my turning around had been for the mother, so she would know the Lord heard and answered her prayer. She never would have prayed for someone to keep driving in circles for her daughter's benefit, but God had to keep spurring me on. We may think we already know how He'll answer a prayer, but His way is always better, and a lot more creative.
These two ladies stayed on my heart for several days. I longed to know how the young woman was doing. I couldn’t remember the mother’s name, but remembered she said where she attended church. I called the church secretary and said I was trying to locate one of their members who drove a pale blue Volkswagon.
“Are you the woman that helped her daughter?” she asked.
"Yes," I said, surprised. I asked how the daughter was doing and said I wanted the mother to hear what God had actually done for her. "He turned me around three times so He could answer her prayer." That spoke volumes in my book.
She said she would not normally give out a member's number, but the mother had just lost her husband a few months earlier, and she needed a word of encouragement. She asked that I call her. I did and shared the story about what God had actually done for her.
God has made numerous promises to widows and orphans. He had to answer the mother's prayer!
It’s a reminder to parents everywhere to never stop praying for your children! He hears those prayers and is probably moving right now to work out the details so He can answer in the most delightful and wonderful way.