A gentle nudge is the only way to describe what wakes me up in the wee hours of the morning.   It generally happens the same way.  I am in a deep sleep and it’s as if the Lord touches my shoulder and whispers to my sleepy soul, “wake up my daughter, and come away with me.”  I open my drowsy eyes and look around the room halfway expecting to see Jesus standing there!  I throw off the comfy covers and walk down our narrow hallway guided only by a nightlight and my desire to hear His voice.   I quietly slip down on my knees in front of my quiet time spot and spend sweet time in communion with my Savior.  It is in those twilight hours, when the house is still and the only sound I hear is the beating of my own heart;  that I hear the Lord speak to me through His Word and through the whispers of the Holy Spirit.

Those early morning hours have become some of my sweetest times of fellowship with the Lord, but it certainly didn’t start out this way!  In fact, when, I first experienced the gentle nudge I would ignore it.   I would wake up, look around, shrug it off and fall back asleep.  I mean, who doesn’t like their sleep?  This Momma sure does.  I like my 8 hours each night!  But The Lord is persistent!  Before long the nudge became so persistent I could no longer ignore it.  I was wide awake and sleep was not going to happen!

These promptings were during a time when our oldest child would be out late at night.  The nudge was more of an urgent beckoning to drop to my knees or better yet, fall on my face–as Beth Moore says, “nose to carpet” and cry out for his physical & spiritual protection, safety and salvation.  I would cry out for his very soul and for him to listen and obey God’s direction for his life.  Sometimes, not knowing what or how to pray, I just cried. There in those lonely night watches when the rest of my family slept on, the Lord began taking me to a deeper level of prayer.  He taught me to intercede on behalf of my son and our three girls and now our grandchildren and many others the Holy Spirit lays on my heart.  Perhaps His greatest lesson for me in the midnight classroom was that Jesus-loving Mommas can be the most excellent intercessors on the planet!  Intercessory prayer is prompted & empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Those of us who have a personal relationship with Jesus have probably all experienced the gentle nudge at one time or another to pray for others.  We’re doing our thing, going about our day when we feel this impression to stop and pray for someone; we have no idea why, but feel an urgency to pray.  We may not know this side of heaven why that prompting to pray was so urgent but God does!  To be in what Andrew Murray called, “The school of prayer” is a privilege and who better to learn from than our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ?  In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Apostle Paul urges all believers to pray without ceasing.  We are to be in a conscious state of prayer throughout our days and nights.  But oh, those times when our all-knowing Father pulls us aside for deeper, more intimate and fervent prayer.

The way I define intercessory prayer is simply praying things for others that they can’t possibly pray for themselves.  There are countless stories in church history of Jesus-loving mommas who prayed hard things for their children.  The world and the church are better off because of the men and women those precious Mommas prayed for.  A few examples of praying Mommas and the children they prayed for: Monica the mother of St. Augustine, she was a prayer warrior.  She stormed the gates of heaven interceding for her son and as they say, “The rest is history! Another great example was the mother of John Newton you know, the one who penned the words of the greatest hymn ever written, a little song titled, “Amazing Grace”!  He was taught the scriptures as a young child & had a godly mother who prayed over him and for him.  Although she died when he was young her prayers made an eternal impact.  That mother’s prayers and tears were not in vain, they reaped a harvest.

One of my favorite examples of a praying Momma comes from the Old Testament, Jacobed, the mother of Moses, even though she had to give up her son at an early age; the time God gave her with her precious boy was not wasted she used those early years of his life to tell him about the God of their fathers.  Can’t you just see her holding that boy and praying over him, singing over him the songs of the faith?  There is also a very well known evangelist from our time period, Franklin Graham!  He was blessed with a Jesus-loving Momma who never gave up praying for her son.  Those are just a few examples of Jesus-Loving Mommas and their faithfulness to intercede for their children.

 Momma do you know your prayers are priceless!   I will also let you in on a little secret,  your prayers are also eternal!  That’s right ETERNAL!  Revelations 8:3 – ³Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. If you are born again by the blood of the Lamb you are a “saint” and this verse says, “the prayers of all the saints”.  That includes the prayers of Jesus-loving Mommas!

My dear sisters, the next time you are awakened in the middle of the night don’t be so quick to dismiss it and fall back to sleep. Ask yourself, “Could this be a gentle nudge in the night?  Jesus, is that you?”  Hear him say, “Wake up my daughter; come away with me” Don’t just lie there, throw off those comfy covers; leave that warm bed and go meet your Savior.  Enjoy a time of sweet communion with Him.  I promise you won’t regret it!  Join Him in the school of prayer.