“Let us walk with decency, as in the daytime: not in carousing and drunkenness; not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.” (Romans 13:13–14)
Monica loved her son and prayed every day for his salvation. But her boy wanted nothing to do with God. He was a famous professor of philosophy and was known for his immorality. In fact, he enjoyed trying to talk people out of faith in God.
When he was nineteen, Monica had a dream that she and her son would one day be together in heaven. But year after year passed and he never changed. A prominent church leader came to her town and Monica asked him to intervene. He declined, thinking he would do more harm than good. But he prayed for Monica and prophesied over her: “Woman, it is impossible for the son of these tears to perish.” She had hope again and kept praying for his salvation.
One day, nine years later, the professor was sitting in a garden when he heard an audible voice. The voice instructed him repeatedly, “Take it and read it.” At first, he thought there were people nearby, but he was alone.
He picked up a Bible and read the passage above from Romans 13.
He gave his life to Jesus that very moment. The young man went from being Monica’s immoral son to being known throughout history as St. Augustine. He became one of the greatest theologians and men of faith in the history of the church.
I love that story because it highlights God speaking to his children. God spoke to Monica through a dream. He spoke encouragement to her through a prophet. He spoke to Augustine through an audible voice. Finally, He spoke through his word. God loves to speak to his children…because he wants to be known by us.
We’ll dig into the topic of hearing God this Sunday our sermon series, “Vox Dei – the Voice of God.” This week we’ll discuss some of the supernatural ways God speaks to us. See you in church!
