I prayed for my grandchildren this morning as is my custom.  I found myself focusing attention on my oldest – Khemberlyn.  This was not because she is my favorite because I love and cherish all my children in both generations.  I paid attention to her in that prayer because she just turned 5 and is about to enter public school.
     Since birth our family has had almost exclusive access to her attention.  This access allowed us to enjoy powerful influence in her life.  Now, she is about to broaden her horizons and mingle with children who come from different backgrounds, cultures and whose parents have different life philosophies.  I know that her parents and her grandparents will now compete with others to influence her thinking and shape her perspectives.  Clearly, we need the help of God.  I was praying to keep ahead of the game.
     After prayer I went to breakfast with one of the groups of our church.  We’re on a little weekend church trip.  It was a low-key event where fellowship and sharing was the main activity of the hour.  Right after eating their own meals, various members got up and mingled with others engaging in small talk.  Of course, being in close proximity to them, it was impossible not to hear some of the conversations.  The one that caught my attention was that of an old “mother in Zion.”  She started sharing her concerns and the content of her prayers with the saints sitting at the table next to mine.  I want to see my son saved.
     What really got me was how open and honest she was about her son’s spiritual bankruptcy.  She outlined his struggles, albeit in a respectful manner, and then told of how she continues to pray for him.  She said, “my son is 53 years old, but I cannot give up on him.  I believe that one day God is going to save my son.”  Oh, you could just feel that mother’s love for her son and the confidence she had in her God.
     I could hardly keep my seat or continue to act like I wasn’t listening.  This mother’s voice was strong, filled with resolve, but noticeably void of worry or impatience.  She had a strong faith that God was going to save her son.  Here I was praying for the Lord to protect and keep my five-year-old granddaughter, but this mother had been on her knees for over fifty years interceding for her son and still believing that God was a prayer answering God.  She was not giving up.
     Her resolve reminded me of a conversion I witnessed in my home church while a very young man.  On one particular Sunday the service was in high gear; the preacher presented a powerful rendition of the saving grace message of Jesus Christ.  Suddenly, an old woman made her way to salvation’s altar walking in a deliberate but slow pace.  Her eyes were so dim that the glasses she needed were thicker than a magnifying glass.  But she made her way straight to the altar.  She was of Jamaican decent.  Her speech was heavily laced with that delightful accent.
     “I am eighty four years old,” she began.  “I’ve lived my entire life, but I never heard of this wonderful savior called Jesus.  I am so grateful to know that he let me live to hear about his magnificent grace.”  Every Sunday thereafter she would stand up and wait for her turn to testify about her love for Jesus.  For some it was hard to believe that she was a recent convert because she spoke so eloquently about her new found savior.  Her testimonies electrified the services.  She was eighty-four when she received salvation.  She lived almost  two months more and then she rested in the loving arms of her savior. 
     Never give up!  Your prayers are neither wasted nor ineffective.  And why?  Because with God all things are possible.  Time is not his limitation; it is only a tool in his hands.  He is no respecter of persons and is good unto all that call upon him.  He is, after all, a prayer answering God.  Never give up!

Bishop Clifford L. Frazier

P.S. I finished my blog while traveling back home.  It was ready.  All I needed to do was get to my Internet connection and post it.  I got home and turned on the radio.  CNN had a show on dealing with people who had near death experiences.  I was about to turn the channel when the reporter asked the survivors what they took away from their experiences and this is what they said: “Never Give Up!”  I almost jumped out of my seat.  There is no question in my mind but that God is speaking.  I know that sometimes God gives to an individual something that is meant for them only.  So, you may be reading this and saying “ho hum.”  But I’ll have to take that chance.  Because I do believe that for someone this is a word of instruction, inspiration and insight – “Never Give Up.”

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