Some of the most useful servants of God throughout history owe a great spiritual debt to their mothers. The great fourth and fifth century church leader, Augustine, had a violent, unbelieving father and a godly, faithful, Christian mother. It was the tearful prayers of his mother, Monica, that God used to arrest him from his profligate ways as a young man and turn his heart toward the grace of God in the gospel. Similarly, John Newton, the author of “Amazing Grace,” was raised by a godly mother and ungodly father. From his mother he learned to memorize hymns, catechism answers, and Scripture, all before she died when he was seven years old. It was those early lessons that God brought back to his mind as a young man and used to save him from a life of slave trading and debauchery. Though Charles Spurgeon’s father and grandfather were both pastors, he regularly refers in his sermons and books to the spiritual influence exerted on him by his mother.
