St. Augustine on Prayer

I'm wading through St. Augustine's "Confessions" right now (which, if you have enough persistence to make it through, I highly recommend) and he just described leaving his mother in Carthage to go and teach in Rome. She had been a fervent prayer warrior in his life, and even though he was not yet saved, he realized how desperately she prayed for him.

In this particular instance, she "grievously bewailed [his] journey, and followed [him] as far as the sea," where he tries to calm her by delaying his departure another day. When he finally does leave, she was left behind...

"...in weeping and prayer. And what , O Lord,
was she with so many tears of asking Thee,
but that Thou wouldst not suffer me to sail?
But Thou, in the depth of Thy counsels
and hearing the main point of her desire,
regardest not what she then asked,
that Thou mightest make me what she ever asked."
(book V, section 15) (emphases added)

This passage says so much about the sovereignty of God in our lives! Though "Mrs. Augustine" was a devoted woman of prayer, and she prayed fervently that God would not take Augustine to Rome, God had a plan to bring him to salvation! God hears our prayer, and he answers us according to His will, but sometimes, even when we think we're praying in accordance with His will, God's plan is beyond our scope!

This should encourage us to pray all the more, knowing that God will always accomplish His perfect will in our lives, knowing "the main point of [our] desire," and knowing how to most perfectly display His glory in answering that prayer!