By: Sharah Denton
There are times that we as humans do not realize the effect we may or may not have on others. For Monica Wilson, The Women of Judah and Prayer Line has grown into just that. Over a year ago, Monica began a call in number for women to dial in at 6 a.m. during the week to receive prayers, motivation, encouragement and support. What started out as an opportunity to be self-encouragement and to empowering others quickly developed into a platform for women within and outside of Lowndes County community.
The prayer line was a vision that was given to Monica according to her from God. “I realized I wasn’t spending enough time with God. I was told to give God my first and that’s what I started doing. I started dedicating my first hour to God every morning,” said Monica. What began a year ago with roughly 15 women locally has now grown to over 42 women from various communities every weekday at 6 a.m. coming together as one to encourage and motivate one another.
When asked where the name, Women of Judah derived from Monica says, “The prayer line was never intended to become a ministry, but as time went on, we knew that we needed a name. So the Women of Judah was the first name we came up with. Judah meaning praise, we are a group of women that don’t mind praying and giving God all the praise.”
With that, the group of women is very diverse in age, experiences, churches, non-churches, business owners, mothers, aunts and much more. Monica is a strong and humble woman in first meeting her and it does not take a long time to realize just how pure her heart is to encourage other women in what she calls the prayer line, “Non-Judgement Zone”. What makes her most proud about the Women of Judah is the impact the group is making in the lives of women some of whom she has never met in person before.
“The most rewarding thing is we have women that never had a prayer life, which has a prayer life now. We have women that know how to put their trust in God and not man. These women has decided to not throw in the towel. The women range from ages 18 on up, from high school drop outs to women with Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate Degrees,” says Monica.
She says that the Women of Judah filled with women that have not always lived a spiritual and pure path in their lives however, the women are very transparent in their experiences, their mistakes and their successes that allow other women to realize that they are not alone and have a support system. Women in the group are all from different areas such as Lowndes County, Thomas County, from all surrounding counties. Some women are from Hinesville, Ga., Florida, Maryland just to name a few.
“Every morning I am so proud of what God is doing, because there’s a new lady that joins at least once a week and that woman sees and feels a difference in her life through prayer, praise, worship and connections. We cry with each other and don’t mind walking through the mud with the women. I realized the impact of this prayer group when a young woman called in and was about to commit suicide, after we prayed with her and told her that God still has a purpose for her, things began to change in her life. I can go on and on how this prayer line has impacted so many lives, including my own life,” says Monica.
To expand their mission and the vision of what began as a prayer line, for Thanksgiving the women served food and provided free clothing which Monica admits was a very humbling experience. “The Women of Worship (led by Evangelist Sheila Bonner) asked if we would join them with this event. We were delighted to join them, when I mentioned it to the Women of Judah, immediately each woman started cleaning their closet and started signing up to bring food and other items,” said Monica.
The women not only gave things they could not use, but one of the women stated that everyone should bring an item that they also really wanted. Our goal is to make a difference and that’s what we’ve done.
By hosting church events and community events where people can come as they are, and be accepted and not pushed away because of their life style, but to love them through the Word of God until a change happens,” says Monica.
“I think we have some great leaders in this area. Some may or may not know how to approach some of the people in our community. I feel the most important thing for our churches and the community to know is that prayer changes things,” says Monica. According to Monica, the community need to feel the love from the churches and that the churches need to go to the community if the community does not come to them.
“We need to keep an open door of communication at all times. We need to not just talk but put those words into action. We, meaning the churches have to come together as a whole. This is about the Glory of the Lord not about a specific ministry,” says Monica.
Monica says that if the community can all come together and build the Kingdom of God verses its own Kingdom then, as the Body of Christ can truly make a difference in the community. “The community has to trust us, we can’t go in their community only when tragedy happens but we must be consistent. The community welcomes the ones they see has a genuine concern for them. They just don’t want to see us when a vote is needed. I feel like the community has to give the people of God a chance to help make a difference,” says Monica.
The Women of Judah have already made a positive impact in the community. The group of women that make up the ministry are dedicated, determined and love God. These women makes the ministry effective. Thanks to every woman from the North, South, East and West. You will see many of them around the community with their purple Women of Judah shirts.
