Friday, January 21, 2011

Brothers--part 1

Yep, he's my brother!  And I get to go visit him in just 34 days!!


Brother's are wonderful.  But you've heard me say that before.  And I won't bore you with how much I love them or all the advantages to having lots of brothers...and there are lots of advantages.  *smile*

We all want our brothers to be just that; a brother.  We want them to be one we can talk to, laugh with, spend time with, share those treasured moments, tease them and be teased right back, go on adventures with...we want them to be our protector, confidant and friend.  And at least for me, I want them to be a gentleman one minute and my best 'pal' the next.  We have such high expectations for them.  But let me ask you, and myself, this question; what are we doing to support that?

A relationship is a two-way deal, and a sister can benefit her brother in many ways...words, actions, etc. (And believe me, I pray all the time that God will show me how I can be a better sister...and I am telling all this to myself as much as to you!)  But I think one of the most essential ways is through prayer.

Do you pray for your brothers?   Lately God has really been laying on my heart the importance of praying for my brothers and the young men in my life.  They will be the leaders in this next generation.  The will have huge responsibility.  And it is my privilege, to lift them before my Father; to ask God to make and shape them into mighty men that He can use.  We have the power, through prayer, to change the lives of our brothers.

Of course there are a host of different things to pray, but praying scripture is very powerful, so here is a list of a couple of them.

  • Colossians 1:9-12
  • Philippians 1:9-11
  • Ephesians 3:16-21
  • Psalm 119:33-40

Think how God could use the guys in our life?  Think of the potential!  And think how YOU can further that; if you are faithful to pray!

"Therefore let all the faithful pray to You while You may be found..." Psalm 32:6a

6 comments:

Charity U said...

You are so right, Anna! Especially about the gentleman one minute, best pal the next. :) Great post. :)

Julianne said...

What a great post Anna! I have 2 older brothers (so not as many as you :)) and a large age difference between the three of us has made it challenging to connect at time. Over the past 2 years I have committed to continuously praying for them and looking for ways I can encourage/support them and it has made a noticeable difference! Thanks so much for the reminder of the power of praying for our siblings and the encouraging verses!

Unknown said...

Anna, I love the list of scripture you posted...Here is a verse I found recently for praying for my brothers:

Ps 80:17 "Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself."

Anonymous said...

Thank you Anna for this post. I have prayed for my brothers... but, not in this way... in this line of thinking... wow.

THANK YOU for posting this! The LORD has opened my eyes this past year and really been teaching me! I have SO much to learn!!!! This is one area I will definitily work on, as it is an area that could use some ... 'work'??


Your blog is always encouraging! (Like the picture BTW!)
Sarah

Amy said...

I was just thinking of this today! Thank you so much for sharing! Exactly what I needed to read! :)

Addie said...

Thank you so much for the encouragment Anna! My sister and I have really been focusing on this lately.