Brotherly Love - the power of prayer

Never underestimate the power of a praying parent, sister, brother, grandparent or friend.  Satan is targeting children of Christian families and luring them away with the promise of fulfilment, acceptance and a new identity that’s applauded and celebrated by the world.  We know that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12).

How we respond to this battle is of paramount importance, and an essential weapon in our arsenal is prayer.  I am sure that around the globe there are parents battling hard for the lives of their prodigals; but how many of these parents are doing this from a place of guilt or shame, a place of not feeling able to share the burden for fear of rejection or judgment.  And that’s exactly what Satan wants, to keep you isolated and alone in your battle so that you will eventually lose heart.  Satan prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8) and if we’re not careful if will be us who are devoured as we lose energy and lose heart.
 
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 reminds us that, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour; If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Let me tell you about Mike’s journey with prayer. Mike’s brother told him he was gay, this is how Mike responded.

“I decided that I would start praying for him as regularly as I could and enlisted the help of a friend who also had a brother who was going through a hard time.  We met together to pray for them both.  I also got together regularly with my other brother to pray. These times of prayer were awesome but prior to them I would always try and find an excuse to go and do something else. However, each time we prayed each of us left convinced that something had changed, something that was spiritual so took a bit of faith to believe.”

Over a period of time his brother started to respond and eventually he rededicated his life to the Lord.  After this Mike said:

“I feel like I have learned a lot from my brother’s journey.  Firstly, that the world of homosexuality is a very dark place, often lonely, but always dark.  Secondly that we should never underestimate the power of pray, or base what we believe on what we can see.  Thirdly that “the voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forest bare, and nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall, he lifts his voice, the earth melts.  It took a powerful God to save my brother, a God that I worship.”

And on reflection Mike shared:
“I believe that my prayers helped break strongholds over my brother’s life and helped him to be able to recognise the truth.  God also took me on a journey.  He asked me to believe in Him and to look only to Him for what I needed.  The experience of praying for my brother and seeing him set free taught me fundamental things about who God is and what He is able to do.”

We love this testimony and believe God responds to us all in compassion when we lay down our lives in prayer.  And that is exactly why we have formed our Abba’s Heart group, a safe place for you to open up your heart about your loved one, without fear of judgment or condemnation. Being a member of the group provides an assurance that you will be held up when you stumble and defended when you feel weak.  This may be the first space where you feel OK about asking for help in your battle, or you may already have seasoned prayer warriors supporting you.  It doesn’t matter, the more we battle in prayer, the greater the effect!

Come and join our group and let’s believe in the awesome power of God to transform lives.