My Brother Prayed

Tonight we all gathered at the house for my sister's birthday.  She has been through so much since last year and we felt the extra specialness of this particular day.  It has been a custom for us to do a birthday blessing.  Many, many years ago God impacted me with the traditions of the Israelites and how they blessed their sons before death.  I tweaked it to what is now our customary blessings party.  As my sister says, we give the roses while our loved ones are alive.

As we were together we took turns to speak and then it was my brothers opportunity.  We expected a speech, reflective of the past and a well wish for the future.  He didn't do that.  My brother prayed.  As I listened I felt like this was so right.  I heard in my mind, the word Priest; the Priest of our clan had taken his position.  The upside down of our world had finally been righted.  I listened with a grateful heart to my Father.  My sister has said it best, "For years I have prayed for him, but tonight he has prayed for me."  She said it was the best moment of her birthday celebration and I believe it will always be remembered as the night my brother prayed. 

I don't want to say that he doesn't pray on his own.  I am sure he does, but the significance of this moment is more than I can put into words.  For us, it was a mark in our family history that we hope to be repeated often.  We hope that from this, our sons will see what it looks like to be a man of God.  From this, we pray that other men in our family will be empowered to follow Christ.  We hope that our daughters will be able to wait for a man with a heart for God as he displayed tonight. 

Friends, no matter how far we have strayed from the truth, it doesn't make it void.  Families are right when they operate as God intended.  When the man in the home rises up to be the Priest and love his wife as Christ loved the church it is right. When wives submit to their husbands it is right.  When children honour their parents it is right.  This is God's truth and it is right.

So, let us continue to pray, me for you and you for me.  Let us pray that our men will rise up in Christ, that women will be as God created, submissive and a help mate to their husbands and that children will come back to the days of honour. 

Let us make it like the day my brother prayed.