Prayer for Brother

I am going to redo this post. I was in such a hurry and did not get to write what I wanted and also mispelled many things :-? So here is the real deal:My dad called me this morning to say that my brother was in jail again. Not a big surprise to me. He has been running from God for so long and he always finds a way out. The last few weeks he has been acting really strange- didn't come for christmas (said he was under major spiritual attack - this usually means he's been drinking or drugs or partying, and just feeling the guilt and depression)My dad is opening a full gym for my brother. This is what my brother wanted and so my dad agrees to it thinking it would help my brother get his life together. Ha! My parents are always enabling my brother. whenever he gets in trouble they bail him out and baby him. He is 27 and is probably 16 emotionally. His good looks and charm don't help the situation at all. Last night he was arrested on public intoxication, stalking (his old girlfriend), and more. He disappeared last week for like 4 days. I believe it's drugs and alcohol and just a bad way of living. My dad and mom are saying that it is a mental disorder now. They took him to a christian (?) counselor who says he has he has two problems- one is emotional and one is medical. He is the one who thinks he is bi-polar or something else.My brother has got to have the most horrendous guilt and shame from living this way. he grew up in a christian home and knows full well that all of this is wrong. But yet he keeps running. The guilt and shame and fear is enough to manifest itself as many mental disorders- i know this from my own life.I am praying that my dad does not help him, does not bail him out and let's the chips fall where they may. My brother needs the Lord so bad- to heal his many hurts. Alot is from my mom and dad's divorce and the fact that they always taught him the bible's way of living yet they didn't live it themselves.I told my dad about the Nouthetic counseling center that is very near them in Indiana. It's free because they believe that God's counsel should be free. The pastor at the church we have been going to is also NANC certified. The thing that might be very important with Grant getting this type of counseling is that they do not let you off the hook and cover your problems up with "names" and labels. They make you take responsibilty for your actions. I did tell my dad that if Grant needs to get away from his environment for awhile that he is welcome to stay here for awhile as long as he agrees to see a biblical counselor here. He needs to get away from his old friends, from the atmosphere or the rich and wealthy and lazy and worldly for a while.I keep praying that the Lord will do whatever it takes for Grant to come to the cross. Every time the Lord tries to break him, my dad or mom has been there to give him an escape route.Please pray with me about Grant. I know he is very hurt and emotionally unstable underneath.In Him, Chanin

Hi Chanin,Quite a bit I can relate to here. Similar struggles previously mentioned have not changed, that rebellious spirit...Will keep your brother in prayer over this sister, may what ever is necessary be done to break these two, bringing them to repentance.

Thought I would interject an idea here today.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*Edit (1/24/05): On second thought, the possibility that overshadowing the requests here would be a disservice rather than a help. Thought it best to isolate this into it's own thread. Hope the sentiment is still the same, that we would seriously pray one for another. Will keep it within this category, "Miracles that follow the plow" under the sub-heading, "Pray, Prayer, Praying".~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Being that we have such an incredible mix of blessed personalities amongst us, a cross-cultural section from all over the world. Different perspectives, experience and particular present needs, pleadings and petitions. Intercession of all kinds... But the one and same Lord over all.Some of us are more private, some more vocal. And as this heading suggests a place for "Post Prayer Requests, Testimonies & Answers to prayer in your life. Use this as a place to share what God is putting on your heart and doing daily."The thought was that it is often difficult to find words to respond to individual requests, at least it is for me sometimes. And alongside that, in what ways should we be praying?..."Lord, teach us to pray"So thought it might be helpful to occasionally insert an excerpt on prayer from those who have left us their writings on the matter that would serve two purposes. One, to draw our attention to the particular requests once again and secondly to help us better understand and apply some thoughts towards those requests that are presented. And with that, will offer the following; Prayer alters CIRCUMSTANCES through meIt is only when a man flounders beyond any grip of himself and cannot understand things that he really prays. It is not part of the natural life of a man to pray. By “natural” I mean the ordinary, sensible, healthy, worldly-minded life. We hear it said that a man will suffer in his life if he does not pray; I question it. Prayer is an interruption to personal ambition, and no man who is busy has time to pray. What will suffer is the life of God in him, which is nourished not by food but by prayer. If we look on prayer as a means of developing ourselves, there is nothing in it at all, nor do we find that idea of prayer in the Bible. Prayer is other than meditation; it is that which develops the life of God in us. When a man is born from above (rv mg), the life of the Son of God begins in him, and he can either starve that life or nourish it. Prayer is the way the life of God is nourished. Our Lord nourished the life of God in Him by prayer; He was continually in contact with His Father. We generally look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves, whereas the Bible idea of prayer is that God’s holiness and God’s purpose and God’s wise order may be brought about, irrespective of who comes or who goes. Our ordinary views of prayer are not found in the New Testament.When a man is in real distress he prays without reasoning; he does not think things out, he simply spurts it out—“Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses.” When we get into a tight place our logic goes to the winds, and we work from the implicit part of ourselves.“Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.”† Then why ask? Very evidently our ideas about prayer and Jesus Christ’s are not the same. Prayer to Him is not a means of getting things from God, but in order that we may get to know God. Prayer, that is, is not to be used as the petted privilege of a spoiled child seeking for ideal conditions in which to indulge his spiritual propensities ad lib.; the purpose of prayer is to reveal the Presence of God, equally present at all times and in every condition.Chambers, O. "If ye shall ask"*Please, do scroll through the thread and read the requests of our brethren. Let us pray for one another, with expectation and anticipation. Thanks folks.

whereas the Bible idea of prayer is that God’s holiness and God’s purpose and God’s wise order may be brought about, irrespective of who comes or who goes*Please, do scroll through the thread and read the requests of our brethren. Let us pray for one another, with expectation and anticipation. Thanks folks.thank you, Mike :)To be able to pray properly, we need to have the mind of Christ. When I don't know what to pray I pray for the Lord's will to be done and/or that the Holy Spirit pray in my stead, for He knows what to say. :)In Him, Chanin

Just wanted to update. My brother will have to stay put in the jail in Indianapolis until the 24th of this month. Then he will have some kind of hearing as to what will happen to him next. he has never had to stay in jail more than a night before. I am praying that he will be safe and that he will use this time to speak to the Lord.My parents went to his house yesterday to find that it was so unkept and old food sitting around everywhere. They cleaned out his whole place and took out trash bags and more trash bags full of garbage. My dad said it was like a movie. It smelled and was horrible. It is obvious that he was very depressed. He actually disappeared for about 4 days during Christmas. So his mental state had not been good at all.We are praying that he will surrender to the Lord fully during this time. He has been running from God for a very long time. Thank you to anyone who has prayed for him.In Him, Chanin

ChaninI am so sorry to hear about your brother Miss Chanin. I can really relate (to a small degree) to what you are saying. I had a Brother (Christian friend) who used drugs mildly when I first met him. He knew it was wrong but I suppose the upside of my situation is that he was very open about it… in fact too open for my taste. At the time, I was a church-go-er (not really a Christian) and this brought into sharp focus how very inept I was to help anyone in spiritual matters. As time went by, he lost control of his habit and he was in an altered state of consciousness for days on end. I suddenly could not relate with him on any matter but I still hung around him not passing judgment. I never said a word to him, not because I though it was good counsel but truly I had not grown enough in Christ to do or say anything. I was his only friend who was on “clean air” and I guess I became a point of reference. As he declined all his friend forsook him and eventually he was kicked out of his apartment (long story) and I took him in (reluctantly).Suddenly many of my prayer times had to be shared with him and he was convicted of the Holy Ghost (not me in any way). He stopped his habit with; get this, NO withdrawal symptoms! He now has a MIGHTY baptism of the Spirit and he is an invaluable member of our (IRONMAN- from Sermonidex and me) prayer circle. God works in mysterious ways… prayer to God in the name of JESUS still prevails! I guess what I am trying to say, to cut a long story short is, I do not believe your brother is beyond help. You will be amazed one day when you see what God can create out of the dust when he breaths his life into it. Patience and persistence are the story of widow (Luke 18: 5 yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice, so she doesn't wear me out by her persistent coming.' " 6 Then the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says 7 Will not God grant justice to His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He delay to help them? 8 I tell you that He will swiftly grant them justice. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find that faith on earth?") James

Dear James,Thank you brother. Without going into it all with much detail, there are quite a few ...And such were some of you:(1Co 6:11) types amongst us, self included that were once entrapped in that world. As was alluded to earlier here, like Chanin's situation mine parallels it; For my wife Am sure Chanin will find much encouragement here as I have.Luk 11:9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Pray on!

Hi ChaninI have just posted a little Amy Carmichael snippet in No 14 and I thought of you...not by way of accusation but just by way of explanation.

Chanin, I just got here and read your prayer request. You know, I have a brother, actually several members of my family who need to come to Christ. I've gotten to where I don't really know what to say to God about them. Now, I just ask God, that in his great mercy, he would do whatever it takes to bring them to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I agree with you that we need to pray that your parents would stop enabling him. Since I have come to believe in divine election, I have also come to believe that God gives us the priviledge of participating in another's salvation by laying down our lives in prayer for them. That's cool. I will pray with you for your brother. Love, Dian.

Hi Chanin,I don't really know what to say. I recently was delivered from that kind of 'life' and was informed today of the loss of someone I was in treatment with.I am just utterly confused with why the Lord spared me by His grace. But what I do know is that the prayers of others were not in vain. And if they were not in vain for someone as low as me, then I cannot help but have faith in the gracious Lord for your brother.You have my prayers,ryan

Hi guys! I want to thank you all for your supportive comments and prayers.Just like some of you, I also have a bit of a shady background. I have partied with the best of them and lied about it to no end. I am ashamed at many of the things I did- yet I did learn a great deal from all of it. I can smell a liar from very far off. I can see through most deceivers.The Lord was gracious to me and always let me feel the consequences. I got to the point where i feared Him and the consequences- that I gave up and gave into God.This is the point that concerns me with my brother. He has never had many consequences, and if he did, my dad would pay for an excellent lawyer or help him out in another way. He has lived in and out of trouble since he was 16- so that is about 11 years now.My dad just called to update me about my brother. Said that he would have a hearing of some sort on Mon. the 24th. He had some phone records of Grants which showed that he may have really been bothering (stalking they say) his old girlfriend. Yet, after seeing these phone records, my dad says, "I think he was set up". I reminded him not to give Grant an excuse for everything because the evidence was very clear. He didn't like that and told me to stop "lecturing" him. :-( Another oddity (to me), he gave me a few of the options that could happen on Monday. one being that Grant could have his probation reinstated or start all over again- which means he would be back out on probation just like all this last year, or he could serve some time for this or that. So he said that we "should be praying for him to be let out again on probation- same as last year". I will be praying that the Lord's will is done and that what the Lord wants for grant, is what I want. And I know He wants Grant surrendered to Himself. So whatever it takes.Grant is an all or nothing person. I am very similar and so is my dad. I pray that God would become His stronghold, instead of wordly things. That's what had to happen to me.I don't understand why people always think they should pray according to that which seems pleasing to people. According to what THEY think is the best outcome. Oh, well.I would love nothing more than to see Grant at peace and restored to God. I want to see Him praising God. I would love to see him live in the freedom of Christ and not in bondage to this world anymore. THIS I DO know that God would be pleased with. :-) And i know it is possible!Thanks again for your prayers. I would love to see a miracle in Grants life. It would make a huge difference in the lives of my Mom and Dad as well.In Him, Chanin

Hi sis,Thanks for the update, that the Lord has His way in your brothers life. Couldn't agree with this more;I don't understand why people always think they should pray according to that which seems pleasing to people. According to what THEY think is the best outcome. Oh, well.The situation here is still the same. Prayers have become simple, it just doesn't matter, the Lord's will be done, His way. Maybe we ought to pray, "Lord, take all of our wishes and turn them into Your will, for we know not how to pray as we ought" and more so "Cause us to heed to Your will in how we live this out in dealing with our loved ones."Have kind of come full circle with all of this sister. Have tried every conceivable thing under the sun and found that more often than not was attempting to get the Lord to go along with my idea of how this should be dealt with. Even though I knew better and prayed the opposite.Something along the lines of, 'See/hear, react, think, pray'...think some more, ask for forgiveness, apologize, agonize, repeat. Circumstances vary as do the responses, frustrations and lack of patience, a throwing one's arms up, "I give up!" "What more can I do?"Lately it has turned around completely.Now it's more 'See/hear, think, pray, listen, ask "What would You have me to do/say?" and by and large it is often...NothingIt has gotten to a point in this situation that I can anticipate certain things and there is often a preemptive "You are not to say a word" and after much kicking at the goads and the rearranging rationalizing (it's the devil, it's your brain...) am learning that the Still Small Voice does indeed speak. The truth of, 'Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.'Phi 4:6,7 is finally beginning to take root. It's interesting what gets embedded into you over time. After so many thousands of messages can still remember something that came out of I believe this text from Charles Stanley many years ago.If I recall correctly it had to do with his son in his teenage years, some type of trouble he had gotten into or was heading towards. Despite all his efforts to the contrary, he could not shake the thought that the Lord was telling him not to say a word. "But..." was his protest, and still in his prayers the same answer, "leave it alone". And he had to watch him day after day fall into the trouble he was in, without a word about it. After some time his son came to his 'own' realization and confessed everything to the Lord as well as to his father.The point and emphasis of the whole message was on letting the peace of God rule. If you didn't have peace about whatever the circumstance you are facing and how to respond...don't do it. Remember at the time that I thought, 'well that is true...sometimes', but it seemed just a little too easy in one sense, a 'nice' sermon. But what about when it is time to speak? What about when the time comes for indignation? All these counter situations that I could think of. It's funny how we can trick ourselves by concentrating only on the parts we want to hear sometimes. Believe this was also the same message where he talked about his father or an uncle telling him at an early age that "If God tells you to run headlong into a brick wall, you do it ... praying that He will make a hole in it before you get there"Hardly advocating anything resembling complacency here. It can be more difficult by far to watch someone struggle and destroy themselves and not say or 'do' anything. But like the father of the prodigal son, sometimes you have to give them their inheritance and let them go. Then wait, watch and pray that the Lord brings them to their senses so that one day we can celebrate when they come back to the Lord.Two mites from the babbler.That this would be true in Grant's as well as Lisa's case and to all who are in these types of situations. Pray that the Lord's will be done and that we will cooperate in obedience to it.

Pray that the Lord's will be done and that we will cooperate in obedience to it.Amen!It is indeed hard to know when to be silent and when to have the courage to say something. We have to be so atune to the Holy Spirit and not to our flesh at the time. But if we mess up and put our foot in our mouths, I believe that God's plan is still coming about, maybe just a little more drawn out (time wise).If God is indeed sovereign, He knows when we are going to put our foot in our mouth and knows that we will eventually grow to be sensative to His Spirit- so the whole process of trials - even in other people's lives, is for our learning and benefit as well.I know that my dad thinks that I "lecture" him occasioanlly, but I don't really care. I don't do it in an overbearing way and he knows how much I love him and my brother. I know that if I was to be gone from this world, he would remember many of the comments I made to him. I always hope that he sees fruit in my life - enough to know that I am not just "lecturing" or making a point just to hear myself talk, or to be "right". But that i just want so badly to see them out from under the bondage of the world.I am sure I could do more praying about it though.These days I am asking God for miracles in people's lives- and I am expecting them. :-) (Though it might not be in our timng)Pressing on, praying on with you, Chanin

Just wanted to update. My brother (with my Dad) is coming to our house this weekend! It is the first time in over a year that he has visited us. Right now he is on strong medication for BiPolar. My heart is so grieved for him. I am praying that the Lord will shine through us, that we will be Jesus to Him. My mom has filled his head with alot of false things about me/us- such as we are "over the edge" in our faith- that I want to be a martyr (truth be told- I don't have the guts as of yet :), etc...Anyway, it is a big step that he is coming here to visit. I don't want to say the wrong things or push anything on him- just be available.he needs such a miracle, as do Mike's wife and Mek's husband, Marina's boyfriend, Paul's brother and so many others who are not mentioned on here.Lord, let your will be done, let your kingdom come in these people and in us. Soften their hearts and open their eyes- in your mighty name.In His love, Chanin

Oh the incredible things...Had just been searching for something else and came across this old thread about him and now I must run, will come back to this later and edit here... prayingEdit:Was really running out the door... What I meant sister was that I had come across this prior to you replying to it this morning and had thought of bringing it back up, wondering how he was doing.But that you would just be you Chanin, filled with the Holy Spirit, His words (if needed), His thought's, His life shining through you. Will be keeping you, Grant and your family before the Lord, what a privelage it is to pray...