For My Brother

My brother - I love him tremendously, worry about him constantly, pray for him, get frustrated by him, struggle to understand him, pester and nag him, anger him, cry for him. So many conflicting emotions yet perhaps this is true of many of our relationships. Recently, he confessed something very thought provoking to me. He said that he has never felt that God has abandoned him. In fact, he doesn't feel God ever would. However, he felt like the "radio waves were broken". He doesn't hear God and he doesn't feel like God hears him though he says he has spent countless hours trying to get through to God. He has lost hope that things will ever change. I didn't have a good answer for him. I have ideas but they are couched in standard "good girl" Christian rhetoric and probably wouldn't mean anything to him at this point. As I have been praying for him, I have had to ask the Holy Spirit to intercede for me because I am completely baffled by what exactly to ask God to do for him. I decided to try to do a little research and see what the Bible says about hearing God, listening to God, and God speaking to us. After all, my words are meaningless unless they echo God's words.

John 10:3-5
     The watchman opens the gate for Him, and the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.

His sheep know His voice. So the first question might be: Am I truly God's sheep? If I can answer "yes" then I need to explore why God's voice isn't coming through loud and clear. Do I believe that God is speaking? If so, then I need to figure out how to listen better. But maybe I doubt that God is actually speaking to me all the time. Maybe I think He just speaks sometimes. Or maybe sin is in the way. Maybe, I don't take time to listen.

Psalm 46:10
     Be still, and know that I am God; ...

Psalm 37:7
     Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him...

I am amazed at how difficult it is to actually "be still", to empty my mind of all but God.

Hearing from God is primarily a heart issue.  You will hear from God when you decide to hold His will as your most important priority. More than being disciplined or practicing religious habits, a disciple willing to let go of his own desires that are counter to God’s expressed purpose shows single minded, pure hearted devotion. This person will hear God’s voice, not because he’s good enough, but because God promises to speak to the pure of heart.  (Tim Burns on CBN.com)

I'm also amazed at how I neglect the actual words of God. I am blessed to have a Bible in almost every room of my house. I know my brother has several. And yet, I'd best not complain about hearing from God if I can't even take the time to read what He has already said.

Do I follow up on what God tells me in His Word? In other words, do I do what I'm told?

I Samuel 15:22
     Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

Obedience - isn't that the way to "hold His will as your most important priority"?
And what does God have for us?

Jer. 29:11-13
     "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Then you will call on Me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.

Do I come before the Lord humbly and openly or do I make demands on Him? Do I seek Him with all my heart?

Proverbs 16:3
     Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.

Proverbs 3:5-6
     Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.


Commit, trust, submit. It's a trifecta of keys to knowing God. So what do I say to a person who is convinced that God doesn't hear him and doesn't plan to answer him? My brother was raised in a Christian home. He has lots of head knowledge and has heard the "steps to salvation" many times. Honestly, what can I say? I sometimes feel I'm barely hanging on myself. I shouldn't presume to know or judge what his issues are either. But this I do know - my faith in God, however weak and flawed it may be, is what keeps me going. Whatever I do, I want it to be pleasing and glorifying to God and that is hard when my pride keeps getting in the way. Self - it's Satan's dirty little word. But I press on. Why? Because He is my God. My brother struggles with despair, depression, hopelessness, poor health, loneliness, confusion, and desperation. But he is not alone. More and more, I realize how many people are just a day or two away from giving up. And yet, all the more reason to reach for God. The more we realize the futility of living life on our own terms, the more we should recognize that God, the lover of our souls, is all there is. More than anything, I want to be able to say to my brother, and others like him, "Hang on and keep trying. God has kept you alive so far so you can still respond to Him. I don't know what stands in your way. Are you truly one of His? Do you acknowledge that His death on the cross was for you? Do you recognize your sin? Are you willing to listen to Him by reading His Word? Especially, can you submit to Him? If God told you that your earthly circumstances were not going to change, could you trust and commit to your Creator?"

We must not trivialize or over-simplify a person's struggles with God. Yes, there are steps to take. Yes, there are lots of guidelines out there. Yes, God's message is straight forward enough for children to understand. But sin takes its toll on this world and the mind isn't always clear enough to sort all this out. And so I pray, for all those so beaten down by life, so scarred by their own selfish choices, so deceived and hopeless. Only God's Holy Spirit can break through the terrible darkness that people live in and spread His light. I'm sermonizing now and I don't want to do that. I want my brother to have what I have. It's as simple as that. How does God do that? I don't know what it will take for him or many others I know. I just know that God is a God of miracles, of healing, of comfort, of peace, of hope - all things that seem to grow more elusive as our earth continues to deteriorate. I find myself growing discouraged and hopeless too, not for myself but for others. Shame on me! How can I be so sure of God's saving power in my own life and yet doubt the possibility of it in another's? My prayer today is that I would step up - that God would not give me rest until I recognize that my responsibility is the same as any other Christian. I need to obey God and I can't do that unless I know God and I can't do that unless I listen to God and I can't do that unless I hear God and I can't do that without studying His Word and committing myself to prayer. My life needs to be one of action but not action that is motivated by my own interests or pursuits or my own sense of self-importance. I cannot change my brother's circumstances, his mind, his heart. I cannot ease his way, comfort him, or bring him peace. But I can stand in the gap for him and beg the Lord to free him from the bondage by which he is enslaved. In the meantime, I can respond to the Lord as I should with joy, thanksgiving, and a sacrifice of praise because He is my Savior.

We all need hope and certainly, our country and our world is desperate for it. It breaks my heart for my brother. A good friend was just encouraging me today to keep praying for him and was reminding me of the power of our prayers. I don't pretend to understand

and prayer and how it works is something with which I have always struggled. But God commands me to pray and so I will, both for my brother's heart and for mine. Thank you, Lord, for the privilege of interceding for him and thank you for endlessly giving me opportunities to obey You.