Broken

All of us have prayers that we've prayed for years...these are the kind of prayers that we don't necessarily pray for every day, but the ones that in our greatest moments of reflection and meditation are quick to come to mind. Here's a story;
As a kid, I was a faithful church camp goer. Each summer I looked forward to few things more than going to camp. There were friends that I only saw one week out of the year at camp and friends that I went with every year from my own church. It was this one week every year that set my spirit for the rest of the year. Mountain top experiences were commonplace at church camp. The campfires, the meditation, the worship, the fellowship, the invitations, the commitments...there was nothing like it. Each summer, I would have at least one moment when my spirit would break and I would cry out of fear that my earthly father would not spend eternity with me in Heaven. I would pray for my dad so often as a kid, but to no avail.

When I became an adult and took ownership of my faith, church camp days were over and mountain top experiences I had to find on my own, I continued to commit my dad's salvation to God. I knew in my heart that God was bigger than my doubt, but still I doubted that he would ever know Christ as his personal Lord and Savior. I would attempt to engage him and draw him in, but I always met immediate resistance. My other realization as an adult Christ follower, was that my brother, who always fought going to church, was also not a commited believer. I wanted to believe that my brother was a believer who was just not commited, but when it came to saving grace, I knew he had not received it. And so I prayed for my lost dad and my lost brother. It was a prayer that in my greatest moments of communion, I believed in my heart would be answered someday, but on average, ordinary days, I often felt hopeless.

Many of you know that just a few months ago, I had the priviledge to be present at my dad's baptism. An incredible day of rejoicing! I saw this process of a prideful man's spirit being broken in a way that is only possible by the Holy Spirit. I had conversations that I never dreamed I would have with my dad. I bought my dad the books, "More than a Carpenter" and "Case for Christ" immediately when he showed an interest. I'm telling you God proved to me that he is bigger than my doubt on the day of my dad's public confession of his faith!

Likewise, just last week, I witnessed another man's pride shed from his being. My brother, who has much to be proud of, was a broken man on several occasions last week. He and I talked on the phone several days in a row as he poured out his heart and let me in on the fact that his life had changed and his heart was surrendered to God Almighty.

Difficult circumstances drove both of these proud men to their knees before their maker. It is simply amazing that the brokenness and imperfection of the most important relationships we have on earth can drive us to the most important, divine relationship we will ever have. And so it is with my dad and brother, when it seemed like everything of value to them on this earth was about to be stripped away, there was only ONE left to lean on. And so they did.