Eternal Family & Prayer

**No names have been given to protect our brother and the confidentiality of the combat**

As soon as my husband and I arrived at the Post Office (to those who don't know, our church bought an old Post Office to use) to worship this Sunday, our brother who just got back from his deployment pulled us aside and gave us the Bible he was holding in the photo above.

We each got one with a date: July 7, 2015. The day that he put each little Bible in the pockets of his pants, one on his right and the other on his left as he flew in combat that day. He mentioned how many close calls he has had and firmly believes that it was God through the prayers of the saints - his eternal family, that has kept him safe. He said he felt the prayers of his brothers and sisters and wanted to have family with him when he flew the plane in combat so he took us with him that day.

At that moment, my heart was full because God was so kind and merciful to keep our brother safe in a place that was so dangerous. I rejoiced because God gave me a deeper and sweeter understanding of what pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) meant. Our discipleship group faithfully prayed for our brother in combat, for God to keep him safe, to give him opportunities to share the gospel and to bring him back home to his pregnant wife. God did just that. Not only was he safe from harm but he understood even more how much He was loved by God and how we can do nothing at all without prayer.

This brother is a miracle that God was so kind to let my husband and I witness. It was Tuesday, June 11, 2013 when God made it click for him. Matt led Discipleship Group through John 3:16, one of the most simplest and can be cliche verses in the Bible. The simplicity of that text became real to him when he explaimed "it's all Jesus, it's all about Him." What a beautiful moment in time, forever ingrained in my memory. What a miracle salvation through Christ is.

And now here we are, a couple of years later, our brother exclaiming the importance of prayer and the gratitude he has for the eternal family he has in Christ.

There's nothing sweeter than the privilege of watching Christ do a transforming work in the lives of those around us and ultimately strengthening our faith through them.

"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6 (ESV)