You’ve probably heard it said that the relationship you’ll be in for the longest period of time is with your siblings. Usually you know your siblings longer than you’ve known your spouse, and the timing of your lifespan more closely matches that of your siblings than your parents. And even if you don’t have siblings, you likely have a cousin, friend, in-law, etc. who functions similar to a sibling, or you have a stake in this topic because you’ve raised siblings. Because of longevity and familiarity, siblings can be taken for granted. But your siblings were specially chosen for you and you for them.

For Families With Young Siblings

Naturally, parents long for their children to get along, be good playmates, and grow up to share in the responsibility of caring for their parents and one another. Additionally, as followers of Christ, you can believe even more for sibling relationships.

• Even at young ages, you can teach your children to become active prayer partners for one another, most especially that their brothers and sisters would encounter Jesus. Early in their lives, you can teach them to ask one another, “How can I pray for you tonight?”
• Ask God to increase your children’s desire to grow closer to one another, leading to a closer bond with other brothers and sisters in Christ. (Mt. 12:50)
• A book full of ideas for encouraging close sibling relationships is Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends, How to Fight the GOOD Fight at Home! by Sarah, Stephen, and Grace Mally.  You can find the link here.

For Teens, College Students, Young Adults

You know even better than your parents what it’s like to start adulting these days. You have an insight into what your peer siblings are experiencing as they navigate owning their own faith in a secular world, dealing with the intensity of education, launching their career, and making hard and sacrificial decisions. Your devotion to them and prayers for them could be used mightily towards their success and well-being. If you want to take your prayers for them up a level, here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Using the pleasures of this world to escape from problems is a strong temptation. You could pray for your peer siblings to develop a habit of keeping their mind on Him to achieve a peace that is far better than what the world offers – a “perfect peace.” (Is. 26:3)
• Ask the Lord to give your siblings wisdom from above, so that they will be saved from many harms and have great understanding, knowledge, and discernment. (Book of Proverbs)
• Pray for the Lord to send a variety of friendships to your siblings that will be mutually beneficial, and for these relationships to bring others closer to Christ. (Ps. 119:63)
• Pray for a spirit of forgiveness to be among you as siblings, and if you’re struggling to forgive a grievance, consider mentoring or counseling. (Mt. 18:21-35)
• Invest in your siblings like you do your friends, and enjoy how the Lord made them.

For Adults

No matter what the relationships with your siblings look like, it’s never too late to heal rifts, connect more, and start praying for them, even if that’s something you’ve never done before.

• You could pray for siblings to know the fullness of joy that comes with His presence (Ps. 16:11), give them a book about it (link here), or even study the book together.

• Pray that your siblings will turn to Him and His Word first in everything, and that they will know He will meet every need. (Phil. 4:19)
• Pray for yourself – that you will always have humble and sensitive responses to your siblings. (Prov. 17:17, Mt. 7:3)
• If you have such lifelong companions, cherish them as a gift from above.

Remember: Jesus is your model Sibling and points all siblings to the Father. (Ps. 22:22; Mt. 12:50)