Prayers for atheist brother who is now curious about God

I (32F) committed my life to Jesus about 9 years ago, but had a few experiences in my teenage years where I came close and my older brother always mocked me. When I fully surrendered to God about a decade ago, we came to an agreement that I wouldn’t push my faith on him and he would be respectful of my beliefs. But it was basically an agreement that we just wouldnt discuss it to keep the peace. The few times we did talk about God over the years, it didn’t go well. So I stayed quiet but have always prayed for him.

Despite this major difference of foundational beliefs, my brother and I are very close. He’s basically the only family I have after we lost our mother when we were in high school.

I invited him to the dedication of my most youngest child and when he said he couldn’t make it, I said, “I know, you don’t like the whole church thing. I understand.”

To my surprise, he said that he has actually been drawn to reading about God and Christianity lately and is realizing that it’s not what he thought at all and he wants to learn more, he really just wasnt able to make it that particular weekend. So I finally, after nearly 10 years, shared my testimony with him. I invited him to join us for church when he is back in town and he immediately said no. So I backed off and told him that we would love to just have him over for dinner then, no pressure. He has been severely depressed lately and I didn’t want to further isolate him by making him think he wasn’t welcome if he didn’t meet my terms.

No response at first, but hours late he responded, “well, church is about community and I could really use that right now. So screw it. I’ll go.”

This is so huge considering I couldnt even mention God a year ago without getting scoffed at in return. I am trying to stay calm and not be overbearing. But please pray that the work the Lord has begun in my brother’s heart would continue to flourish and thrive. The thought of being able to not just talk about faith, but share it with my older brother brings me to tears. I can’t think of anything I want more than that.