Daily Prayer Guide - Wednesday April 1 - The Promise of God's Friendship

The promise of friendship with God – He overcomes our loneliness

Psalm 25:14

The Lord confides in those who fear him;

he makes his covenant known to them.

John 15:14-15

You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

Proverbs 18:24

 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,

but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

James 4:8

Come near to God and he will come near to you.

We are made for relationships, we long for connection with others.  Regardless of our personality type, we long for friends, be they many or a few.  However, in days like these when we are to stay at home and practice social distancing, our opportunities to connect with friends is discouraged and we soon begin to feel the pangs of loneliness. 

God has promised to always be a friend to us, and this friendship is not dependent upon a physical connection, instead he promises a friendship of souls. 

We can discover much about deep, soulful, friendships through the promise of friendship with God.   When we are confident of God’s promise of friendship to us, and we are experiencing the beauty of it, then we are able to offer and express deep and meaningful friendship to others that is not dependent upon our circumstances.

There are two things we can do in days like these to develop soulful friendships. 

First, draw near to God and discover for yourself how he has promised to always be your friend.  Listen to him confide in you how much he values you.  Discover how he is a friend that truly sticks closer than a brother.  Listen for his Spirit showing you how to love him and others. 

Then, Even in the day of social distancing, you can reach out to others to make a new friend, or to renew, refresh and restore an old friendship.  During our ‘stay at home’ mandate, I have made a new friend over zoom with someone who was formerly an acquaintance.  I have renewed an old friendship over Facebook and an old friend has sought to restore a broken friendship, using social media.  Perhaps God would want you to make a call or reach out in some way to someone with whom you can begin a new friendship.  Perahps there someone who has been in your life who you need to reach out to ask forgiveness and restore a relationship.

Because God is our friend – and wants to be our best friend – he also want you to become a friend to him.  Through a growing friendship with God you can become a friend to someone else around you.  Perhaps God would want to use this time for you to engage in deeper and more significant friendships both with Jesus and with others.

Lets pray together…

Father, Your Word says that if we come near to you, you will be near to us.

Jesus said…”¹⁵ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends”

·      Thank God that he has said he will be your friend and that he draws you into a close relationship with himself.

·      Thank God that he shows you what it truly means to have a friend and to be a friend.

·      Thank God that he knows you as a friend and you can also make him known to others around you to become his friend.

·      Ask God to show you who you need to befriend during this time while you are at home.

·      Ask God to show you how you can renew or restore a relationship in your life.

Thank you Father that you take friendships seriously and want to have a meaningful relationship with me.  Help me to be a good friend to you and others around me.  Help me to reach out to others in healthy ways to be the kind of friend you are to me.

Don’t let COVID keep you from being a friend to someone today.