Friendship and Prayer
January 31, 2008
by Genel Webb
I think that friendship is such an important facet of life. In no way, am I an expert on the subject, but I’ve learned many things about friendship, as I’m sure you have, along your life’s journey. However, it is not often put into print. Well, perhaps it is — in our personal journals.
One of the most interesting things that I’ve learned about friendship is the element of prayer. Have you ever met someone for the first time and before the encounter was over, you felt that you wanted to get to know them better or you felt that you would like to become friends with that person? Perhaps you’ve known of them, from afar and feel that you have quite a few things in common or perhaps they just have the light of Jesus all about them. At any rate, your spirit is attracted to theirs. What I’ve learned is, if we experience any of this, one of the most powerful actions to take (in addition to showing ourselves friendly) is to sincerely pray for that individual, in our prayer time. In every way that we can think of, pray for them. Pray for their relationship with the Lord, pray for their family, pray for success in their respective endeavors, pray for their good health, and pray that their needs are met. Lastly, pray that the Lord will show you whether it is His will that you become close friends. My experience has been that the Lord will show me. Sometimes it’s through additional encounters with that person; sometimes He reveals things about them, in our spirit. The end result is that you will truly begin to know whether it is a friendship that is within the will of the Lord.
Two years ago, I met Bettina, on my Meals On Wheels route. My meal delivery was actually to her elderly mother, whom she cared for in her home. Bettina always greeted me with a smile, and for some reason, we hugged each other during my weekly delivery. Yes, we had some things in common, but it seemed to be a bit more than that. My thoughts were that she was a person that I’d like to get to know better. I thought that she had a wonderful spirit and a friendly smile. I began to pray for her in my prayer times. I even asked the Lord, how I could be a blessing to her. One way I could bless her was to sit with her mother personally or offer my company’s services to help with her mother. For months we were continually friendly and I looked forward to our weekly, five minute chats during the meal delivery. It seemed that we were just still great acquaintances, who shared that weekly chat. My prayers for her, however, initiated sincere care in me, for her.
More months passed and her mother transitioned to her heavenly home. Bettina called to tell me that her mother had passed. She didn’t call so that I would stop the delivery of meals; the Meals On Wheels administrators would take care of that. I felt that Bettina called because she had begun to feel and sense that I was a friend who cared about her. I don’t deliver meals there anymore. But Bettina and I are great friends. Our friendship continues to evolve and grow. I value it, deeply. We discuss our issues of life…disappointments, triumphs and challenges. We, now, encourage and pray for each other. We are on our way to developing, what I believe will be a long lasting friendship. I believe that our friendship and care for each other began developing beyond acquaintances due to my intentional prayers for her. It will be sustained the same way. Prayer, as it is in all relationships, is powerful and necessary in determining, developing and sustaining our close friendships.
“A man that hath friends must show himself friendly…” Proverbs 18.24 (KJV)
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit…” Ephesians 6:18 (KJV)
Comments
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.