"Friendship is a type of interpersonal relationship that is found among humans and among animals with rich intelligence, such as the higher mammals and some birds. Individuals in a friendship relationship will seek out each other's company and exhibit mutually helping behavior". (wikipedia.org)


We all like to hear from and associate with our friends. While everybody has their own definitions of a "friend", the long and short of it is, we all need friends to make our lives better. In Genesis 18:17-33, we read about God sharing His ideas with Abraham. Abraham responds by telling God his thoughts and feelings about the situation. James 2:23 (NKJV) reports the outcome of this encounter which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. And he was called the friend of God". Another example of true friendship in the bible (1Sam.20) focuses on David and Jonathan. These two men truly cared for each other and had great trust and confidence in one another. David was running for his life from Jonathan's father, Saul. Jonathan recognized that David was innocent. Because of the true friendship they shared, David survived Saul's assassination attempts and went on to become one of Israel's greatest kings.

Genuine friendship loves for love's sake, not just for what it can get in return. In Luke (5:17-20) we see how four friends and their faith brought blessing by association to the paralyzed man. Here this man's friends believed that Jesus could and would heal this man. Their actions of carrying their friend, coming to Jesus, going up to the roof, tearing the roof away just to get their friend into the presence of Jesus was a result of their faith, which came from their belief in what Jesus could do. Jesus responded to the faith of the friends. In Luke 5:20 (NIV) it says "When Jesus saw their faith, he said, 'Friend, your sins are forgiven'." When you pray for your friends and others it can be your faith in God and your prayers that can unleash the power of God in their life. He calls us to be His hands and feet in a hurting world starving for true friendship.


"You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another". Proverbs 27:17 (The Message)