Who Is Grateful For Friends

A friend loves at all times.

MY SWEET HUSBAND, MARK, has a friend he has known since elementary school. They don’t see each other often these days because they live in different states, but he listens to this friend’s advice and respects him. We have had many discussions about their conversations on important topics. I learn a lot from these exchanges, though I always laugh when I think of how my husband starts these stories with me: “My friend Tim says . . .” I stop and think, You could just say Tim. But Mark uses his full title: “My friend Tim.” I thought this was so strange until I realized that I do it too!

I keep in touch with a few friends from elementary school, high school, and college. When I am telling someone about a conversation I’ve had with one of them, I always start by saying “My friend Rosemary” or “My friend Ellen.”

It’s not as if my husband and I know seven Tims, Rosemarys, or Ellens. I’m not sure we know even two. But we have attached being a friend to their name. Do you do that? It is such an honor to be called someone’s friend, especially when that relationship has extended over many years!

Proverbs 17:17 tells us, “A friend loves at all times.” Proverbs 18:24 says, “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” At times in my own life, it was easier to talk to a friend than my own family. There is something about that one step of separation that can bring perspective to a problem. Sometimes you just need your friend to listen with compassion.

If you don’t have lots of close friends, let me remind you tonight that the Lord is our friend, and He stays closer than a brother! He certainly is the One who loves us at all times!

Tonight let’s think about our earthly friends who have been with us through thick and thin. Let’s pray and be grateful for them and to the Lord for bringing them into our lives. Next time you introduce someone close to you, consider saying these words: “This is my friend . . . ,” and be blessed knowing they are in your life!

Tonight we pray for the momma who is grateful for friends. Lord, she leans hard on these women who walk beside her, and they lean on her when needed. They help each other and hold each other up. In good times they laugh and in hard times they cry together. Lord, we are so grateful for the friends that You’ve brought into our lives. Please bless each one.

We pray in Jesus’s name, amen.

Jesus, I want to say a special thank You for my friend ___________________ , who has loved me so well. Most of all, I’m grateful that You are the friend who will never fail me!