What a Friend we Have in Jesus

As I was praying and asking the Lord what He would have me write for this prayer team email, the hymn "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" came to mind. As I pondered the lyrics, I began to process something that the Lord has been revealing to me.

What a friend we have in Jesus

All our sins and griefs to bear

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer

What a friend we have in Jesus. Many of you probably know this, but in August of 2024, I moved to Raleigh from Texas, where I had lived for my whole life. I only knew one person here (shoutout Haley Thorpe) at the time, and I had no idea what the Lord had in store for me at Mid-Way. Though each and every one of you have been so deeply welcoming and loving, and I have ADORED my time here so far, there is a deep loneliness that lingers when you uproot your entire life and everything you’ve ever known to move across the country from your friends, family, and familiar places. I have had no shortage of lonely moments, feeling as though I have no one who truly knows me and no one with whom I can bare the deepest parts of my heart.

I don’t share this so that you feel bad for me, and I CERTAINLY don’t share it because anyone at Mid-Way has done a poor job of being my Church family (seriously I have felt so loved and welcomed here)! I share this because through this time, I have learned that Jesus is truly the sweetest, closest, safest friend I will ever have or need. I’ve recently felt the Lord prompting me to pray to Him as though I am speaking to a friend. To share all of the little moments of my day - the joy, the laughter, and the beauty, alongside the frustrations, the grief, and the pains. To speak to Him as I drive instead of calling my mom for the 4th time that week. To ask Him questions as I wash the dishes and sweep the floors instead of mindlessly just listening to another podcast. As I have grown in this practice of inviting Him into every moment of my life, I have noticed something remarkable. I see more of Him. I feel more of His presence. I hear more of His voice. I become more aware of His love for me.

I don’t know about you, but I know in my life I am quick to forget about the friendship of Jesus. We think of God as our Protector, our Father, our Healer, our King. We think of Jesus as our Savior, as someone to model our earthly lives after. But how often do we live in the truth that Jesus is our friend?

John 15:15-16a

“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you.”

What a profound thing from the mouth of Jesus Himself. He calls us friends! Not just partners in ministry, not just children or sheep, but friends. Think about your closest friend for a moment. Perhaps it’s your spouse, or someone who has been with you through thick and thin. They are probably someone you feel safe bringing just about anything to. Someone who has seen you at your worst, and loved you anyway. Someone who will have your back no matter what, who you can call in the middle of the night and be confident that they will pick up. Yet even in that friendship, I imagine there have been hurt and difficult conversations! I’m certain that this friend has let you down, and has not been there for you in moments when you desperately needed them. This doesn’t make that person a bad friend, it merely makes them human. This is the beauty of our friendship with Jesus. He never has, and He never will, let us down. When you wake up in the middle of the night, heart aching from a wound that hasn’t healed yet, He is there. When a coworker says something that cuts deep and hurts in ways you didn’t know it could, He is there, He knows. When a family member strays from their relationship with the Lord and it crushes your heart, He sees it. He cares! 

Psalm 56:8

“You have kept count of my tossings, 

Put my tears in your bottle. 

Are they not in your book?”

He is your friend. He longs to listen to every little thing. He bottles the tears you cry, not a single one is lost on Him. He laughs when you laugh, rejoicing to see His friend find joy in His creation. He delights in the sunshine as you delight in the sunshine, and He knows how you feel when it rains. His heart is for you, and His friendship remains with you. He is the friend that remains closer than any other, the safest place for you to be completely, unapologetically, beautifully, yourself. He wants to walk with you side by side and share the secrets of His heart with you as you share the secrets of yours with Him. Dwell deeply on the friendship of Jesus this week.

 PRAYER TIP - Pray as if you’re talking to a friend.

• Begin a habit of praying throughout the day, just talking to God about what’s on your mind. Ask Him what He thinks of it, and give space for Him to answer.

• As you find yourself ruminating on things (a situation at work, your children, a friendship, a hard conversation), begin to pray about them instead of just turning it over in your mind. Explain it to God as though you’re explaining it to a friend, and give Him space to speak into it.

• Pray out loud. We don’t talk to our friends only in our minds, so don’t talk to God only in your mind! Yes, He already knows everything in your heart and mind, but there is something beautiful about approaching Him in the distinctly human act of speech.

Jeremiah 33:3

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Jeremiah 29: 12-14

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord.

Hebrews 4:16

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Prayer Points:

• Ask God to meet you as you begin to build a habit of praying throughout your day.

• Ask God to speak into the things you’re praying about, and ask Him what He thinks about them, or what He might have you do. 

• Ask the Lord for patience and discernment to hear His voice and to come to a deeper understanding of His friendship.

Suggested Prayer -

Jesus, thank You for Your friendship. Thank You for giving up Your heavenly throne and for living for 33 years in a human body so that You could pursue my heart in a personal way. Help me grow in my understanding of Your friendship, and meet me here as I seek to move deeper into it.

I love You, Lord.

Amen.

With Love,

Rachel Crites