Proverbs 17:17 Devotional on Godly Friendships

Trusting God with Your Friendships
Your Nightly Prayer

TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE

"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity." - Proverbs 17:17

SOMETHING TO PONDER

This entry brings friendships to God—asking for wisdom, grace, and healthy love. Friends are such a gift. They are the people we choose to invite into our lives. They are the ones we look forward to sharing meals with, laughing alongside, venting to, and making memories with. Friends are our chosen family.

Nonetheless, friendship still takes work! Life inevitably gets full, pulling us away from each other. Communication can get muddled, causing hurt and confusion. Family life can become so demanding that friendships are hard to maintain. Friends sometimes change, no longer being the rock we once relied on, requiring us to create new boundaries and to sometimes even find new friends. These struggles and losses are hard. We need God’s grace to carry us as we navigate friendship. As we trust God with friendships, we have to remember that if we want to have good friends, we need to be a good friend. We attract people who share similar values, and we retain friends who know they are a priority. In friendship, we often reap what we sow.

Consider then how you can become a better friend. Who are the people you want to invest in most? What qualities are important for your close friends to have? Do you need better boundaries in your current friendships? Do you feel well-loved by your friends, or are you giving more than you are getting? These check-in questions can guide you as you seek to trust God with your friendships!

YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER

Father,
I thank you for the friends I have who love me so well. Help me to be a good friend back. Show me how to prioritize my friends even as life is full! In the friendships that have grown more draining, allow me the grace I need to set better boundaries. I trust you with my friendship! Let the friends I keep give you glory and help draw me closer to you.
Amen.

THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON

How can you be a better friend to those you love?
Pray for your closest friends, asking God to bless them and show them how loved they are.
Take time to consider your friendships. Do you need to make any changes to who and how you invest your time?

Reflect on tonight’s prayer and share how God met you there. Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Linus Nylund

Amanda Idleman is a writer whose passion is encouraging others to live joyfully. She writes devotions for Your Nightly Prayer, Crosswalk Couples Devotional, Your Daily Prayer, and more. She has work published with Her View from Home, on the MOPS Blog, and is a regular contributor for Crosswalk.com, Biblestudytools.com, and Christianity.com. She has most recently published a devotional, Comfort: A 30 Day Devotional Exploring God's Heart of Love for Mommas, alongside her husband’s companion devotional, Shepherd. You can find out more about Amanda on her Facebook Page or follow her on Instagram.

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