Hi everyone, I hope you’re all fine by God’s grace. Today’s post is about helping our friends to draw closer to God.
We’ve already talked about bad company, and laid emphasis on the fact that we should be good company for our friends. It should be our desire to have a positive influence on them, and the greatest aspect in which we should seek to have a positive influence on them is in their relationship with The Lord.
We may not be the most perfect Christians ever, but drawing our friends closer to God isn’t about being flawless. We don’t need qualifications (pastor, priest, brother, sister, apostle etc) in order to help our friends in their walk with God, we just need faith, and God.
Here are some tips to draw our friends closer to God.
1. Be their prayer warrior
James 5:16 NIV
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
If you want your friend’s relationship in The Lord to grow, you first have to start by praying for them. You should set time aside to pray for their relationship with The Lord to grow, and for them to draw nearer to God.
2. Sing with them/listen to Christian music with them
Ephesians 5:19-20 NIV
speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Listening to Christian music ( praise songs, hymns, worship songs), and perhaps singing them together, is already a step in learning a little more about God everyday. It also helps to shift our focus from ourselves and from our problems, to God.
3. Read and comment Bible verses
Psalm 119:130 NIV
The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.
Psalm 119:105 NIV
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
Take time to discuss The Bible, it will help both of you grow in your faith and learn from each other.
4. Apply God’s Word
John 14:15, 21 NIV
“If you love me, keep my commands. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
Be doers of The Word. When you read a Bible verse and it teaches you for example that God is against murder, apply it in your daily lives. If a close person of yours is about to abort(say out of shame of having a child out of wedlock), it’s your responsibility to tell them what God thinks about it, and to offer emotional support to them in deciding to keep the baby.
When you and your friends apply God’s Word in daily life and learn to obey Him, you both encourage each other in The Lord.
5. Don’t judge them if/when they fall
Romans 14:4 NIV
Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
Instead of rejecting and condemning them, pray for them and help them draw closer to God again.
6. Set the pace
Matthew 7:16-17 NIV
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
If you aren’t actively drawing closerer to God, it’ll be difficult for you to be an example/a model for your friends. When they’ll see you act contrary to God’s Word, they won’t be very encouraged to obey either. If you want to help them in their walk with The Lord you have to strive to be “infallible ” in your walk in The Lord, so that you can preach by example.
Finally, we may not always be able to be the “perfect friend” or the “perfect Christian”. However, it’s not because we fail to do something that we shouldn’t encourage others in doing their best in that thing. It’s always better to encourage others to do what has to be done in The Lord even if we fell and didn’t succeed in doing what was right. Never be a stumbling block to your friend just because you fell somewhere. Repent, stand up, and always encourage them to never fall where you fell.
Prayer
Lord God Almighty, bless my friendships, that they may be safe grounds to draw closer to God and grow in faith. In Jesus Christ’s Name I pray. Amen.
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Thanks for reading.
God bless you all.
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