Can We Be Friends Without Communicating? Prayer Is A Must!

As I ponder this evening on the hymn that says "what a friend we have in Jesus" I am truly amazed at the quality of friend that He is. I have never known any other friend like Him or even close to Him. It is one thing to be saved and just experience Him as Saviour but another thing to have Him as a friend which is His desire. Jesus wants to have the kind of relationship with us that qualifies us to be called His friends and He makes it clear that all it takes is obedience to Him. Anyone that makes it to friendship with Him must commune with Him because friendship is a relationship which suggests communion. Can people be friends who do not have a relationship? How can anyone claim to be friends with a God that they don't talk to? Let no man deceive you, without an effective prayer life, the believer is not enjoying the full benefits of salvation because His relationship with God is not as it ought to be.

John 15: 14 "You are my friends if you do what I command."

As I often say, life itself presents challenges so that we are often faced with one challenge or the other for which we need help, counsel and/or support. Who do you turn to in those seemingly dark moments when no one can understand the depths of the burden you bear or when life seems to want to overwhelm you? Who is the anchor of your hope? It makes such a huge difference just knowing that one has a friend whom they can share with; a friend who will give sincere and unbiased counsel. I can tell you for certain that man will fail you from time to time, and that includes even the best of men. Only the man whom the Lord sends to you using Him as His arm to you will not fail because He has lent Himself to God and such a person would Himself be one who communes with God. Man is by His very nature fickle, but God is steadfast. He is the friend that never fails and will go through "thick and thin" with us never forsaking us. How does does one keep from talking to a friend like that? He is that friend that you can totally open up to and be certain that He will never take advantage of you.

1 Thessalonians 5: 17 "Never stop praying."

Do not be deceived, Prayer is not about being "spooky spiritual" like people like to make it sound neither is it for a certain group of people nor do you have to attain to a certain level in your walk with God to take prayer seriously. Don't let anyone make you feel like you are acting funny because you live a life of prayer. It should be a normal way of life to turn to our friend Jesus at all times and with regard to all things. I have found that the more actively we commune with Him, the less frustrated we are and the more peace we enjoy. Interestingly, communing with Him cost us nothing. We don't have to pay huge phone bills or drive anywhere. We can talk to Him just where we are and He will hear and answer us. Moreover, He also wants to be a part of our decision making; thinking with us and guiding our decision making right so He is eager to hear us. There are so many advantages to talking to God about everything that no one should makes us feel funny for talking to God so much. Jesus is a burden bearer and you pass on the burden by talking to Him. He already knows about it but wants to us to share it with Him as friends do and then He steps in.

Luke 18: 1 "One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up."

Don't let anyone make you feel that prayer is tedious or burdensome. That has been the devil's way of cheating us out of the benefit of having an awesome friend like Jesus. It has been a trick of the devil for so long and we can not remain ignorant of these tricks of the devil. It has prevented a number of people from building that right relationship with God and created a disconnect between us and our most treasured friend for too long which must stop. Who can really go forward in life bearing burden that satan wants us to bear? We also need all the information from God to enable us have good success and also remain the head; all that information comes in the place of communion. It is never too late to build on your relationship with God. He is hoping that you will.