The Best Kind of Friend

Is the one who hears and responds when God whispers your name in their ear

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

I recently found myself reflecting on some of the different friendships I’ve enjoyed throughout my life and was surprised at how different they were.

Some of them were more transitory and gradually disappeared as we went our separate ways. 

Others have somehow endured, even when we’ve gone many years without staying in touch.

But the friendships which have left the deepest impression on my soul are the ones where I’ve recognized the Lord’s hand at work in my life.

I want to share two examples of this type of friendship and how they strengthened my faith in ways I could not have foreseen.

The first involved a simple phone call that was a welcome lifeline of encouragement and support when I needed it most.

The last few weeks of my dad’s terminal illness were very challenging for me. Watching a loved one waste away to skin and bones is as brutal as it is drawn out.

One evening, out of the blue, the phone rang at my work. 

When I answered, I was surprised to hear the voice of a dear friend I’d met years earlier when I was a missionary in Oklahoma.

“Little brother,” I heard her ask, “Why are you on my mind today? Is everything okay?”

Considering that this was before social media, cell phones or email, I was amazed that she was able to get my work number. 

Not to mention my surprise that she was acting on an impression that I was struggling.

Her kind words did not restore my dad’s health or magically take away my pain at his impending death. 

They did something even more important.

They reminded me that, no matter what I was going through, I was not alone. 

Someone cared about me and believed in me in my hour of need.

More importantly, she had heard and acted on a prompting that I needed help.

It may not seem like much but I have never forgotten the sense of reassurance that settled over me as I realized that someone knew what I was dealing with. 

Something so simple, yet so effective that it caused me to start opening my eyes to the people around me.

The second example was more recent.

Like many men my age, it’s common to find myself awakened by nature’s call in the middle of the night.

I understand all too well why they are referred to as the “wee hours.”

I was surprised to receive a text from a good friend at that time of night. He had sent me a link to an article he wanted to share.

Since I was awake, I responded and then gratefully returned to bed.

As I was dozing off, I heard my phone buzz and I considered just waiting until morning to see what the message was.

But then I had a strong impression to pick up my phone and read the message.

My friend was asking about why I was awake at that time of night and again I had a clear prompting that I needed to respond to him.

I crawled out of bed, went into the next room so as not to disturb my wife and my friend and I texted back and forth for the next 20 minutes.

He informed me that he was having a tough night and I let him know that I was available to talk if he needed me.

That was pretty much the end of the conversation and I didn’t think much of it until my friend reached out to me later that day.

What he told me stopped me dead in my tracks.

He and his family had been through a terrible tragedy just a few months earlier and had lost their 22 year old son.

He told me that the full horror of his son’s death had hit him like a runaway train that night and that he was in a desperate place.

As he pleaded with the Lord for relief, he had sent me that first text, not really expecting a response.

When I answered him, and more importantly when I continued to respond to his texts, he realized that he was receiving an answer to his prayer.

He told me that my willingness to be there for him was an assurance that the Lord had placed a trusted friend in his life to be there in his moment of need.

It’s hard to describe how grateful and humbled my heart was that I didn’t choose to roll over, go back to sleep and check my messages in the morning.

Having a friend who hears and responds when the Spirit whispers our name in their ear is a tender mercy of the highest order.

Being the kind of friend who actively listens for and acts on such promptings, can likewise help us recognize the reality of God’s hand at work in our lives.

Have you had a similar experience? Feel free to share it in the comments.

LINKS:

FAQs about The Fifty-two Seven Alliance.

Review the Fifty-two Seven Community Charter.

You can control what you receive from us in your email inbox by clicking here. Then toggle the section posts you want sent to you on or off.