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When my middle son, Isaac, was about 3 years old. He refused to talk. He’d rather make up his own sign language instead of speaking words. He also loved pretending to be some sort of character like Bible man, spiderman, any superhero, or an animal. If you met him when he was little, you probably met whoever he wanted to be at that moment. For example, one day when he was at the park, my husband walked him up to another little girl to introduce himself. The little girl politely and sweetly said, “hi.” To which my son replied, “Roar!” 😂
This month I’ll be praying about friendships on Instagram and Facebook every Tuesday morning at 7am EST. We want our kids (at any age) to be a good friend, choose their friends wisely, and know that Jesus is their best friend. I don’t advise they introduce themselves with a “Roar!” like my son at age 3, 😂 BUT we hope our kids will be Ecclesiastes 4 type of friends.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up” (ESV).
In a world of bullying, let’s pray our kids and teens open their eyes to reach out to help others. Let’s pray from Proverbs 17:17, “Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble” (MSG). Let’s pray our kids reach out and love their friends not just when they are happy, but when they are sad or hurting too. We want our kids to be good a friend when life is good and bad.
Proverbs 13:20 says, “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm” (ESV). Let’s ask God to help our kids and teens reach out and choose their friends wisely. We want them to choose friends that love and follow Jesus. Friends that will help bring them closer to God. Let’s pray God will bring those kinds of friends into their lives and that they will also be that kind of friend.
Best of all, Jesus calls us His friends! John 15:12-15 says, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. 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.” Wow! Jesus, the Son of God calls us His friends! He calls us into a personal, intimate relationship with Him. He reached out to us when He died on the cross. The King of kings, Creator, Almighty God laid down His life for us and calls us… friend. That gives me chills. Let’s pray for our kids to know Jesus is the best friend they could ever have and to follow Him.
If you’re looking for a great book to teach your kids about Christian friendship from Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, check out my debut picture book, The Best Trophy, here.
