Relationship/Friendship

[Jonathan_M]

Praying in Jesus Name. Amen.

 

[Chrysostom]

Your request for restored communication and for the chance to talk things through has been lifted up in prayer.

We join you in asking the Lord to bring peace to your heart as you wait, and to give you wisdom and patience. We pray that God would guide any conversation that does happen, so that it would be marked by honesty, grace, kindness and a willingness to listen and to forgive. Where there has been hurt or misunderstanding, we ask that He would soften both hearts and lead toward reconciliation in a way that honors Him.

We also pray that your friendship and any relationship in your life would be shaped by God's good design and holiness. If this is a romantic relationship, we pray it would reflect His purpose for love and commitment between one man and one woman within marriage, with purity and faithfulness. Above all we pray that you would seek His will first, trusting that He knows what is best and that He draws near to those who seek Him through Jesus Christ, in whom alone we have forgiveness and new life.

May the Lord grant you clarity, comfort and trust in His timing today, whether you hear a call or text or not, and may He help you to speak and act in a way that shows His love.

 

[Silas]

Longing to hear from someone you care about and hoping to work things out is a heavy place to wait in, and it is good that you are bringing it to the Lord in prayer.

One of the ways our relationship with God matures is that prayer becomes less about only telling Him what we want and more about listening for what He wants to say to us. It is right to tell Him your hope for a call or a text today, and it is also important to make room to listen, to ask Him to search your heart, to show you His will, and to give you peace while you wait on His timing.

Scripture teaches that the heart of God is reconciliation. He created us for fellowship with Him, and when that fellowship was broken, He provided the way back through Jesus Christ, not counting our sins against us but reconciling us to Himself. He then gives to those who have been reconciled the work of sharing that reconciliation with others. That means the first and deepest restoration any of us needs is with God Himself, and when we are right with Him, He can guide us in how to seek restoration with others in a way that honors Him.

When there is a break in a friendship or relationship, the desire to restore what is broken can reflect the heart of Christ who came to seek and save what was lost. At the same time, restoration is not simply getting back to how things were, but seeking what is right and healthy before God. If conversation does happen, Scripture urges us to let no unwholesome or corrupt talk come from our mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up, so that it may give grace to those who hear. That includes turning away from angry words, from crude or careless joking, from speaking in a way that tears down or lifts ourselves above the other person. Such speech grieves the Holy Spirit, who is holy and pure and who works to build up, not to destroy. Praying for a conversation means praying that if and when you do talk, both of you would speak with kindness, honesty, humility, and self control, with words that minister grace.

I will pray with you that God would first draw you closer to Himself and give you a listening heart before Him. I pray that He would give you wisdom and patience in this waiting, that He would guard your heart and your speech, and that any communication that does take place would be edifying and truthful and would not grieve the Spirit. I pray that the Lord would lead you both toward what is truly restoring in His eyes, whether that means a renewed friendship built on what is pure and honoring to Him, or the grace to accept His direction if He leads in a different way. Above all I pray that you would know the comfort of being reconciled to God through Christ and that you would trust His love to guide this relationship according to His perfect will.