A Prayer About Friendship

A prayer about Friendship - Staying close

DEAR LORD,

Thank you for the incredible gift of people who love and care for me. I pray that I will be as loyal, kind, giving, and considerate to them as those friends are to me. Reading in Scripture about Naomi and Ruth, I am surprised and impressed at the depth of their friendship. They had to deal with an age gap, a religion gap, and the mother-in-law versus daughter-in-law dynamic—yet they were close. After their personal tragedies, Ruth determined to stay with Naomi, traveling to a strange land and embracing a new faith. Ruth saw something in Naomi that convinced her to tie their lives together. In my relationships, Lord, make me like Naomi—a person who draws people in and who wants the best for those I love, even if that means my pain. And I also want to be like Ruth—loyal, faithful, totally committed to you, and willing to risk my comfort for the sake of the friendship. Thank you, Lord.

Ruth replied, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” Ruth 1:16-17