Pray, Then Act

Pray, Then Act

Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

I sat down on the folding chair, smiling nervously at the two blonde girls next to me. It was the first meeting of the year for a faith-based organization that operated on my college campus of sixteen thousand students. As a girl who was feeling the forty-five-minute drive from home keenly, I had been praying for godly friends and hoped this might be one such opportunity to meet them.

The week before, I had heard a knock on the door of my freshman dorm room. I opened it, finding one of the leaders of Campus Crusade for Christ (today called Cru) standing there. She invited me to come to the meeting the following week, and with my desire for friendship in the back of my mind, I accepted gladly.

That’s how I found myself milling with a couple hundred students in the large meeting space inside the student union. Groups of upperclassmen greeted one another with hugs, backslaps, and squeals of delight, while the younger set looked on awkwardly. After a few minutes, I decided to sit down. The two girls next to me had the same friendly smile, and it turned out that they were sisters. The younger sister, Steph, was new to our school.

Steph quickly became one of my best friends in college. Ours was a friendship that—along with two other friends, Stef and Tara—has lasted through more than fifteen years of job changes and moves, marriages, and a combined eighteen children. But beyond our college-girl love for The Bachelor and our current lives as wives and mothers, the tie that binds us is our love for Jesus. I know that, despite the physical distance, these friends wouldn’t hesitate to help if I were in need.

I’d love to say that it was through my own efforts that I made such amazing friends. But the truth is, I first prayed for good friends and then seized the opportunity I was given. As Christians, we’re told that we shouldn’t just listen to the Word of God—we need to implement it. Our faith is what spurs us to action. Let’s resolve not just to be open to friendship, but intentional in its pursuit.

— Kristin

— Today’s Act of Friendship —

If you’re in a season where friends seem scarce, ask God to provide—then follow up on the opportunities he gives. If not, send a note to someone who’s been a friend for a long time, thanking them for their friendship.