Friendship With God

Friendship with God

[Jesus said,] “I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me.” John 15:15

THE PRAYERS OF A SERVANT ought to be straightforward: “Your will be done.” That’s because servants exist for the sake of their master, and whatever the master wishes becomes the servant’s business. That describes one aspect of our relationship with God, but that’s not where the relationship ends. It grows into friendship. We do learn to serve, and God’s will is always our highest priority, but Jesus invites us into a deeper level of companionship in which he shares his heart with us and we share ours. We learn to love what he loves, hate what he hates, grieve where he grieves, and rejoice where he rejoices. We receive inside information about his thoughts, and he welcomes ours. We think, see, and dream together.

This new kind of relationship shows up at times in Jesus’ teaching, especially in the Gospel of John the night before his crucifixion. Jesus promises that he and the Father will come and make their home with us (John 14:23), that his Spirit will reveal deep truths about the future (John 16:13), and that we can freely ask what we wish (John 14:13-14; 15:7). But this kind of friendship with God isn’t just a New Testament phenomenon. God told Amos that he does nothing without revealing it first to his prophets (Amos 3:7). He called Abraham a friend (Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23) and talked to Abraham about his plans and desires before acting on them (Genesis 15:1-6; 18:17-19). God will guide and encourage anyone who asks, but he seems to share secrets with those who have drawn particularly close to him. He invites us into a friendship in which he reveals his desires and openly receives ours.

Don’t ignore that invitation. It’s a remarkable opportunity to converse with the God of the universe in a way not many people do. He enjoys the fellowship, the give-and-take, and the heart-to-heart connection with those who have taken a step beyond servanthood. He builds his Kingdom through those who discuss plans, purposes, visions, and desires with him. He knows he can trust good friends with his—and their—dreams.

Some people pray just to pray, and some people pray to know God.