5 Tips to Seeing God as Your Friend

--By Audra Salmans

“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

John 15:15

I don't know about y'all, but I have a hard time thinking of God as my friend. There's just something about me referring the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, as my friend that I just can't wrap my mind around. But it says right here in John that He wants to be our friend. Here are five strategies I've used to help me know God as Master and Friend. 

1. Talk to Him

Whenever something happens to me, even if it's not something particularly exciting, I am normally dying to tell my best friend. Talk to Him about more than just your problems. Bring it all to Him because He wants to know! Tell Him the funny stories, the aggravating moments, the things you can't wait to do tomorrow! Tell God everything you would tell your friends. He cares about us and He loves to hear us talk! 

2. Listen to Him

Just like when you tell your friend all your woes and she gives you all the advice she can, God not only listens, but He responds. His Spirit is always with believers, guiding, reminding, prompting, and illuminating. He is sufficient for every situation, like when that one kid is pestering you in class, or that new girl that would love to hang out with you at school. Sometimes we forget that He wants to answer our prayers!

3. DO with Him

Do you have certain things that you ALWAYS do with your friend? Maybe you take walks around your neighborhood, maybe you skip rocks at a pond, maybe you listen to music in a certain place that no one else knows about. God wants to DO with you. I want to laugh more with God. That's pretty much the thing I love most about my best friend: she can make me laugh when I think I'd rather mope. If I can laugh with her I can laugh with my Heavenly Father! After all, He knows all my funny stories and embarrassing moments even better than she does! Set aside a certain time to DO with Him. Go on a walk with God and laugh like it's just the two of you! :)

4. Read the Word

When you see a text from your best friend, what do you do? Open it like it will evaporate if you don't read it fast, or leave it and promise yourself you'll get to it later? Of course you read it! We can think of Bible verses in the same way. He wrote the Scriptures for you—are you going to leave them there to read later? He may have something very important to tell you right at that moment. When you feel down He may remind you of Lamentations 3:22-23; when you feel alone He has given you Hebrews 13:5; and when you just don't know where to turn anymore, He wrote Psalm 46:10. He has sent us these verses knowing that we will need them. Use the tools He has given us. 

5. Strive to Become Like Him

The only way you can be best friends with anyone is if you share common interests. God's ways are entirely holy and good. We need to become more like Him, and loving others is an easy place to start. John 15:12 says, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” He has loved us in spite of our faults. In response to this amazing love, let’s strive to become more like Him in our thoughts and our actions. 

God is good! He wants to be our friend! If we can choose Him over the ways of this world, He will provide all we crave: The Love of a Friend.

Do you think of God as your Friend? What ways do you want to grow in this area? Share in the comments!