Lives walled in by fences, asphalt, and schedules—or uprooted by moves and travel—produce short and start-over friendships. Yet we all long for those soul-level, sustaining connections: someone with whom we can feel known, safety, and full acceptance. We seek that companion who understands. Someone who knows completely, but still does not reject.
I have experienced multiple friendless seasons in life. There were years when the daily work of caring for little ones left me with barely enough energy to keep my eyes open in the five minutes that I had to sit down. There were years, too, when the trials of teens and a rebellious child took every ounce of relational energy, when the hurt felt so deeply intimate or exhausting, when the stakes felt so high and so personal. Still, there were those who stood with my husband and me in prayer, though times of play dates or coffee shop conversations ceased for a while.
What we long for in friendships, a person who feels like home, can only be found in the One who promised never to leave or turn away. He’s the One who, for ages upon ages, has been called Friend, Wonderful Counselor.
No matter where you go or how lonely your circumstances, even if you should suffer beyond what you can speak—a companion is near. He is Emmanuel, God with us: “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). He is Jesus.
*Taken from The Prayers of Susanna Wesley by W.L. Doughty Copyright 1984 by Zondervan. Used by permission of Zondervan. www.zondervan.com, 3.
Any chance of any of these prayers becoming hangings on the wall? I so love these and would love to hang them throughout our home.
Hi Tammy! Yes, they are actually available for $.99 download to print and display however you choose. This particular prayer will be uploaded tomorrow but all of the other ones are available through this link: https://shop.familylife.com/search.aspx?SearchTerm=ever%20his We are so glad you like them!