We all need to be able to help our mates especially when it is obvious to us they are going through a hard time.
A concern about a particular mate’s situation might cause us to feel we may be able to help him in some way. By just being there for him is sometimes all that might be required. However, should he wish to discuss his situation with you, it is important we listen carefully without wanting to interrupt or offer helpful suggestions unless we are asked for them.
Sometimes, just giving a person the opportunity to open up and share his problem is sufficient in itself to enable your mate to resolve the problem himself.
Other times, if you are required to offer a response, we need to be conscious of our own knowledge and ability and determine whether we might not be qualified to offer effective advice. In which case, our suggestion would be that he might seek professional help.
It is important we find a way of not only empathising with our friend but praying for him as well. Perhaps we might feel our mate would be embarrassed by openly praying with him on the spot. So, we can keep our prayer for him between ourselves and God.
Scripture tells us it’s the Holy Spirit within us whose job it is to help us with our prayer life. Hence, we should ask the Holy Spirit to help us pray for our mate that he will be assisted in becoming the person God wants him to be, rather than the person we think he should be.
Relying on the Holy Spirit to take our requests and needs to The Father does make praying so much easier, giving us more time to praise and thank our God for his goodness.
This way we can then confidently sit back and watch how God is answering our prayer.
I’m Peter Mack and that’s faith.
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