After I typed out my Best Friend Wish List last week, I got to thinking. Those traits sounded pretty biblical…what would the Bible add about the kind of friend I should be on the lookout for?
I did a few different searches in the Bible app and found lots of verses that depicted what a godly friendship looks like. If you’re like me and you’re seeking like-minded Christian friends, here’s exactly what you’re looking for:
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 17:17 NKJV
Sweet friendships refresh the soul and awaken our hearts with joy, for good friends are like the anointing oil that yields the fragrant incense of God’s presence.
Proverbs 27:9 TPT
If you want to grow in wisdom, spend time with the wise. Walk with the wicked and you’ll eventually become just like them.
Proverbs 13:20 TPT
So stop fooling yourselves! Evil companions will corrupt good morals and character.
1 Corinthians 15:33 TPT
You can trust a friend who wounds you with his honesty, but your enemy’s pretended flattery comes from insincerity.
Proverbs 27:6 TPT
You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17 MSG
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
John 15:12 NKJV
Lovers of God give good advice to their friends, but the counsel of the wicked will lead them astray.
Proverbs 12:26 TPT
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV
Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
James 5:16 NKJV
Discover creative ways to encourage others and to motivate them toward acts of compassion, doing beautiful works as expressions of love.
Hebrews 10:24 TPT
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2 NKJV
Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers. How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?
2 Corinthians 6:14 NLT
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:2 NIV
A twisted person spreads rumors; a whispering gossip ruins good friendships.
Proverbs 16:28 TPT
A blabbermouth will reveal your secrets, so stay away from people who can’t keep their mouths shut.
Proverbs 20:19 TPT
If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
Ecclesiastes 4:10 NIV
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.
Psalm 1:1-2 NKJV
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32 NIV
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians 3:13 NIV
Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Philippians 2:4 NKJV
Many will tell you they’re your loyal friends, but who can find one who is truly trustworthy? The lovers of God will walk in integrity, and their children are fortunate to have godly parents as their examples.
Proverbs 20:6-7 TPT
Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered.”
Proverbs 22:24 NIV
So, a good friend is…
The Bible also says this:
By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13:35 NKJV
Look for the ones who prove they are disciples of Christ by their love. Look for the ones who demonstrate the characteristics outlined above. Meditate on the scriptures. You will know your people when you see them. As one of my favorite speakers, Kris Vallotton, says about finding the right people, “You will resonate. You will know.”
Never forget:
Some friendships don’t last for long, but there is one loving friend who is joined to your heart closer than any other!
Proverbs 18:24 TPT
Jesus is our ever-present Friend. He’s always there, he will never forsake you, and I believe he also has godly friends for you. I pray that you recognize them as he places them in front of you – that you will know, they will resonate with you in your spirit, and that you will be blessed with the kind of friends who “love at all times”!