By far one of my favorite verses about what a
good friendship looks like is in Ecclesiastes 4:910. “Two are better than one because they have
a good return for their labor. For if either of them
falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe
to the one who falls when there is not another to
lift him up.”
The next step would be to commit our children’s
friendships to prayer. God honors the prayers of
the righteous. By bringing the request of good,
Godly relationships before Him, we submit that
area to His will and give Him space to move. I
know that as an adult new Christian I continually
prayed for women to come in to my life that could
help me to grow in my faith. God abundantly
answered that prayer for me, and I trust Him to do
the same for my children.
Finally, I believe that we should also pray for our
children to have wisdom and discernment regarding their peers and for God to hedge them about
with protection from negative influences. Kids just
want to have friends, to feel loved, and to belong.
It is what we all want. Praying that our children
will have discerning and wise hearts could help
them to see with whom they should be associating. Praying for protection may shield them from
those things that could harm them.
There is no fool proof plan to helping our children
find good and Godly friendships, just as there isn’t
a fool proof guide to any part of parenting. We do
the best we can to teach our children who God is,
what He values, what breaks His heart, and what
He tells us is best for us as His children. We pray
continually for God to put a hedge of protection
around our children and to guard them from anything that is going to hinder their relationship with
Him. We claim God’s promises and have faith
that He is in control over this and everything else.
My oldest child is just entering the teen years.
His little bubble is expanding and he’s making
new friends all of the time. It is a little scary to
watch our children form relationships outside of
the safety and security of family. There is a certain element of control that we lose when we can’t
shelter them from everyone and everything. However, mamas and daddies, our Heavenly Father
loves our children more than we can imagine. We
must do our part to be involved, to teach them,
and to pray for them, but we also must trust that
God has got them firmly in the palm of His hand.
Love and Blessings,
Bobbie
Bobbie Schaeperkoetter is a wife and a homeschooling mama of two boys who is just doing her
best to honor Him in the craziness of life. She
is also a writer and blogger at www.bobbieschae.
com and www.facebook.com/bobbieschae. She
would love for you to stop by and say hello!