Jesus, help me understand the five types of relationships. Help me be able to identify them so I can see how to relate to them during my times of contact with them. Teach me that they are: Business Relationships, Casual Relationships, Personal Friends, Sincere Friends, and Mentor Friends.

Jesus, help me understand that there are people I know on a business or casual level that are open to REAL friendship. I interact with people I do business with; I also have casual friends I have gained through my family and relatives, through my jobs, through school, from my neighborhood, in my church, and through sports. Teach me that true friendship usually starts out from a business or casual relationship and then grows into a deeper friendship. However, let me realize that this isn’t necessarily a Christian friendship and relationship. A Christian friendship is developed from these true, deeper friendships.

Jesus, help me see the importance of identifying my business relationships. Help me see that even though it is a relationship where I typically only talk to the person about their products or services, You can help me develop it further. In the past, I didn’t try to talk to them about anything that didn’t pertain to the business at hand. I find these relationships at my place of work, in stores, on the phone, by mail, or through internet communications. Some of them are one time contacts; others I see on a regular basis. Make it clear to me that business relationships have the potential of becoming casual friendships. There are situations that give me an opportunity for repeated contact; help me see if they can be taken further.

Jesus, help me see my casual friendships is being a friendship where I and someone else talk about those things we have in common. I can start out with subjects about the weather, sports, things about the company I work for, fellow workers I work around, familiar places and experiences, people we both know, and many other common things. Help me stop and be willing to develop many of these types of relationships.

Help me appreciate the fact that a casual friend has the potential of becoming very open and honest. Some of them will gradually be willing to talk about their family, their business, their successes and failures, and all kinds of general personal things. Teach me how to help it grow to the place where they feel comfortable talking to me about their problems, struggles, or issues of life. Show me that as long as the conversation remains on subjects that have nothing to do with any of their problems, struggles, or issues of life, it remains a casual relationship.

Jesus, as I spend time developing casual friendships with various people, I ask You to open the doors for me to develop a personal friendship with some of them. Let some of my business acquaintances and causal friends finally open up and tell me something about things they are struggling with. Then give me the words to help them feel comfortable with the fact that they are opening up. Help me encourage them, reward them, and demonstrate real concern for them and the problems they are going through.

Jesus, after I have given my personal friends a lot of time to share their problems with me, and after I have asked plenty of questions that have helped me clearly understand what they are GOING through, help me be able to use this opportunity to share with them. Help me share a similar problem I WENT through; help me share problems I now have the answers and help with from You.

Make it clear to me that there are business relationships and casual friendships where people are sincerely looking for the answers to their problems. And, make it clear to me that they are willing to enter into the provisions that You have given me.

Help me understand that these business people and casual friends are people who will eventually become some of my best and closest friends. Help me look forward to the enjoyment and fellowship that comes from these friendships. Show me that it will make it worth it for me to learn how to be ready to share those things Jesus has done for me.

Jesus, teach me that like with personal friendships, sincere friends there are people who are willing to open up and share the difficult areas of their lives with me. AND, they are ALSO willing to listen to me as I tell them about areas of my life where I WENT through a similar difficulty and found the solutions. AND, these sincere friends will ALSO be willing to listen to me as I tell them what I DID to get that solution.

Jesus, like in the friendships that I have with a sincere person, teach me that mentor friends will:

1. Tell me some of the problems they are going through.


2. Will listen to my story about all the things I went through.


3. Will allow me to tell them what I did to get help.


4. Will ALSO be willing to start doing what I did so they can get what I received from You.

Teach me that when I finally meet them and am able to establish a mentoring friendship with them, that is the time when true friendship begins.

Use this study, Jesus, and help me learn how to develop a lot of business relationships, casual friendships, personal friendships, sincere friendships, and mentoring friendships.

As You help me receive Your character and attitudes into my personality, You will help me become a much more enjoyable person to be around. You will increase my abilities to care about other people. That will open my eyes to ways of being helpful and personable with all I meet.