Jesus, as I keep getting together with a personal friend, or sincere friend, help me know which bits of my story I should share with them. Let me see if the successes of my story help them feel comfortable with me telling them more. Teach me that I will be telling it to my personal friend to see if they have come to the place where they want to be helped. I will be telling it to my sincere friend to see if they are willing to allow that help to come through You. Teach me how to use these short versions of my story so they include similar problems like the ones they are going through.

Jesus, teach me the purpose of my story:

• Help me let my friends know I have GONE through similar things like they are GOING through.


• Help me let them know I have found the answers to being helped and delivered from such problems.


• Help me let them know that Jesus was the One Who has blessed, worked miracles, and healed the things in my life.


• Help me find out whether or not they are interested in moving to the next level of friendship.

Jesus, after I have shared a portion of my story with a person that I have a personal friendship or sincere friendship with, help me relax and allow them to respond to that story in any way they wish. Show me that I am still just trying to see how far You have taken them and what I should do next. If they don’t understand the points of my story, don’t show any real interest in it, or don’t appear to want the same kind of help, then help me understand that they need to stay in or go back to the personal friendship level.

Jesus, if a person appears to only want to stay in the personal friendship level, let me hear from You so I can decide whether I should continue seeing them, reduce the time I spend with them, or go back to asking more questions.

Make it clear to me that my time is limited; there are people all around me who will respond to me and the things You has done for me. Help me understand that it is important that I not take time away from them and give it to someone who won’t move forward. Show me whether or not they will ever go on from there. If You show me that they just need a little more encouragement, then give me more things to share so they can move into or continue in a sincere friendship.

Jesus, help me not try to pick who I think would make great Christians. Help me always keep in mind that only You know who will move forward and who won’t. Empower me to relax, give up my own personal opinions, and really listen to what You have to say about each person I encounter. Make it clear to me that I will get hurt, disappointed, waste time, and cheat other people out of getting their chance to move into Jesus’ things, if I don’t follow Your leadership.

Jesus, if the people I am working with are willing to let me help them with the KIND of help that helped me, then let me see that they are ready to become one of my sincere friends. If they aren’t willing to discuss solutions, or, if they are willing to discuss solutions but they aren’t willing to discuss solutions that involve You being the answer, then reveal to me that they aren’t ready to move to the sincere friendship level yet; and, help me keep in mind that, that was ALL I was trying to find out by telling my story.

Jesus, if You want me to let the relationship stay on the personal friendship level, teach me that You may have me visit them from time to time, give them more parts of my story, and remind them that You were the One Who helped me. Show me that if You tell me they just need time, my friendship will, from that time on, be one where I keep sharing miracles that You have worked in my life. Teach me that this is so they can keep seeing how great and wonderful You are. But, also teach me that it won’t be one where I keep allowing them to pour more and more of their problems and issues on me. Make it clear to me that they MUST become willing to allow You to help them and change them.

Jesus, help me not allow personal friends and sincere friends pull my own personal advice out of me. Empower me to keep telling them what the Biblical principles say, while letting them know that my personal experiences are coming directly from the Bible and You. Help me be willing to accept that personal friends and sincere friends must not insist on staying where they are and me keep seeing them. They may be fun to talk to; I may want to just make them social friends without any spiritual purpose. But, help me see how important it is that I keep in mind that there are people all around me that desperately need my help through You.

Jesus, teach me that a sincere friendship is a personal friendship that has moved into a deeper relationship BECAUSE the person has a desire NOT ONLY to share their problems, they are ready to grow and get help. Also teach me that I’m not trying to CREATE such a desire in them; I am just trying to FIND OUT whether or not that desire is ALREADY in them from You. Help me understand that if You haven’t ALREADY been working with them and creating a desire for change, growth, and a relationship with You, then they aren’t ready for a sincere friendship.

Jesus, teach me that a sincere friend is a person who responds with sincere answers to my non-threatening, personal questions and parts of my story. If You want me to, help me ask them why they think a certain problem has gotten so bad? If You want me to, help me ask whether or not they are willing to join me in doing some things that would help them? If You want me to, help me ask if there is anything they would like me to pray for them about? Or, if You want me to, help me ask them any other personal question that gives them an OPPORTUNITY to open up and start receiving spiritual help from me and You.