Friendship Fridays: Taking my friends for a walk by Anne LeTissier

28 Jul 2023

I adore this post by Anne! How encouraging to think that we might accompany someone on a walk – through the Spirit, as she prays for and with us. Who might you take for a walk today?

One of my favourite ways to unwind is to walk the hills for a day; flask and sarnies in my rucksack and with my husband for company. There are periods in the walk, however, when I may invite others to join me; my three praying friends. Not literally I must add. We live hundreds of miles from each other! Rather, I picture them walking alongside me, first one then another, as if in conversation as I recall and respond to their needs and challenges, their hopes and celebrations. Mindful of God’s presence I then sense I am praying with them rather than for them; allowing space in my head and heart for the Holy Spirit to lead.

These praying friends are my Peter, James and John. They are with me, and I with them, to celebrate mountaintop experiences of God’s presence and provision. They are with me in my ‘Gardens of Gethsemane’; a stone’s throw away – just a click of our online prayer group – praying for me during life’s most awful moments, just as I pray through theirs. And they are with me in the life that lies between the highs and the lows. They are with me – in prayer – and I with them.

Our prayer friends may or may not be the same as our closest of friends, but all are equally cherished. Deborah Jenkins touched on this in her excellent blog in this series, saying, ‘We need different people to do different bits of life with’. Amy also refers to this in her book, Transforming Love, reminding us how Jesus enjoyed a deep bond with his disciples. But the nature of their friendship was different to that he shared with the Bethany siblings; a special place, Amy astutely observes, of intimate friendship. As for Peter, James and John, it was these three with whom Jesus shared divine revelation and affirmation on the Mount of Transfiguration. And it was these same three Jesus asked to stay close, to pray with Him through the ugliest darkness leading to His greatest act of all. Different friendships, but all of immense value.

Who might be your Peter, James and John? Thank God for them now. If you’ve yet to approach them to walk with you in prayer, how might you explore that?

Anne LeTissier is an author, speaker and encourager with a passion to relate faith to everyday life. She does this in her life-application bible teaching through books, bible-study notes, articles, blogs, and speaking engagements; writing regularly for the global ministry of Our Daily Bread among other publications. Connect with Anne on her Facebook page or find out more at her website.