Spiritual Friendship: Learning to Be Friends with God and One Another

Resources for Application

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We see examples of intentionally prioritizing friendship in the lives and ministry of biblical leaders. King David, for example, was highly skilled at developing friendships, although he also failed in spectacular fashion—for example when he betrayed one of his friends (Uriah the Hittite), murdered him, and stole his wife, Bathsheba. Yet despite his failures, Scripture describes many of David’s friendships: (1) his best friend Jonathan (1 Sam 18); (2) his three close friends, Abishai, Eleazar, and Jashobeam (2 Chron 11:11−21; 2 Sam 23:8−17); (3) his thirty mighty men (1 Chron 12:2−7, 16−18; 1 Sam 23:18−38); (4) his eleven Gadite friends (1 Chron 12:8−15), “his friends the elders” (1 Sam 30:26), the names of a wide variety of influential friends like Hushai (2 Sam 15:37) and Hiram, King of Tyre (1 Kings 5:1), and the personal names of well over one hundred leaders loyal to David and involved in his kingdom (1 Chron 23−27; 2 Chron 12:19−28). David’s valuing and experiences with friendship are not just recorded in stories, but also in psalms and proverbs. David’s name is connected to many biblical psalms that talk about friends (e.g. Ps 55). His son, King Solomon, likely observed many lessons about friendship from his dad’s example, and is connected with many proverbs about friendship (e.g. Prov 27:6), poetic reflections on friendship (Eccl 4:9−12), and a love story about two friends (Song of Songs). In addition to scriptural texts connected to King David, we could also learn much from Job, Ruth, the Apostle Paul, and many other biblical friendships. Yet perhaps the best scriptural example of investing in friendships and prioritizing relationships come from the life of Jesus of Nazareth.