Aug. 13, 2024

DIVINE MERCY REFLECTION: Spiritual Friendship Through Prayer 

https://mycatholic.life/

One powerful channel of the Mercy of God is friendship with another.  But friendship can be lived on various levels.  Sometimes this bond is based on superficial and unimportant things, and at other times it’s deeply grounded in our Lord.  A sign of a deep spiritual friendship is mutual prayer.  If you have been blessed with a faith-filled friend, seal and deepen that friendship through a commitment to mutual prayer.  Share your life and your needs with each other and commit to praying for those needs.  Through the act of mutual prayer you will discover that the Mercy of God is poured forth in each of your lives, and that your mutual bond will be deepened in the Lord.   This is a blessing of the Mercy of God as well as a source of its continued outpouring (See Diary #1171).

Reflect upon the friendships you have.  What is the basis of each friendship?  Perhaps each one will be varied.  Some will be casual acquaintances, based on a shared interest.  Others will be based on some deeper unifying bond.  Spend time today especially reflecting upon those friendships that are based on your shared love of God.  If you are blessed with one of these friendships, seek to deepen it through shared prayer.  Reflect upon that which your friend is in need of the most and commit yourself to praying for this intention.  And share your need with your friend.  This mutual exchange of prayer will be a powerful source of the Mercy of God.

"Lord, I especially thank You this day for my friendships.  I offer my friends to You and ask for an abundance of grace to be poured out upon them.  Lord, I especially offer this particular need in my friend’s life (identify a need).  I thank You for Your unwavering love for each of us, dear Lord, and for Your own perfect gift of friendship in our lives.  Jesus, I trust in You."