This morning, I had to end a friendship with a guy in order for me to have a deeper relationship with Christ as I have been feeling convicted throughout the 2 years I've known this friend that I needed to let him go. I have deleted him from various social media accounts. This has been extremely hard for me, but I am more concerned for him.
Please, please pray with me:
Holy Father, I thank you for the friendship I had with my friend. I thank You for giving me the encouragement and strength to finally let him go. I ask now that You will lift him up, that you will heal his depression, that you will be His source of comfort, strength, joy, peace. I pray that You will protect him from any self-harm or suicidal thoughts he may have, that you will cover him with the blood of Jesus Christ each day that you bless him with and that ultimately, You will help him to surrender his life to You/rededicate his life to You. Please also break any soul ties I have with him. Please also help me and him to move on from our friendship and to seek You more and have a deeper relationship with You. Please help him to harbor no ill feelings towards me. In the Name of Jesus Christ we ask these things...Amen.
This hurts to read. God hates divorce, but I also think it's the divorce of the heart that really grieves Him.
Was this friend unfaithful? Did he abuse you? Abandon you?
If a person has a 'friend' that is suffering from depression, the last thing that sufferer needs (usually) is his 'friends' abandoning him, (cutting off social ties ESPECIALLY hurts deeply), and hearing that it's being done to get closer to God. What kind of God does that to His children?
If this guy isn't saved, he obviously needs you to be his friend and help him see and hear the Gospel of Jesus. Maybe you won't actually be the one to lead him in a prayer of salvation so-to-speak, but you could be going to church with him, praying for others to join in helping him see, or just letting your faith in Jesus shine for him and pray for God's goodness and kindness to lead him to Jesus.
If he is saved but struggling, he is your brother in Christ, and needs not only his friend, but his sister.
I don't mean to sound harsh, but you didn't supply too many details, only that you've 'felt convicted thruout' the two years you've been friends.
Convicted? The entire time you've been 'friends'? About what?
Are you guys having sex or doing things together that might give the appearance of sin? There are ways to handle that, thru prayer, God's forgiveness if needed, counsel
with other christians in church together, etc. Or hey, you could get married and have a blast getting closer to God (and each other) together, which seems to be how God likes to have us be.
Are you sure this is 'conviction' from God and not condemnation from the enemy to drive two christians apart, or perhaps just your own desires to pursue your own thing? Because this doesn't sound like two friends in Christ coming to a mutual agreement that you can part in peace as friends for this time in your lives, but just an ex-communication, a form of 'spiritual divorce' if you will.
I don't mean to judge, but you (thru the use of social media) ask us, as brothers and sisters, to basically pray against another brother, or an unsaved friend, by supporting your decision to abandon him and cut off social media ties. Without knowing more details or his side of the friendship, it just doesn't seem like a good way for either you or him (and you say you're more concerned for him) to 'get closer to God'. Or each other.
And I know how much it hurts being cut off, and it often comes from another persons demands going unmet, or false accusations being believed, rather than discussed with the intent of reasoning together.
It hurts really really deeply, and it's also getting tiring hearing ppl TALK a good game and yet condemning others with their own version of what they think 'being Christian/Christlike' is, and then condemning others for not living up to that standard.
I'm not saying you are doing that here. I don't know, I'm just making a generalized statement.
But there just seems to be less of the ' let brotherly love continue' and more of the 'love of many shall grow cold' these days, and I hope that's not the case with you and your friend. Peace.
