Make God Your Best Friend
When was the last day you spent more time talking with God than scrolling social media?
Most of us treat God like a distant acquaintance we check in with occasionally—Sunday mornings, crisis moments, maybe a quick prayer before meals. But what if we approached Him like our closest friend? Someone we speak and listen to constantly, share everything with, and turn to for guidance on every decision?
The difference between knowing about God and knowing God personally comes down to communion. Constant, ongoing conversation. Prayer that becomes as natural as breathing rather than a religious obligation we check off our list.
Your relationship with God can be the most intimate, honest, and transformative friendship of your life. But like any friendship, it requires time, attention, and genuine communication.
Remember that in this dispensation—from Pentecost until Christ's return—the Holy Spirit is the executive director of Kingdom operations on Earth. He's not a junior partner but the active Person of the Trinity orchestrating God's work in this realm. Building friendship with God means developing deep relationship with the Holy Spirit who dwells within you. See: The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit for understanding the Third Person of the Trinity as your divine guide and the director of this age.
Christ told His disciples, "I have called you friends" (John 15:15). Friendship with God isn't a metaphor—it's His own description of the relationship He offers.
The Practice of Constant Communion
Prayer isn't meant to be confined to designated times and places. It's meant to be the background music of your life—an ongoing dialogue with your Creator about everything you're experiencing.
One effective approach is to write down everything that comes to mind during prayer—not editing or judging, just capturing. Writing by hand without filtering can help bypass mental filters and capture impressions you might otherwise miss. Some sessions produce nothing useful; others deliver guidance so specific it's striking. The key is being quiet and still, listening honestly, and testing what comes against Scripture and spiritual fruit. This is the Holy Spirit speaking—He who Jesus promised would "guide you into all truth" and "tell you things to come" (John 16:13).
But individual prayer is just one dimension of constant communion. Community discernment can deepen what we hear alone. My friend Peter Han embodies this approach. He maintains a small council of trusted friends for major life decisions—not because he can't hear God alone, but because "we have the mind of Christ" (see 1 Corinthians 2:16), and spiritual discernment benefits from multiple perspectives. They pray together regularly, even when not co-located, seeking God's will rather than just His blessing on their preferred outcomes.
The Obstacles to Intimacy
The biggest barrier to deeper friendship with God isn't theological—it's habitual.
For me, it's constantly checking social media, especially X. I'll reach for my phone dozens of times daily, seeking the dopamine hit of new information, controversy, or validation. Meanwhile, I might spend 10 minutes in focused prayer and consider myself spiritually disciplined. See: Sever Your Ties With Modern Culture for breaking free from these digital addictions.
The math is embarrassing. I probably spend 10x more time consuming other people's thoughts than listening for God's voice. I've trained my brain to crave digital stimulation over divine communion. See: How Would Jesus Want Us To Worship? for my ongoing experiment in discovering what worship actually means beyond our minimal Sunday routines.
Bad default habits don't just steal time—they rewire our attention spans. After hours of scrolling, sitting quietly to listen for God's still small voice feels almost impossible. Our minds race, seeking the next notification, the next hit of artificial engagement.
Sever the tie between relaxation/rest and phone time. Go for walks without a phone. Sleep without your phone in the room. When you're exhausted, instead of reaching for YouTube or social media, rewire yourself to make your default habit to talk to God.
The Holy Spirit: Your Constant Companion
When you make God your best friend, you're specifically developing intimacy with the Holy Spirit who lives within you. He's not visiting occasionally—He's taken up permanent residence. "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you?" (1 Corinthians 6:19).
The Holy Spirit is:
- Your Counselor who guides into all truth (John 16:13)
- Your Comforter who teaches all things and brings all things to remembrance (John 14:26)
- Your Teacher who reveals God's deep things (1 Corinthians 2:10)
- Your Intercessor who prays when you don't know how (Romans 8:26)
- Your Power source for supernatural living (Acts 1:8)
He's not waiting for you at church. He's with you right now, ready to commune, ready to guide, ready to empower. The question isn't His availability—it's your attention.
When you feel distant from God, check your sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. When His voice seems muffled, it's usually because you've been feeding your spirit with noise rather than nurturing it with His presence. He speaks constantly—we just train ourselves not to hear.
Building the Friendship
Replace digital defaults with divine dialogue. Every time you reach for your phone out of boredom or anxiety, pause and talk to God instead. Even 30 seconds of "God, what do you want me to know right now?" beats scrolling.
Write without editing. Keep a physical notebook for prayer. Write down everything that comes to mind—thoughts, impressions, random ideas. Test it later against Scripture, wise counsel, and spiritual fruit, but capture it first.
Find your prayer council. Like Peter Han, identify 2-3 believers who can pray with you about major decisions. Collective discernment often reveals what individual prayer misses.
Fast from distractions. Set aside dedicated times (e.g., one day a week or an hour daily) to unplug from devices and focus solely on listening to God—build your prayer muscle like any other discipline.
Talk to God about everything. Share your fears, frustrations, excitement, confusion. Ask for guidance on decisions both big and small. Treat Him like the friend who knows everything about you and loves you anyway.
Ask the Holy Spirit what to pray for. Romans 8:26 says "we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us." Let Him guide your requests rather than coming with a predetermined list.
Reflection and Practice
Ask yourself as you evaluate your relationship with God:
- Do I talk to God more than I scroll social media?
- Am I seeking God's will or just His blessing on my plans?
- Do I trust God enough to be completely honest with Him?
- Would my closest friends say I'm more influenced by God's voice or cultural voices?
- Am I grieving or quenching the Holy Spirit through my daily habits and choices?
The goal isn't perfect prayer habits—it's genuine friendship. God wants your authentic self, not your religious performance. He's already pursuing relationship with you. The question is whether you'll make space for the friendship He's offering.
"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." — James 4:8
Prayer: Holy Spirit Communion - A prayer for developing constant communion with the Holy Spirit who dwells within you.