Show Yourself Friendly

Proverbs 18:24 A man that has friends, must show himself friendly.

I’d like to give you an example of 4 different neighborhoods where I’ve made friends.

The first example was in St. Louis, MO. We moved to a street that had a circle drive and the neighborhood homes were alive with small children. So taking my children around for a walk in the wagon or baby stroller, I would stop and chat with the different families that were out in their yards Just a welcome to bring your children over to play with mine, would begin a friendship And if a new neighbor moved in I would offer to watch their children while they were unpacking (I was able to bring two neighborhood children to church with me after doing that).

The second was in Edwardsville, Illinois. I learned from a sister-in-law to do a prayer walk. Again living in a large circle drive I would go by the homes and pray for each resident even though I only knew a few of them. Amazingly I was able to lead two of the families to the Lord by being obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. And yes, they became involved in church.

The third one was in Maranatha Village in Springfield, MO. Being mostly all Christian Retirement neighborhood, the Lord gave me the idea to go up and down the block on both sides of the street and knock on doors. I carried a pad and pen with me, and after introducing myself I would ask if they had any prayer needs that I could pray with them. No one turned me away. Some were housebound and welcomed the opportunity to have prayer and a visit.

Lastly, this is in my current home. I live in a condo building of 12 apartments. No one seemed to know each other and if we passed by each other, it was greeted with a nod. So once again, the Lord gave me the idea to have a get acquainted open house, leaving an invitation on each apartment door. Can I share that there was 100% participation! No one left early and we began with prayer.

When my husband passed away, almost all the neighbors brought food to help with my out-of-town guests Lessons learned…if you want friends, show yourself friendly.

Edythe Stewart