May They Find Wise Friends

Excerpt taken from Everyday Prayers for the School Year: A 30-Day Devotional & Reflective Journal for Moms by Tara L. Cole

Day 4

May They Find Wise Friends

Read Proverbs
Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
—Proverbs 13:20

Many times throughout my life, I’ve asked my friends for advice. All of us rely on our friends at times to help us make a decision. The key is to carefully consider which friends we’re asking.

In 1 Kings 12, Rehoboam didn’t consider whose counsel he was seeking. He had just become king after his father Solomon died. The people came to him and asked him to lighten their load, and he told them to go away and return in three days.

During those three days, he asked his father’s counselors and his own friends for advice. His father’s counselors told him to answer the people kindly, so they would always be faithful to him. His friends told him to answer the people harshly and say, “And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions” (1 Kings 12:11).

Instead of listening to the older, wiser advisors of Solomon, Rehoboam chose to follow his friends’ advice, and it didn’t go well for him. He quickly lost the ten tribes of Israel, retaining only Judah and Benjamin, and the kingdom was never again one complete people.

The advice our kids take sometimes might make little difference in their lives, but at other times, it can profoundly affect our children’s future. Having good friends who give wise advice during critical moments is essential in order for our kids to stay strongly connected to God.

• In elementary school, when they wonder how to treat the new kid, they need friends who encourage them to choose kindness.
• In middle school, when they wonder if they should cheat on a test, they need friends who encourage them to choose integrity.
• In high school, when they face difficult dating decisions, they need friends who encourage them to choose purity.
• In college, when they want to quit, they need friends who encourage them to choose perseverance.

There are many times throughout our children’s lives that the choices they make may depend on the friends they have, and we want those friends to be wise ones who look to God for answers.

Something to Think About

Who are your children’s current friends? What voices are speaking into their life when they have a hard decision? Though we wish we could, we can’t always be there for our children. They will be faced with decisions where they only have a moment to choose, and during those times, they need to be surrounded by wise friends.

We can’t always control who their friends are, but we can take our kids to church, get them involved in activities, and encourage relationships that can have a positive influence on them.

We can also help our kids be wise friends in the lives of others by encouraging their relationship with God.

Most of all, we can pray. Ask God to provide your children with friends who will speak life to them and pray that your children speak life to others.

Extra Verses for Study or Prayer

First Kings 12:1-19, Proverbs 2:20, 1 Corinthians 15:33, Hebrews 10:24.

Verse of the Day

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
—Proverbs 13:20

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