When God Calls You Friend

“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends…”
John 15:15 (NIVUK)

There are verses we read… and then there are verses that read us.
John 15:15 is one of those holy moments. Jesus looks into the eyes of ordinary people—fishermen, tax collectors, doubters, wanderers—and says:

“I have called you friends.”

Not servants kept at a distance.
Not followers trying to keep up.
Friends.
Partners in His purpose. Companions in His presence. Bearers of His secrets.

This is not a small shift—it is the Gospel calling us into a deeper room, a quieter chamber, a sacred nearness where heaven whispers.

THE SACRED RARITY OF GOD’S FRIENDS

Scripture names only two people “friends of God”—Abraham and Moses.
Two men over thousands of years… one who pitched a tent to meet with God face to face, and one who walked with God under the stars and built altars on windswept hillsides.

Fans admire God.
Followers obey God.
But these friends walked with God.

They were drawn not only to God’s power, but to His personality. Not only to His miracles, but to His heartbeat. They lingered. They listened. They dared to believe that the Almighty desired companionship.

And Heaven responded.

God shared His secrets with Abraham—things He hid from everyone else (Genesis 18:17).
God spoke to Moses as a man speaks with a friend (Exodus 33:11).

The God who thunders over the waters whispered to His friends.

Imagine that. And then realise—He offers the same to you.

THE DIVINE DIALOGUE

Friendship with God creates a holy conversation and an insider seat at the unfolding of destiny. When God seemed set to destroy Israel for the golden calf, Moses spoke—and God relented. When Abraham stood before the Judge of all the earth, he asked, “What if there are fifty… forty… thirty righteous?” And God reasoned with him.

This is the breathtaking mystery:

God invites His friends into His counsel.

Jesus continued the theme of such weight with God in his message about friendship with God in John chapters 14–16. Here He gives friendship-promises so wild, so lavish, they almost feel impossible:

“Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:13–14)
“Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7)
“Whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” (John 15:16)
“Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” (John 16:23–24)

These are not just blank cheques for the casual, these are covenants for His companions! Wow!

THE PACE OF HEAVEN

So how can we develop such a friendship with God?

Well, consider Enoch—never called a friend of God, but described as one who “walked with God, then was no more, because God took him” (Genesis 5:24). What kind of closeness must that be? To walk in such harmony with God that the boundary between heaven and earth dissolves?

This is the quiet invitation beneath all the noise of our age: Walk with Me.

Not ahead.
Not behind.
With Me.

Slow when I slow.
Move when I move.
Build a tent like Moses.
Raise an altar like Abraham.
Linger in the Father’s house like young Jesus.
Become more consumed with God’s presence than with God’s projects.

Friendship with God isn’t automatic just because you believe.
It is the fruit of time, tenderness, attention, and yes—even holy obsession.

Let this be the year you step from the outer courts into the close circle—
from fan,
to follower,
to friend.

Believe & Confess Meditation & Declaration

Today I boldly declare that I am called a friend of God (John 15:15), chosen and appointed to bear fruit that lasts (John 15:16), and as I remain in Christ my desires align with His until I ask and receive as promised (John 15:7); I walk with God like Enoch (Genesis 5:24), hearing His voice and following Him as Jesus says I can (John 10:27), and the Lord confides His secrets to me because I revere Him, (Psalm 25:14); I draw near and He draws near to me as He has promised (James 4:8), and I step into each day with boldness and access through Christ (Ephesians 3:12), living as His cherished companion and trusted friend.

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