If you grew up in a large community or maybe went to a large school, you know what it’s like to know a lot of people but only be able to call a select few your friends.
We all know what it’s like to have cordial relationships with some people but only have a handful of people we can call friends.
This experience is also true for God. 

John 3:16
New King James Version 
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

God loves us so much that He would even go as far as dying for all of us. But when it comes down to it, there are very few people in scripture that God called his friends. When it comes to friendship, God’s list is rather exclusive. 

There are two people in the Old Testament that God refers to as friends:
God calls Abraham his friend 

Isaiah 41:8
New King James Version 
8 But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, The descendants of Abraham My friend.
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God calls Moses his friend

Exodus 33:11
New King James Version 
11 So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.
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Just like earthly friendships, what makes the difference is that the love and care are not a one-way street; they are shared. They had shared desires; they wanted the same things God did. They shared his burdens.

God said this about Abraham:
Genesis‬ ‭18‬:‭17‬-‭19‬ ‭
New King James Version 
17 And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing,

18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”

It’s almost as if you share a business plan with your friend, and they go ahead to research, open a group chat of possible team members, and draw up a budget of all you need. Your plans, your desires, your successes matter to them, too.

God wanted to share his plans with Abraham, not just because He could, but because He knew that Abraham would do something about it. He knew Abraham would be diligent in teaching his children and household after him to keep the way of the Lord. That’s what friends do.

Exodus 32:9-14
New King James Version 
9 And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people!

10 Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.”

11 Then Moses pleaded with the Lord his God, and said: “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?

12 Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people.

13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ 

14 So the Lord relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people

God’s wrath burned against His people because of their rebellion, and He presented Moses with a prime opportunity, but he didn’t take it because he knew God. Moses knew that God stayed true to his promise to Abraham; he knew that God was a God who stays true to his word. Moses spoke with God like a friend; he chose what was best for God’s plan, what was consistent with God’s nature.

It is understandable for God to desire worship or sacrifice from humans, but God desiring friendship from us seems like an oxymoron. But God does desire friendship. God wants someone to share His values and thoughts.
In friendship with God, there is an intimacy and a sense of responsibility. In friendship with God, He requires a greater commitment on our part; We must be as invested as He is. We can go to God with our burdens, but can He share the burdens on His heart with us?

Jesus was a friend to tax collectors, sinners alike, but when Jesus was choosing people to go watch with Him at Gethsemane, He only went with a select few. 

The idea is about God, what it takes to build a level of intimacy with Him where we aren’t just concerned about what we can get from Him but also what how we can share His burdens. God desires partnership. 

2 Corinthians 6:1
New King James Version 
1 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
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I Corinthians 3:9
New King James Version 
9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.
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Paul uses language like “fellow workers”, “workers together with him”. God wants to work with people; He wants people who can see the vision He has and run with it.

As we fast this week, we can build that intimacy with Him such that we are committed to what’s on God’s heart. Fasting helps us to refocus our hearts on what truly matters. We can walk so closely with God that He considers us friends. 

So, take away the distraction and let your heart concentrate on Him, spend time with Him, lean closer into Him.

Prayer point
As I pray and fast, I grow in greater intimacy with the Father such that my desires become His. Let my heart want what the Lord wants and carry his burdens